Anas Alaoui: Eintracht Frankfurt talent turned down Germany to star with Morocco

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While the German U17 national team won the U17 World Cup in Indonesia, Anas Alaoui watched on television, despite the fact that one year ago, the 17-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt talent still played together with Noah Darvich, Winners Osawe & Co. for the DFB youth national team. But instead the striker started for Morocco in Indonesia.

Alaoui, in fact, featured in all five games for the North Africans and scored in the 3-1 win over Indonesia in the final group stage match. For the first time in history, Morocco managed to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament where they were eliminated by the surprise team of the tournament: Mali. According to a report by Bild, the reason for Alaoui’s choice for Morocco and against Germany was because of a lack of commitment by the DFB. Furthermore, by choosing Morocco, Alaoui had the option to play with his Frankfurt teammate Ayoub Chaikhou, who also managed to feature in all five games.

Born in Mainz, Alaoui joined Bundesliga club 1. FSV Mainz 05 as a nine-year-old. But after just two years, he left the club and joined FSV Oppenheim, and then in 2020, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt. “They already followed me when I was in Gonsenheim and then after two years approached me,” Alaoui said in an interview on the club’s homepage in October. “I wanted to make that step right away.”

After strong performances with the U17, the U19, and in the UEFA Youth League, Alaoui was signed to a professional contract in October 2022. “He has everything you need to make it in professional football,” head of the academy Alexander Richter said in a club statement. “Everyone involved believes in his potential, but it is also clear that the path to the top is still quite far, and like every other youth player, he still must work hard on himself to one day play at the Deutsche Bank Park. We will work on this together and give him the best possible education.”

Considering his current development, it will only be a question of time until Alaoui will be nominated to the first-team squad. “My match intelligence, heading, shooting, and dribbling,” Alaoui said when asked about his strengths. Alaoui is a typical street footballer. “It was while playing with friends from a small age that I learned to persevere against older players. When you face someone one-v-one then you must be stronger; there is no alternative.”

The carefreeness on the pitch is Alaoui’s biggest strength, and the numbers underline it. Last season, the forward scored 16 goals in just nine games for the U17. This season, he has scored two goals and two assists in eight games for the U19. Although the development is going in the right direction, the German-Moroccan knows what he must work on. “I have to get stronger, come quicker out of the gate, and improve my first touch; I also need to work on little things that can make a difference,” Alaoui said. “If you think about it, you can improve everything when you are not at the level yet that you one day want to reach.”

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