A youth career filled with pressure and injuries: ‘One day you are a star, the next day a failure'

INTERVIEW - After many injuries and the bankruptcy of his latest club Lierse SK, there came an end to Aimane Mdouari’s (23) football career in professional youth academies. In his dream to become a professional goalkeeper, the Dutchman from Rotterdam moved to Belgium at the age of fifteen. ‘I am only 23 and I sometimes doubt whether I managed to get everything out of it’

Aimane Mdouari is currently coaching two youth teams at Belgian amateur side Hoogstraten VV. Photo: © Rik Tuinstra

‘I was born and raised in the Dutch City of Rotterdam and I played at multiple amateur clubs until I was fifteen,’ says Aimane. ‘I then got scouted to play in the youth academy of the Belgian second-tier side KFC Turnhout. We trained four times a week and at the weekend we had a match, so it was impossible to go up and down from Rotterdam. So my family and I moved to Belgium, and that is when the pressure started. Moving to another country, for me, so I could pursue a professional career.’

‘My family and I moved to Belgium, and that is when the pressure started. Moving to another country, for me, so I could pursue a professional career’

‘I am of Moroccan descent and in my culture, the expectations and pressure are automatically larger,’ explains Aimane. If he were to become a professional, not only is he taking care of himself but also of the future of his entire family. ‘The pressure from the people around me was tremendous and because of that I also put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. And remember, I was just a fifteen-year-old kid.’

Aimane went on multiple trials in the UK before returning to Belgium. Photo: © Rik Tuinstra

His first season at KFC Turnhout went well and he received interest from first-tier Dutch sides Willem II and NAC Breda. But in his second season at KFC Turnhout, the misfortune started to kick in. ‘I got injured, I was not able to play football and I found this difficult. I did not have the right guidance around me either, so I made wrong and stupid decisions to continue to play through the injuries. One time my arm was in a cast, but after three weeks I got so tired of it I just cut it through myself and played football again.’

One time my arm was in a cast, but after three weeks I got so tired of it I just cut it through myself and played football again’

At the end of the season, Aimane left KFC Turnhout and went to try his luck in the United Kingdom. ‘Through my manager, I got trials at Queens Park Rangers and Falkirk and eventually got offered a scholarship at then League Two-side Accrington Stanley.’

But after his move to England, the pressure from people around him only intensified. ‘The hype only got bigger. There were articles written about me and people and relatives in Morocco were reading these too. I was supposed to be the new big thing.’

Injury prone

But his time at Accrington Stanley did not go to plan. ‘I was there for six months, but it was a tough period. I was separated from my family who was still in Belgium. I struggled mentally because there was a huge pressure on me to succeed. And on top of that, I found out that I am injury prone. I was constantly struggling with minor injuries and aches and pains. So I returned to Belgium where I ended up at Lierse SK.’

At the end of Aimane’s first season at Lierse SK, the club filed for bankruptcy and since then he has not played for a professional club. ‘I had an immense amount of misfortune and I had no one who guided me through it and who was there for me. I had my manager, but he just brought me from here to there. But I had no mental guidance and support. Not anyone to simply ask me how I was doing.’

‘I had no mental guidance and support. Not anyone to simply ask me how I was doing’

‘The football industry can be so brutal. People underestimate that,’ says Aimane. ‘One day you are a star and the next day you are a total failure who is worth nothing anymore. And everybody treats you like that too. When everything goes well, everybody wants something from you and you never know whether people are genuine. And when things do not go so well, people who really wanted to be by your side suddenly disappear. Mentally that can break you.’

Despite his view on the brutal football industry, Aimane still secretly dreams of a professional career. ‘I am only 23 and I sometimes doubt whether I managed to get everything out of my career. I still do not know the answer to this. It keeps playing on my mind and I struggle with this feeling at times. Like any kid that starts playing football, you always dream to become a professional.’ And that dream has not faded yet for Aimane.

To coach or to play?

Currently, Aimane is a player agent to around fifteen players whom he guides on their way to succeed as a professional. However, Aimane does not like the word agent. He does more than that in his eyes as he is their friend and gives them the mental guidance he always lacked in his career.

Besides coaching the U13s at Hoogstraten VV, Aimane is also the assistant of former professional footballer Mathias Bossaerts at the U17.

He also coaches youth teams at the Belgian amateur club Hoogstraten VV. ‘I am now living my dream of becoming a professional through them. I feel so much love and fulfilment when I see them progress and get better.’

He loves it so much that he is in two minds: To one last time pursue a professional career as a player or to focus on becoming a professional coach. ‘Right now, coaching is my priority. I even declined some offers from the clubs from the highest amateur level in Belgium in order to coach the youth at Hoogstraten VV.’

‘I am still playing at a lower level, but I got injured in November,’ says Aimane. ‘Hopefully, I can make my return before the end of the season, play a couple of games, and then next season the comeback is on. Believe me. Not as a goalkeeper this time, but as a player. It is never too late to make it.’

Text: Rik Tuinstra