Another article from Wonderkids of La Masia.
The Wonderkids of La Masia #2
Ayoub Abou — Morocco
Info
Birthday: 28.06.98 (16 years old)
Position: Midfielder
Nationality: Moroccan
Been at Barça since: Summer 2007
Nickname: Ayo
Ayoub
Just like Lee, Ayoub Abou is a part of the 1998 generation at La Masia, packed with many talents and probable future first team players. Four of these players are very special:
Carles Perez, Lee Seung Woo, Ayoub Abou and Carles Aleña. The latter three is a trio which you could compare to the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta-trio from the first team. But the difference between the two trios is that we haven’t seen Lee, Ayoub and Aleña play together as much as we should’ve had, because Ayoub has always played with kids one to two years older than him.
Ayoub is a vintage La Masia midfielder with immense technique, both in terms of passing and dribbling. On top of that, his goal scoring and physical aspects of the game is something worth noticing as well. Ayoub maybe does look a bit small, but he is great at holding opponents off the ball in possession. Also adding his goal scoring abilities, there hasn’t been many opponents who has been able to stop him since he joined La Masia. Filled with flair and natural ability, his abilities shines through whenever he is on the ball.
When Ayoub was nine years old, his parents decided to move to Barcelona to live with Latif, his big brother, who had found himself a job in Barcelona. Ayoub’s brother was eventually responsible for his move to Barça. Although Ayoub was never a part of a football team before, his brother was confident that Ayoub had the abilities to be able to play at La Masia.
Ayoub’s brother signed him up at FCB Escola, Barça’s football pre-school, from where a few chosen kids enter a La Masia team. Josep Gombau, one of the La Masia leaders back in 2007, immediately found out that Ayoub was too good for Escola, and contacted his boss Alberto Benaiges, the head of youth football, so that he could see him in action. Benaiges was stunned by his dominant style of play compared to the other kids in his age group, and he decided that Ayoub should join the Benjamin A (U-11) at La Masia. Naturally Ayoub should’ve joined the U-10's, Benjamin C, but Benaiges decided that Ayoub was good enough to play with the older kids.
A mix of Zizou and Riquelme
Even though his two favorite players are Xavi and Iniesta, Ayoub’s playing style is a lot more comparable to Zinedine Zidane and former Barça player Joan Roman Riquelme. A mix of Zidane’s excellent physique, ball control and skills with Riquelme’s playmaking abilities and versatility in midfield. I’m not necessarily saying that he is as talented as the two, but Ayoub’s style of play is comparable to the two greats.
The thing that Ayoub is taking most advantage of is his all-roundness. He can do it all as a midfielder. Together with Aleña, he is arguably the most all-rounded midfielder we’ve seen in the past generations at La Masia. The prototypical La Masia midfielder is a player with less dominant physical ability btu with brilliant technique and passing skills. Ayoub has both of the latter two, but in addition to that, he is also strong, fast and can easily use both feet. Ayoub is as they would say in Spain, a Todocampista — a midfielder for all positions. His versatility allows him to play in various positions and be just as effective.
He showed that in a league game against Sant Andreu in 2012 where he played in four different positions during the game. He started out as a left winger, then went on to play in the regista spot in midfield (number 6), then as the trequartista (number 10), and then he finished off the game playing at the false 9.
A star from the beginning
Ever since his arrival, Ayoub has been dominant at every single team he has been at, despite being at teams where the players has been one or two years older than him. When he should’ve played with the Infantil A bracket (U-15), he played with the Cadet B and A brackets (U-16 and U-17) instead and he still played as if it didn’t even bother him.
At the end the 2009-2010 season, Ayoub shined in Barça’s victory in the prestigious Torneo Alevin de Estepona, especially in the final against Real Madrid. After that tournament, the people responsible for youth football, Guillermo Amor and Albert Puig, decided that the following season, he’d jump from his natural bracket Alevin A (U-13) to Infantil A (U-15) without playing a single official game with the Infantil B (U-14). In that season, even though he was the youngest player on the team, he was rewarded as the best player in the league which was won by Infantil A.
Last season he played with the Juvenil B (U-18) which consists of players in the age of 16 and 17, with him being 15. At the end of the season, there were four players from the 1998 age group: Ayoub, Lee Seung Woo, Carles Aleña and Carles Perez. While Lee was still suspended by FIFA, Aleña, Ayoub and Perez, a year younger than their teammates and opponents, both ended up in the starting line-up towards the end of the season, showing the major talent they possess.
In May 2014, I was in Barcelona to watch the first team play against Atletico Madrid. The day after, I went to the club’s training ground to watch the final league game of the season for Juvenil B, against Cornella who were beaten 6–0 in a game where Juvenil B were secured the league title beforehand. Aleña and Perez started the game, with the latter scoring two goals, while Ayoub made his entrance in the second half, showing exactly what I expected from him: Good distribution with the ball, great technical moves, and just a very calm game with no mistakes made, although it wasn’t a tough game, to say the least.
Unlike Perez and Aleña, who stayed with Juvenil B, Ayoub was promoted to Juvenil A (U-19). But this season, he hasn’t gotten as much playing time as he would’ve wanted. He’s been more of a substitute an rotational squad player. There are some reasons for that: This season, with the arrival of Amir Natkho, Juvenil A has had four great players for the two midfield spots: Amir Natkho, Lionel Enguene, Alex Corredera and Ayoub. With the other three being older than Ayoub, they need the minutes more than he does because they are a few steps away from senior football, while Ayoub most likely still has another season left at Juvenil A, together with his natural bracket. The second reason for the less amount of playing time this season for Ayoub is that he was temporarily sanctioned from playing official games for the club during Fall, because the Spanish FA had to investigate more youth transfers at Barça. It later it turned out that there were no problems problems found in the investigations, and Ayoub is now allowed to play again.
Ayoub’s talent is undeniable, and with his abilities, there is no doubt that he has the abilities to become a first team player at Barcelona. But first he has to continue his development. Defensively, he still has some stuff to learn. He will most likely form the midfield at Juvenil A next season with Carles Aleña. A partnership that I think has the potential to become absolutely brilliant. Not only next season, but hopefully also at Barça B in a couple of years. The midfield is secured for many years to come.
