Moroccan Midfielder Hamza Sakhi Emerges as Key to AJ Auxerre’s Survival Hopes

"He really hasn’t changed much. He already had all the right indicators, and it was just a matter of gaining consistency, playing time, experience, maturity... But he had an enormous football IQ for his age," said Cédric Daury, then coach of the Châteauroux youth teams, about Hamza Sakhi.

The young player of Moroccan origin has enormous potential, but he lacked stability, analyzes Socofoot, specifying that Hamza Sakhi’s tumultuous career (juvenile delinquency, lack of money, deportation order, depression) could have made him give up his dream of becoming a professional footballer. But the midfielder has always believed in his potential and never lost hope, until the summer of 2013 when he signed his first professional contract in Ligue 2 with Châteauroux.

With this first contract, the young player made a name for himself and thus began his professional ascent. After a successful season with Châteauroux, he was solicited in the summer of 2015 by Ligue 1 clubs such as Marseille and Montpellier. But the Moroccan declined the offers from the two clubs and later chose to join FC Metz. In this club, the midfielder, far from his family for the first time, fails to thrive personally and professionally.

Things were not improving for Sakhi, who seriously considered quitting. Then good news came in March 2016. His daughter Ilyana was born. This is the turning point for Sakhi, who joins the AJA and goes on loan to Sochaux to improve his game. He returns to Auxerre in 2020 and becomes an essential part of the Auxerre game. This allowed him to be called up by Walid Regragui for the World Cup in Qatar. Today, his mission is to save his club, which is in 19th place in Ligue 1.