PSV Midfielder Ismaël Saibari Opens Up About Moroccan Roots and Career Journey

In an interview with AS, Ismaël Saibari recounts his story and his journey. "I was born in Terrassa because my parents had been living there for eighteen years and I stayed there until the age of six. But the crisis came and my parents decided to leave for Belgium. I grew up there until the age of 19 (in Genk), then I joined PSV. So I spent five years in the Netherlands, from the youth teams to the first team. My uncle and grandmother still live in Catalonia," he confides.

The Moroccan midfielder has delivered exceptional performances over his three seasons at PSV, exceeding his limits each season in terms of goals and assists. The Atlas Lion defines himself as a "technical footballer, but also a strong player, a player with a lot of speed in the box".

The young player did not fail to express his pride in playing for Morocco: "Since my childhood, I have always said that I wanted to play for Morocco because my parents and my family are Moroccan. It has always been their dream. And since I have been with Morocco since the age of 15, I wanted nothing else," he confesses, before thanking King Mohammed VI and the president of the Moroccan federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, for the investments made to develop the sport in Morocco.

The midfielder hopes to achieve exploits with Morocco this year. "We want to win everything. We know we have a good group. The generation that is coming is made up of good players. We want to win the next Africa Cup because it’s at home. And also because of the disappointment of the last edition (elimination in the round of 16 against South Africa)".

With his club, PSV, he counts "to do the double, because last year we could not win the cup (they lost in the round of 16 against Feyenoord). Now the most important thing is to play well in the Champions League to qualify". Individually, Saibari only wishes one thing: "to play and enjoy every minute, not to get injured".