A year ago, many West Ham United supporters would never have heard of Nayef Aguerd, let alone seen the left-footed centre-back in action.
Twelve months on, Aguerd is not only known to every Hammer, but every football fan on the planet after excelling as part of Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals.
The polite, softly-spoken defender was a player manager David Moyes and his recruitment team had watched develop in French football, first with Dijon and then with Rennes, where his strong displays helped Les Rouge et Noirs finish sixth in Ligue 1, qualify for Europe and reach the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16.
But Aguerd’s football journey began over a decade earlier in his homeland, where he was born and raised in the port city of Kenitra in north western Morocco. He joined the city’s leading club, four-times Moroccan champions Kenitra AC, as a schoolboy and remained there until the age of 12.
There, Aguerd was spotted by scouts from the Mohammed VI Football Academy, which was created by King Mohammed VI as a national training centre for younger footballers, and became one of the first 45 players aged 12 and 13 to join in September 2009. The youngster moved into the Academy, situated 30 miles down the coast in the city of Salé, as a boarder, enabling him to concentrate on his football and education full-time.
“In my childhood, I joined Kenitra FC, then I went to the Mohammed VI Academy, then Rabat FC and today I am at West Ham!” Aguerd confirmed. “The Academy means everything to me. It opened a door for me and for any Moroccans, African or Arab player to dream of. It is a high-level Academy that I joined.
“I want to thank my coaches, who helped me a great deal and did a job that we as Moroccans cannot forget. The Academy produced big players for the national team like Youssef El-Nesyri, Azzedine Ounahi, Abdelwahed Wahib and Hamza Mendy.
“There are a lot of players who gave something to the national team and the Mohammed VI Academy opened the door for them and me to be a professional player.
“I spent five fantastic years in the Academy.”
An important education
Aguerd remained at the Mohammed VI Football Academy until the age of 18, converting from a midfielder to centre-back and training alongside the likes of current Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri. He then joined leading Moroccan top-flight club Fath Union Sports (FUS), based in the capital city Rabat, in 2014.
Under the guidance of coach Walid Regragui – the same Walid Regragui who led Aguerd Morocco to the World Cup semi-finals in December last year – Aguerd reached the Throne Cup final in 2015 before winning the Moroccan League title in 2016, shortly after his 20th birthday.
“After my training at the Mohammed VI Academy, I was a student for four years in Al-Fath Sportive (Fath Union Sport), and it was important for me to play in the Moroccan Championship and learn,” he explained.
“Walid Regragui did a fantastic job as coach and now, of course, he is our national team coach.
“Nothing changed in Walid. He is still the same and this is his strength. He knows what he wants. Walid was my coach from 2014 in at Fath and then he knew what he wanted and never changed. He always had a career plan as a coach.
“The things he did in Fath, he also did with Duhail FC in Doha [by winning the Qatar Stars League], and this is why we reached the World Cup semi-final.”
After two more seasons as a first-team regular under Regragui at FUS, Aguerd was increasingly linked to a move to Europe and joined French Ligue 1 club Dijon.After two more seasons as a first-team regular for Fath Union Sports, Aguerd was increasingly linked to a move to Europe and joined French Ligue 1 club Dijon.
“Walid Regragui is the one who helped me from an early age and I am so grateful for this, so of course I was happy to link up with him again with the national team.
“Walid gave me my chance at club level at the age of 17. I knew he’d succeed as head coach, and he had dreamt of being a national coach since I met him.
“I was always in touch with him after I left Fath. I was injured here at West Ham and he lifted my spirits and promised if I recovered and was well enough, I’d play [at the World Cup].
“He is very professional, and if a player deserves his spot, he’ll get it.”
A race against time
The young defender scored four goals in 24 appearances across two seasons at the Stade Gaston-Gérard before moving to the more established Stade Rennais in the summer of 2020.
Aguerd quickly established himself as a first-team regular for Rennes, starting the club’s first-ever UEFA Champions League tie against Krasnodar in September 2020 and featuring in four group-stage matches. After making 40 appearances in 2020/21, the centre-back matched that number last season, including nine in the UEFA Europa Conference League as Rennes reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by Leicester City.
That form saw Moyes move for his signature, and Aguerd crossed the English Channel in June last year. Even then, a serious ankle injury suffered in a pre-season match at Scottish club Rangers set him back, and it was only by working extremely hard that he returned to fitness in time for the World Cup finals in Qatar.
“I had to believe in God that I would be fit for the World Cup,” he explained. “It was a tough situation. People were saying it was going to be difficult to make it, and the doctors said it was hard to tell.
“I worked hard, but I had a lot of support from lots of people and managed to get back.
“When we got to Qatar, we had big support, too, but I was not surprised because I know our supporters. They are great fans and they came from all over the world to support us.
“We knew they’d be our support in that competition and in the end it was worth it because no Moroccan will ever forget that World Cup.”
An historic World Cup
There, reunited with his mentor Regragui, the 27-year-old formed an unbeatable partnership with former Wolverhampton Wanderers player Romain Saïss to help Morocco draw with Croatia and defeat Belgium, Canada and Spain to reach the quarter-finals. An injury suffered in the win over Spain caused Aguerd to miss the last-eight win over Portugal and, despite his best efforts, the semi-final defeat by France.
“We drew 0-0 with Croatia in our first group game, it was a tough match,” he recalled. “A lot of people were not happy we drew but they forgot they were the 2018 World Cup finalists. We knew it would difficult, and as players we decided not to lose it to start that competition in a positive way, which helped us later in the next matches because we beat Belgium and Canada.
“The Belgium match was different from that of Croatia because we loosened up and played better with high confidence. We had nothing to lose and played really well and won 2-0.
“We finally conceded in our third game against Canada, when I scored an own-goal, so it was my fault! We as players do everything we can to defend but mistakes are part of football, but we had confidence in ourselves and our ‘keeper Bono, who is one of the best in the world.
“Every match we won, we really celebrated. We had our parents with us and that was amazing, so we really celebrated and were happy for them, but the following day we forgot the win and started concentrating on the next.
“This is where Walid had a great role. He made us believe that we were good enough to do more and that we were not in Qatar on vacation.
“I got injured against Spain, but I tried to play on and help the team. I wanted play against Portugal in the quarter-final but then I had COVID which meant I stayed away from everyone and watched from afar, alone in the hotel room.
“Thankfully, we had a lot of players who could step in and do a great job and they got the win and us into the semi-finals to face France.
“I could not recover for that game, so I watched as fan. We were not lucky, but thank God for everything because it was an unforgettable World Cup for us all.”
A Royal reception
Despite the relative disappointment of missing those two games, Aguerd can look back helping his national team become the first from both Africa and an Arab country to reach the World Cup semi-finals with immense pride.
The Atlas Lions were welcomed home as national heroes by King Mohammed VI at the Royal Palace in Rabat, where they were awarded with the prestigious Order of the Throne, and by millions of fans across Morocco.
“The reception we had when we returned to Morocco was amazing, really out of this world,” he smiled. “The fans were in their thousands waiting for us to cheer us and show their pride in their team. When we landed it felt like the whole country was there. It was amazing from the airport to the Royal Palace.
“As a kid, you dream to meet His Majesty King Mohammed VI. As a kid from the streets of Kenitra, it was special. I had the chance to meet him twice, it was amazing.
“I received the special honour which I keep safely at home and it was something that will live with me forever. He is like a father to us Moroccans.”
For Aguerd, who had left home 15 years earlier to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer, all his sacrifices had been worthwhile.
