Street smarts still exist in Riyad Mahrez, but he is no longer the boy who knew nothing about tactical awareness over 10 years ago. And his career will move to a different page if Manchester City win at the Dragao Stadium tomorrow.
In Sarcelles, Riyad Mahrez is truly an idol. Nassim Coiffure is an Algerian hairdresser in Sarcelles, when Mahrez was young he often came to Nassim. Now, although he doesn’t cut Mahrez’s hair regularly anymore, his image is still present in the salon. He often receives requests from 5-6 year old boys to cut Mahrez’s hair.
Nassim shared with BBC: “Many of my customers now come here because of Riyad. They come from Lille, Belgium and all over. I know all his hair styles. He changes his hair a lot, then everyone copies his hair style. Riyad is like the Cristiano Ronaldo of Sarcelles. If he does something, people imitate it.”
Sarcelles is a city on the outskirts of Paris, 16.3 km from the center of the French capital. Here, Riyad Mahrez was born into a family with an Algerian father and a Moroccan mother. Many years later, the stadium in Sarcelles was named after him. In 2019, he was awarded the city’s medal. Patrick Haddad, the mayor of Sarcelles, shared: “Riyad is loved for his exemplary physique and discipline. He is an inspiration to the people of Sarcelles.”
But not only in this city on the outskirts of Paris, Mahrez is also a source of inspiration and pride in Algeria. Currently, he is the captain of the national team. Algerian journalist Maher Mezahi shared with The Guardian about the second-leg victory of Man City over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals, in which Mahrez scored both goals: “That was really big news in Algeria. I have never seen people here so excited about a player in a foreign club. That excitement spread throughout social media and everywhere people just wanted to talk about him. During the recent Eid holiday, Mahrez was the main topic of conversation for families
The double goal of the Algerian player in the second leg of the semi-final was truly important, but his goal in the first leg was also noteworthy. It was a free-kick that sent the ball straight through a very narrow gap in the wall. Mahrez suggested that Kevin De Bruyne take the free-kick. “Yeah, if you think I can do it,” was the Belgian midfielder’s reply to his teammate. And Mahrez scored. A goal that clearly demonstrated the cunning and unpredictability of a street player who has not yet faded away in the former Leicester player.
Mahrez matured from street football. Mahrez’s childhood friends described him as a “football crazy” person. The Algerian player honed his skills on the streets of Sarcelles, playing even when “there was no light,” as Hayel Mbemba, coach of the AAS Sarcellas team, shared with AFP. Mahrez was small and shy at that time, but his burning desire to play football could not be stopped by anyone.
In 2009, the 18-year-old young man went for a trial at Quimper, an amateur club in the fourth tier of French football. Mahrez’s trial with other players lasted a month before the results were announced. Quimper decided not to select him because they felt he was not worthy of the contract they would offer. Tears fell on Mahrez’s face, and in a moment, his dream was in danger of turning to smoke.
“I trained with them for a month, and I don’t know why they said that. Why didn’t they say it from the beginning?” Mahrez recalled his feelings when he received that news in a later conversation with FourFourTwo. We can see in that thought the resentment and sadness.
In fact, a few months earlier, he had packed his bags and went to Scotland for a trial at St Mirren. He impressed David Longwell, the academy director of the club based in Paisley city.
“Riyad was not as physically developed, but very technical. I saw that through the way he controlled the ball on his left foot. We once practiced on a freezing indoor pitch, not too glamorous, and Riyad was head and shoulders above the rest of the players in a 5-a-side game.”
But in an interview with L’Equipe, the Manchester City star revealed that the weather in Paisley was really harsh, and he even pretended to be injured to skip training. And eventually, he decided to take a bicycle from the academy to go to the airport and leave Scotland. But in reality, not to mention the weather factor, Mahrez stayed at St Mirren for longer than he thought, and that experience also helped him grow
Therefore, despite scoring 7 goals in 4 matches for the academy team, it was still difficult for Mahrez to get a contract because the first team coaching staff felt that his physical condition was not enough to meet the demands of Scottish football. As mentioned, Mahrez went on a trial at Quimper. When faced with the prospect of being rejected, he eventually convinced head coach Ronan Salaun. Then, it was Salaun’s turn to successfully persuade the club’s leadership to sign Mahrez. Here, Mahrez was a teammate of Mathias Pogba, the older brother of Paul Pogba.
At this point, Mahrez’s street football skills became both an advantage and a disadvantage for him. Quimper’s coach, Mickael Pellen, recalls: “He is a street footballer, he taught himself football on the streets where he lived. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is that he is excellent at dribbling, playing with both feet comfortably, and he is very good at set pieces. But the disadvantage is that he doesn’t know anything about tactics.”
From there, Mahrez went a long way from his starting point. He left Quimper and joined Le Havre before coming to Leicester for £450,000. In Leicester’s shirt, he helped the team promote to the Premier League and made history with the 2015/2016 Premier League title, being voted the Player of the Year by his peers in the Professional Footballers’ Association award. In 2018, he joined Manchester City and joined Pep Guardiola’s star-studded team on the journey to conquer titles.
In the 16th round of the current Premier League season, in Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Everton, Riyad Mahrez scored a beautiful goal. It was beautiful not because it was a spectacular long-range shot or an acrobatic overhead kick, but because it came from an excellent team move. Mahrez ran wide to stretch the opposition’s defense before suddenly running straight to the middle, receiving a perfectly timed pass from Bernardo Silva and scoring.
Former player Ally McCoist commented: “A fantastic goal. It looks like a simple pass from Silva, but everything was done perfectly. Mahrez doesn’t need to slow down. The balance is so good and in terms of the finish, Pickford has no chance. When the ball hits the post, it rolls into the net as a goal.”
Meanwhile, former footballer Michael Owen commented: “Not many teams can score a goal like this because players need to have vision and anticipate what will happen. This is how top players play football, ordinary players cannot do this
Street flavor has always been present in Mahrez, but he is no longer the young boy who knew nothing about tactical awareness more than 10 years ago. And his career will take a different turn if Manchester City claims victory at the Dragao Stadium tomorrow. From shedding tears at the age of 18 to being a source of inspiration for his homeland, Riyad Mahrez has gone on a remarkable journey
