In the world of football, where stars shine and history is made, the name Yassine Bounou emerged as one of the heroes of the enchanting game who wrote unforgettable chapters. From the streets of Casablanca to the world stages, Bounou made his way to becoming an unbeatable goalkeeper, and a symbol of hope and inspiration for everyone who follows him.
With his smile, exceptional skills, and quick reactions, Bounou was not just a goalkeeper, but became a living legend embodying craftsmanship and humility. With a career full of achievements and moments that have cemented his name in the annals of football greatness, the Moroccan “lion” carefully climbed the phases of success, never discouraged or giving up, holding on to his desire, continuing on his way to his goal, until fate rewarded him and his talent became known to the world.
The guardian of the “Atlas Lions” goal was born on April 5, 1991, in Montreal, Canada, to Moroccan parents who had emigrated to Canada, before returning to their homeland with his parents at the age of eight and joining the academy of Wydad Casablanca as a goalkeeper, progressing through the various age categories, until he was promoted to the first team at the age of 19 and became the second goalkeeper of the “red” club.
Yassine Bounou’s career began from the end, how could it be otherwise, history testifies to that cold November night in 2011 when he learned he would bear the responsibility of protecting the Wydad goal in one of the club’s most important stations, where he was the promising goalkeeper on a historic appointment in the final of the African Champions League, and the opponent was none other than Esperance de Tunis in their own stadium in Rades. Bounou was tasked with protecting the Wydad goal in place of the first goalkeeper Nader Lamyaghri, who was prevented from officially participating in the confrontation due to a fracture.
Although Bounou lost the final due to a late goal by the Ghanaian Harrison Afful, he gained experience in big matches. From Rades, Bounou began playing regularly with the “red” team, alongside his progress in the youth teams of the Moroccan national team, before playing his first official match with the first team against Burkina Faso in 2013, when Moroccans were reassured that their goal would be safe under the protection of this “lion.”
And on June 14, 2012, Wydad fans awoke to the news of Bounou’s departure from their team, and to which destination? A destination that was very surprising for everyone: the second team of Atlético Madrid, which plays in the third division of the Spanish league. Bounou chose the hard way and went back to zero in the hope of a stronger start, and the beginning was very difficult, his chances with the first team of Atlético Madrid were non-existent despite his brilliance with the second team, which led him to take a harder step and move to Zaragoza, who played in the second division, and there he proved himself to the world in a remarkable way, before moving to Girona, who finally gave him the chance to play in the first division of “La Liga” and meet the brightest stars of the enchanting game, where the Moroccan showcased his abilities and established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the Spanish league, and continued to “excel” and impress the followers of the league despite the decline of his team’s level which ended the season with relegation to the second division of “La Liga.”
Bounou refused to continue with Girona and take a step back, he moved to Sevilla on loan for one season with a purchase option, and showed his enthusiasm for the move to the Andalusian club, and his desire to deliver strong performances with a team that was among the most prominent in Spain and Europe at that time. Despite his difficult starts with Sevilla, and staying on the bench, Yassine Bounou made a remarkable impression, leading his team to the Europa League title at the end of the season, which made everyone who saw him wonder how this impenetrable wall could spend a whole season on the bench? And since then, Bounou has become the first goalkeeper of Sevilla, who never stopped amazing everyone until he became one of the most prominent goalkeepers in the world today.
The story of excellence did not end here, Yassine continued to challenge himself, and won the “Zamora” trophy for the best goalkeeper in the Spanish league in the 2021/2022 season, an achievement no Arab had reached before, allowing him to continue his legend in golden letters. Then Bounou led his national team to the second round of the World Cup, then to the quarterfinals and then to the semifinals, where he showed the world that he was an impenetrable barrier against the strongest opponents, especially during penalties against Spain where he saved the attempts of some of the most skilled shooters in the world.
The story continued, and Bounou was not willing to end his career with Sevilla without winning another Europa League title, in which he again played a leading role, after deciding the title with his extraordinary saves in the match and then in the penalty shootout against the Italian giant Roma, confirming to everyone that he was a tough number in global goalkeeping.
Bounou continued to write his name in history in golden letters, moving to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia to continue the journey, and as he did in all his previous stations, he is writing history again with one of the giants of Arab and Asian football, winning three valuable titles with them, after winning the Saudi Super Cup last year, and the local championship title during the recently concluded season, in addition to the King’s Cup title, last Friday, at the expense of Al-Nassr.
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