Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mohamed Abarhoun [1] | ||
Date of birth | 3 May 1989 | ||
Place of birth | Tétouan, Morocco | ||
Date of death | 2 December 2020 | (aged 31)||
Place of death | Turkey | ||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
2010–2017 | Moghreb Tétouan | 164 | (7) |
2017–2019 | Moreirense | 37 | (1) |
2019–2020 | Çaykur Rizespor | 36 | (3) |
Total | 237 | (11) | |
International career | |||
Morocco U20 | |||
2012 | Morocco U23 | 3 | (0) |
2013–2014 | Morocco | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Mohamed Abarhoun ( Arabic: محمد أبرهون, romanized: Muḥammad ‘Ābarhūn; 3 May 1989 – 2 December 2020) was a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a defender. He played domestic football for hometown club Moghreb Tétouan, Portuguese club Moreirense, and Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor. Abarhoun also represented Morocco at under-20, under-23 and senior level. He died of stomach cancer at the age of 31.
Abarhoun was born in Tétouan and played as a centre-back for local club Moghreb Tétouan between 2010 and 2017. He was hailed as part of the club's "golden generation" that won the Botola Pro 1 league in 2012 and 2014 and took part in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup. [3] He made 164 league appearances for the club and scored 7 goals. [2]
Abarhoun joined Portuguese Primeira Liga club Moreirense in June 2017 after refusing to sign a new contract with Tétouan. [3] [4] Abarhoun was the eighth player brought to the club by new manager Manuel Machado. [4] He scored his only goal for the club on 10 September in a 2–0 win at Estroil Praia, their first win of the season. [5] Machado was sacked by the club in October following a run of poor results. [6] He went on to make 23 league and 5 cup appearances for the club in his first season, in which the club finished fourth from bottom in the league. [7] [8] Abarhoun was the preferred starting centre-back for the club in the first part of the 2018–19 season, under new manager Ivo Vieira, and made 1 cup and 14 league appearances. [9] [7]
Abarhoun joined Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor in January 2019 on an 18-month initial contract. [3] [10] [11] The transfer fee generated €200,000 for Moreirense. [9] Rizespor manager Okan Buruk stated that Abarhoun was brought in to bolster the club's defence during their fight to avoid relegation from the Süper Lig. [11] Abarhoun played in 16 league games for Rizespor that season and the club finished mid-table in 11th position. [12] [7] Abarhoun made 20 league for Rizespor in the 2019–20 season before illness ended his career. [7] His last match was a 2–1 defeat at home to İstanbul Başakşehir on 24 February 2020. [13] He also made one cup appearance, during a 2–1 loss away to Galatasaray in the second leg of the 8th round of the Turkish Cup on 23 January 2020. [7]
Abarhoun played nine games for the Morocco under-20 team and eight for the under-23 team. [3] [14] This included three appearances at the 2012 Summer Olympics where the team drew two games and lost one to finish third in Group D. [3] [15] He made his senior international debut in 2013 and went on to earn seven international caps. [2]
In February 2020 Abarhoun reported feeling sick prior to a league match against Trabzonspor. He was taken to Istanbul's Acıbadem Hospital and was diagnosed with stomach cancer. [16] [17] [18] In June 2020 a Rizespor spokesman claimed that Abarhoun was seriously ill and expected that he would not return to playing football. [19] He was released by Rizespor at the end of the season, but continued to receive financial support from the club for his condition. [16] [17]
Abarhoun announced that he was recovering and feeling better in October 2020 and was hopeful of a return to football, but he died of the disease on 2 December 2020, at the age of 31. [3]