Walid Azaro

Walid Azaro (Arabic: وليد أزارو; born 11 June 1995) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ajman and the Moroccan national team.^[3][4]

Walid Azaro

Azaro with Al Ahly in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Walid Azaro[1]
Date of birth	(1995-06-11) 11 June 1995 (age 30)[1]
Place of birth	Ait Melloul, Morocco
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Ajman
Number	9
Youth career
2008–2015	Adrar Union Athletique Souss
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	Difaâ El Jadidi	53	(18)
2017–2020	Al Ahly	60	(26)
2020	→ Al-Ettifaq (loan)	7	(3)
2020–2022	Al-Ettifaq	42	(11)
2022–	Ajman	71	(33)
International career‡
2017–	Morocco A'	15	(11)
2017–	Morocco	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 February 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2024 (UTC)

After beginning his career in his home country, he joined Al Ahly in 2017 and finished as the Egyptian Premier League's top goalscorer in his first season. He made his international debut for Morocco in 2017.

Club career

Azaro was born in Aït Melloul.^[5][6] He started his career with Adrar Souss in the third division of the Moroccan league.^[7] He joined Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi in 2015, signing for them on a three-year contract. During the 2016–17 season, he finished as the club's top goalscorer with twelve league goals.^[3]

In June 2017, Azaro turned down several offers from European clubs to join Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly on a four-year deal for a fee of $1.4 million, despite Moroccan national team manager Hervé Renard attempting to convince him to move to Europe.^[8] His transfer saw him become the first Moroccan to play for the club.^[9]

In his first season with the club, Azaro scored 18 league goals to finish as the top goalscorer in the Egyptian Premier League and help Al-Ahly win their 40th league title.^[10] His tally saw him break the record for the most goals scored by a foreign player in the Egyptian Premier League, surpassing the previous record of 17 jointly held by Flávio Amado and John Utaka.^[11] He also surpassed Stanley Ohawuchi's record for the most goals scored in the Egyptian Premier League by a player in their first season.^[12] He also scored the only goal of the 2017 Egyptian Super Cup and scored a hat-trick against Tunisian side Étoile Sportive du Sahel in the semi-final of the 2017 CAF Champions League.^[13] His performances attracted attention from several clubs and Al Ahly rejected an offer from Saudi club Al-Nassr of William Jebor plus a cash sum.^[14]

In October 2020, Azaro agreed to join Saudi club Al-Ettifaq on a permanent deal for two years, after being on loan since January.^[15] On 30 January 2022, Azaro was released by Al-Ettifaq.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 February 2025^[17]

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
DHJ	2015–16	Botola	25	6	2	1	–		–		–		27	7
	2016–17		28	12	5	2	–		–		–		33	14
	Total		53	18	8	3	–		–		–		61	21
Al Ahly	2017–18	EPL	30	18	1	1	–		8	6	2	2	41	27
	2018–19		23	6	1	0	–		14	5	1	0	39	11
	2019–20		7	2	1	2	–		4	1	–		12	5
	Total		60	26	3	3	–		26	12	3	2	92	43
Al-Ettifaq	2019-20	SPL	7	3	0	0	–		–		–		7	3
	2020–21		25	9	1	0	–		–		–		26	9
	2021–22		17	2	1	0	–		–		–		18	2
	Total		49	14	2	0	–		–		–		51	14
Ajman	2021–22	UPL	12	5	0	0	0	0	–		–		12	5
	2022–23		26	12	5	2	1	0	–		–		32	14
	2023–24		20	12	2	0	2	2	–		–		24	14
	2024–25		12	4	1	0	2	1	–		–		15	5
	Total		71	33	8	2	5	3	–		–		84	38
Career total			233	91	21	8	5	3	26	12	3	2	288	116

1. Includes Moroccan Throne Cup, UAE President's Cup
2. Includes UAE League Cup

International career

Azaro made his debut for Morocco on 24 March 2017 as a substitute during a 2–0 victory over Burkina Faso.^[18] He was named in Morocco's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup but was later omitted from the final squad.^[19]

Honours

Club

Al Ahly^[20]

• Egyptian Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
• Egyptian Cup: 2016–17
• Egyptian Super Cup: 2018

Individual

• (Mars d'Or) Moroccan Footballer of the Year: 2017
• Egyptian Premier League Best Striker: 2017–18
• Egyptian Premier League top goalscorer: 2017–18

See also

• Association football portal
• Morocco portal

• List of Al Ahly SC records and statistics