Diyaeddine Abzi
 Abzi in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 November 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Fez, Morocco | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2017 | FS Salaberry | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | AS Blainville | 20 | (2) |
| 2019–2022 | York United | 64 | (7) |
| 2022–2024 | Pau FC | 29 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | → Leganés (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Canada (futsal) | 1 | (1) |
| 2021 | Canada U23 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2021 | |||
Diyaeddine Abzi (born 23 November 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays as a left-back. Born in Morocco, he represented Canada at youth international level.
Early life
[edit]Born in Fez, Morocco, Abzi moved to Montreal at age nine, where he began playing youth soccer with FS Salaberry.[1]
In 2015, Abzi played for FS Salaberry at the U21 level, scoring one goal in three appearances.[2] The following year, he made he played at the senior amateur debut with Salaberry in LSEQ Division 2 and made a total of six appearances that season as Salaberry earned promotion to D1.[3] At the U21 level for Salaberry that year, he scored fourteen goals in thirteen appearances. In 2017, Abzi scored ten goals in thirteen appearances for Salaberry in D1, leading the club and finishing third in league scoring.[4] In U21 play, Abzi scored 26 goals in 15 appearances.
Club career
[edit]In 2018, Abzi played for defending PLSQ champions Blainville, making twenty appearances and scoring two goals in league play.[5] In the Canadian Championship, Abzi scored the lone goal in Blainville's 1–0 win over Oakville Blue Devils in the second leg of the First Preliminary Round.[6] He then appeared as a substitute in both games of Blainville's Second Preliminary Round series against Ottawa Fury.[7]
In February 2019, Abzi signed with Canadian Premier League side York9 (later York United).[6] On 27 April 2019, he made his professional debut as a substitute in the inaugural CPL match against Forge FC.[7] Abzi scored his first goal for the club on 12 October 2019, against Forge.[8] That season, he made a total of 24 league appearances and six in the Canadian Championship.[7] In December 2019, Abzi re-signed with York for the 2020 season.[9] On 29 April 2020, he signed a further contract extension until at least 2022.[10] In 2021, he continued to play a crucial role for York, and was described as "one of the most dynamic and talented" players in the league.[11] York finished in fourth place in the regular season, which qualified them to the semifinals, where they were defeated by Forge FC. Scoring 6 goals and 3 assists that season as a fullback, at the conclusion of the season he was ranked the 4th best player in the league.[12] There was interest from Major League Soccer club Toronto FC to bring him in for a trial, however, an injury prevented Abzi from attending.[13] At the time of his departure in the summer of 2022, he was York's all-time appearance leader.[14]
In June 2022, York United announced the transfer of Abzi to French club Pau FC of Ligue 2, effective 1 July, where he signed a three-year contract.[15][16] He made his debut for Pau on July 30 in their season opener, starting the match and playing the full 90 minutes in a 4-0 defeat to Guingamp.[17] Abzi scored his first goal for Pau against Paris FC on January 31, 2023.[18] In August 2023, it was announced that Abzi would be loaned out to La Liga 2 club Leganés for the 2023-24 season, with an option for a permanent transfer.[19] At the end of the season, the option was not picked up, and he was also released by Pau.[20]
In June 2024, it was announced that he failed a drug test for marijuana and was banned for 2 years by the French Anti-Doping Agency.[21]
International career
[edit]Canada Futsal
[edit]In January 2018, Abzi played futsal for Canada in a friendly against Costa Rica, netting a goal in a 5-4 defeat.[22]
Canada
[edit]Abzi was called up to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020 and made one appearance for the side against Mexico.[23] On February 26, 2024, Abzi was named to the Canada men's national soccer team provisional roster for the 2024 Copa América qualifying play-offs against Trinidad and Tobago.[24]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of 18 February 2024[7]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AS Blainville | 2018[25] | Première Ligue de soccer du Québec | 20 | 2 | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 3 | |
| York United | 2019 | Canadian Premier League | 24 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2021 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 6 | |||
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 8 | ||
| Pau FC | 2022–23 | Ligue 2 | 29 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 32 | 2 | ||
| Leganés (loan) | 2023–24 | La Liga 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 117 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 137 | 11 | ||
Honours
[edit]Leganés
References
[edit]- ^ Diyaeddine Abzi at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ "Diyaeddine Abzi 2015". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Diyaeddine Abzi 2016". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Diyaeddine Abzi 2017". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Diyaeddine Abzi 2018". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "York9 FC adds left fullback Diyaeddine Abzi". Canadian Premier League. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Diyaeddine Abzi". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ Wall, Jeff (13 October 2019). "York9 get last laugh, dominate Forge 4-0 in final 905 Derby of the season". Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ Armen Bedakian (4 December 2019). "York9 FC re-sign top fullback pairing Abzi, Doner for 2020". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "Diyaeddine Abzi Signs Contract Extension With York9 FC". York9 FC. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "York United fullback Diyaeddine Abzi transferred to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC". Canadian Premier League. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ "CPL50 - 4. Diyaeddine Abzi (York United)". Canadian Premier League. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
- ^ Jacques, John (19 August 2022). "'I Made A Big Leap In Level': Abzi Reflects On Pau Transfer". Northern Tribune.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (22 June 2022). "'I enjoyed all these moments': Abzi leaves untouchable legacy at York United ahead of Pau FC move". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (15 June 2022). "York United fullback Diyaeddine Abzi transferred to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC".
- ^ @PauFootballClub (15 June 2022). "@Abzi__20 est 🟡🔵 ! Aprés s'être imposé comme l'un des meilleurs latéraux de CPL depuis plusieurs saisons, l'international espoirs canadien vient renforcer la défense du Pau FC pour les trois prochaines saisons. Bienvenue Diyaeddine ! 👑" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Gegat, Antoine (30 July 2022). "Ligue 2. Guingamp étrille Pau en ouverture du championnat". Ouest France.
- ^ Pau FC [@PauFootballClub] (31 January 2023). "Elle est enfin là Grâce à la première réalisation de @Abzi__20, les Palois retrouvent le chemin de la victoire" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 February 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "El C.D. Leganés refuerza su banda izquierda con Diyaeddine Abzi" [C.D. Leganés reinforces the left side with Diyaeddine Abzi]. CD Leganés (in Spanish). 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Ligue 2. Le Pau FC officialise le départ de sept joueurs" [Ligue 2. Pau FC formalizes the departure of seven players]. Sud Ouest (in French). 30 June 2024.
- ^ "Résumé de la décision relative à M. Diyaeddine Abzi" [Summary of the decision relating to Mr. Diyaeddine Abzi] (PDF). French Anti-Doping Agency. 3 June 2024.
- ^ "Canada earns valuable experience in two-match Futsal series against Costa Rica". 18 January 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Canada Soccer announces Provisional List for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Concacaf Nations League Play-In preliminary rosters announced". Concacaf.com. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
- ^ "PLSQ Stats Archive" (in French). TSI Sports. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
External links
[edit]
- Diyaeddine Abzi at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Diyaeddine Abzi at Soccerway