 Azaro withAl Ahly in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walid Azaro[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-06-11)11 June 1995 (age 29)[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) | |||
Walid Azaro (Arabic:وليد أزارو; born 11 June 1995) is a Moroccan professionalfootballer who plays as astriker forAjman and theMoroccan national team.[3][4]
After beginning his career in his home country, he joined Al Ahly in 2017 and finished as theEgyptian Premier League's top goalscorer in his first season. He made his international debut forMorocco in 2017.
Azaro was born inAït Melloul.[5][6] He started his career with Adrar Souss in the third division of the Moroccan league.[7] He joinedDifaâ 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 joinEgyptian Premier League clubAl Ahly on a four-year deal for a fee of $1.4 million, despiteMoroccan national team managerHervé 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 byFlávio Amado andJohn Utaka.[11] He also surpassedStanley 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 the2017 Egyptian Super Cup and scored a hat-trick against Tunisian sideÉtoile Sportive du Sahel in the semi-final of the2017 CAF Champions League.[13] His performances attracted attention from several clubs and Al Ahly rejected an offer from Saudi clubAl-Nassr ofWilliam Jebor plus a cash sum.[14]
In October 2020, Azaro agreed to join Saudi clubAl-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]
| 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 | ||
Azaro made his debut for Morocco on 24 March 2017 as a substitute during a 2–0 victory overBurkina Faso.[18] He was named in Morocco's preliminary squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup but was later omitted from the final squad.[19]
Al Ahly[20]
Individual
