Faissal Al Mazyani named Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month
Faissal Al Mazyani has won his first individual award in the Eredivisie. The 20-year-old right-back from RKC Waalwijk has been named Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month. He performed the best of all players under 21 since the start of the season last month.
RKC Waalwijk is climbing the standings
RKC Waalwijk has made an impressive recovery in the Eredivisie over the past month. Despite a narrow defeat against Ajax in the Johan Cruyff ArenA (2-1), the Waalwijk side held Sparta Rotterdam to a draw (1-1). The highlight came last weekend with a convincing 2-0 win over Willem II at the Mandemakers Stadion. With these four points, RKC Waalwijk moved up from last place, leaving Almere City FC at the bottom of the table.
Defensively strong
The former Belgian youth international (U17 and U18) and multiple-time Moroccan youth international (U20 and U23) made his Eredivisie debut in October and has since become a key player in coach Henk Fraser's starting lineup. Al Mazyani excelled defensively with impressive statistics: he regained possession 27 times (the most of any player), recorded 12 interceptions (the most), and ranked in the top 4 of the league with 7 successful tackles. He also contributed offensively, with 225 touches, at least 44 more than any other RKC player.
Amounts for foundations
As part of the award, Faissal Al Mazyani receives a cheque prize of €2,500 from the VriendenLoterij for the RKC Foundation, the club's CSR branch. Additionally, an amount of €5,000 will be donated to the Johan Cruyff Foundation to support social and sports initiatives.
Al Mazyani also makes history as the first RKC Waalwijk player to win a monthly award in the nine-year history of this election. Last month, he surpassed players such as Thijmen Blokzijl and Mats Rots in the race for the title.
The award was presented by ESPN presenter Fresia Cousiño Arias. You can watch the interview here.
About the election
The election for the Eredivisie Player of the Month, the Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month, and the Eredivisie Team of the Month is based on Opta statistics and votes from football fans (KPN Man of the Match). These criteria also play a role in the selection of the Eredivisie Player of the Year and Johan Cruyff Talent of the Year. These awards are presented at the end of the season during the Eredivisie Awards. The monthly elections are an initiative of Eredivisie CV in collaboration with ESPN, VriendenLoterij, and the Cruyff Foundation.
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