Zakaria Zerouali
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 Zerouali in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zakaria Zerouali | ||
| Date of birth | 24 May 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Berkane, Morocco | ||
| Date of death | 3 October 2011 (aged 33) | ||
| Place of death | Casablanca, Morocco | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998-2002 | Renaissance Berkane | ||
| 2002–2005 | Mouloudia Oujda | ||
| 2005–2010 | Raja Casablanca | - | (1) |
| 2011–2011 | Raja Casablanca | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004–2009 | Morocco | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 3 October 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 October 2011 (UTC) | |||
Zakaria Zerouali (Arabic: زكريا الزروالي; 24 May 1978 – 3 October 2011) was a Moroccan football defender.
He played for the Morocco national football team.[1]
Zakaria Zerouali was transferred to Raja CA in 2005 after his good performance with MC Oujda. He was called a few times to play for the national team and had two appearances, first in 2004 against Burkina Faso in a friendly game in Rabat and second in 2009 against Cameroon during the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers in Fez, Morocco.
In May, 2010 CAF suspended Zerouali for one year from any national and international competition because he had spat and kicked at the Malawian referee Kalyoto Robert Ngosi after the end of the Champions League game between Raja CA and Atlético Petróleos de Luanda in Luanda where they lost by the score of 1–0. After Zerouali had died, Rachid Boussairi, ex-Chairman of the Technical Commission, said: "Zerouali told me that he unconsciously did that to the referee because the African Champions League was a dream for him, and that came after the Malawian wasn't fair with Raja CA during the away match".
After the suspension Raja CA didn't extend Zerouali's contract, therefore the player stayed without a club for one season. But after the team had a lot suffered from the left back position especially with the successive injuries of Hicham Mahdoufi, the club decided on 14 June 2011 to sign a two years contract with Zerouali.
