Yesterday’s ball collector, today’s World Cup star… How did Al Ain star Sufyan Rahimi conquer the impossible?

Sofiane Rahimi’s remarkable brilliance with the Moroccan national team in the 2026 World Cup, and the tears he shed after scoring his first goal in the tournament against Haiti, brought back to the forefront one of the most inspiring stories of struggle in Moroccan football… a journey that began on the side of Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, and ended with one of the most prominent stars of Morocco and Al Ain Club in recent years.

The words of his teammate, Ashraf Hakimi, summed up the extent of the journey that Rahimi took, after he confirmed after the Haiti match that the player’s tears were not just an emotional moment, but rather a reflection of long years of suffering, work, and sacrifices known to all members of the team.

Hakimi said: “If you know Sufyan Rahimi, where he came from, the difficult circumstances he went through, and the amount of effort and sacrifices he made to reach this level, you will understand why that moment was so influential. When he cried after the goal, we were all touched, and we almost cried with him, because he is one of us, and we know exactly what he went through to get here.”

Rahimi’s journey did not begin on the football field, as happened with many stars, but rather it began from the “Al Oasis” Center affiliated with Raja Sports Club, where his father, Mohamed Rahimi, was working in charge of the first team’s dressing room, after he was forced to end his career as a player due to an injury he suffered, to go to work within the club.

Sufyan grew up among the locker rooms and training fields. He spent long hours watching Raja’s stars and learning from them, before he became a ball collector in the first team’s matches, and he dreamed of the day when he would wear the club’s shirt as a player.

His path to the first team was not strewn with roses, as he suffered a series of injuries, most notably a knee injury. He also faced difficulties in reconciling studies and football, and his level declined at one stage, until he became close to leaving the field.

But the turning point came when he moved on loan to Najm Al-Shabab Club, one of the amateur league clubs, where he regained his self-confidence and presented an exceptional season during which he scored 17 goals in 28 matches, convincing Raja’s management to bring him back and grant him his first professional contract.

Rahimi quickly established himself with the first team, before his star shone on the continent when he scored two goals in the 2018 African Confederation Cup final against Vita Club, contributing to Raja winning the title. Then he continued to shine locally and continentally, becoming one of the team’s most prominent stars.

In the summer of 2021, he moved to Al Ain Club, to begin a new chapter in his career, during which he succeeded in establishing his position as one of the most important pillars of the team, and led it to win the AFC Champions League title. He also became one of the club’s top scorers in various local, continental and international tournaments.

Rahimi’s brilliance extended to the Moroccan national team, after he excelled with various Sunni groups, before he caught the attention in an exceptional manner at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when he was crowned top scorer in the tournament with eight goals, after which he continued his influential presence with the first team in major tournaments.