Diyaeddine Abzi

Diyaeddine Abzi (born 23 November 1998) is a professional soccer player who plays for La Liga 2 club Leganés, on loan from Ligue 2 club Pau FC as a left-back. Born in Morocco, he represented Canada at youth international level.

Diyaeddine Abzi
Abzi in 2019
Personal information
Full name Diyaeddine Abzi
Date of birth (1998-11-23) 23 November 1998
Place of birth Fez, Morocco
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Leganés (on loan from Pau)
Number 2
Youth career
Salaberry
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Salaberry 19 (10)
2018 Blainville 20 (2)
2019–2022 York United 64 (7)
2022– Pau FC 29 (1)
2023– → Leganés (loan) 2 (0)
International career‡
2018 Canada Futsal 1 (1)
2021 Canada U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 March 2021

Early life

Born in Fez, Morocco, Abzi moved to Montreal at age nine, where he began playing youth soccer with FS Salaberry.[1]

Club career

Salaberry

In 2015, Abzi played for FS Salaberry at the U21 level, scoring one goal in three appearances.[2] The following year, he made his senior 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.

Blainville

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]

York United

On 22 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]

On 4 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]

Pau

On 15 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]

Loan to Leganés

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]

International career

Canada Futsal

In January 2018, Abzi played futsal for Canada in a friendly against Costa Rica, netting a goal in a 5-4 defeat.[20]

Canada

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.[21]

Career statistics
As of 26 May 2023[7]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Other[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Salaberry 2015[22] LSEQ D2 00——1010
2016[22] LSEQ D2 60——0060
2017[22] LSEQ D1 1310——231513
Total 19100000332213
Blainville 2018[22] PLSQ 2023110—243
York United 2019 Canadian Premier League 24160——301
2020 Canadian Premier League 5000——50
2021 Canadian Premier League 25620—10286
2022 Canadian Premier League 10031——131
Total 6471110010768
Pau FC 2022–23 Ligue 2 291310000322
Leganés 2023–24 La Liga 2 0000000000
Career total 13220173104315426
  1. Includes appearances in the Canadian Championship.
  2. Includes appearances in the PLSQ Cup.
  3. Includes appearances in the Coupe du Québec and Canadian Premier League playoffs.

References
  1. Diyaeddine Abzi at the Canadian Soccer Association
  2. "Diyaeddine Abzi 2015". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. "Diyaeddine Abzi 2016". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  4. "Diyaeddine Abzi 2017". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  5. "Diyaeddine Abzi 2018". TSI Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. "York9 FC adds left fullback Diyaeddine Abzi". Canadian Premier League. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  7. "Diyaeddine Abzi". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  8. Wall, Jeff (October 13, 2019). "York9 get last laugh, dominate Forge 4-0 in final 905 Derby of the season".
  9. Armen Bedakian (4 December 2019). "York9 FC re-sign top fullback pairing Abzi, Doner for 2020". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. "Diyaeddine Abzi Signs Contract Extension With York9 FC". York9 FC. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. "York United fullback Diyaeddine Abzi transferred to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC". Canadian Premier League. 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  12. "CPL50 - 4. Diyaeddine Abzi (York United)". Canadian Premier League. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  13. Jacques, John (August 19, 2022). "'I Made A Big Leap In Level': Abzi Reflects On Pau Transfer". Northern Tribune.
  14. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 22, 2022). "'I enjoyed all these moments': Abzi leaves untouchable legacy at York United ahead of Pau FC move". Canadian Premier League.
  15. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 15, 2022). "York United fullback Diyaeddine Abzi transferred to French Ligue 2 side Pau FC".
  16. @PauFootballClub (June 15, 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.
  17. Gegat, Antoine (July 30, 2022). "Ligue 2. Guingamp étrille Pau en ouverture du championnat". Ouest France.
  18. Pau FC [@PauFootballClub] (January 31, 2023). "Elle est enfin là Grâce à la première réalisation de @Abzi__20, les Palois retrouvent le chemin de la victoire" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Twitter.
  19. "El C.D. Leganés refuerza su banda izquierda con Diyaeddine Abzi". CD Leganés. August 14, 2023.
  20. "Canada earns valuable experience in two-match Futsal series against Costa Rica". January 18, 2018.
  21. "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.
  22. "LESQ/PLSQ Stats Archive" (in French). TSI Sports. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
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