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When Manchester United decided to secure the signing of Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich last summer, doubts were raised about the effectiveness of the player due to his injury record.
In his two seasons with the Bundesliga giants, he had never played more than 29 games. In fact, the most appearances he has mustered in his senior career were 35 games back in 2021/22 for Ajax.
In his debut campaign for the Red Devils, the Moroccan had played 55 times in all competitions, starting 13 successive matches before he was rested against Brentford. At Bayern, he started a total of 15 games last season.
This highlights his importance to the United machine. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that INEOS spent only an initial £12.8 million, the club’s most frugal summer buy.
Noussair Mazraoui’s increase in fitness levels
Mazraoui is only behind skipper Bruno Fernandes for outfield minutes in the Premier League for the Old Trafford side, and he told The Athletic that changing his diet, specifically cutting out fizzy, sugary drinks has been a huge help.
“Yeah, you would say that it’s strange to play even more games. I changed some things, some small details. I think in the top of football, details really matter.
“I’m not drinking any sodas anymore. Fizzy drinks. It changes a lot, I think, because the sugar, you don’t get it in your body anymore. So just water makes a huge difference eventually.
“It was just to try to see if there’s any difference. I know sugar is really bad for your body, but it’s really nice to have a little drink of it with dinner.”
Sugary colas will definitely be on the menu for the Morocco international should the 20-time English league champions overcome Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
Mazraoui’s versatility
Under Ruben Amorim, the 27-year-old has played as a right centre-back, left centre-back, right wingback, and left wingback while curiously, former boss Erik ten Hag had even played him as an attacking midfielder.
His versatility has definitely proven to be a huge asset for managers. But as he pointed out very clearly, he definitely prefers the right centre-back position in Amorim’s system.
“In the right centre-back, I really like to go forward with the ball, so in the build-up and break the lines. I’m comfortable on the ball.
“Wing-back, a lot of times you come in a right wing position. For that, you really need like Amad one-v-one skill. That’s maybe not my biggest strength.”
Much like his teammates, the former Ajax ace also took time to adapt to the new coach’s style but he now feels much more confident about how to go about things while adhering to the set principles.
Season ending aims
“In the beginning, some things were not going automatically. So instead of going forward, you had to go on the break and stay in your position. But eventually, now after a couple of months, this system, everybody knows what to do.”
Obviously, the Premier League season has been a huge disappointment with many terming it unfair that either United or Spurs could potentially qualify for the Champions League if they win in Bilbao, something the defender wants to accomplish for the fans.
While many want to paint the accomplishment in a negative light, Mazraoui felt winning a trophy is always special and he will cherish a great end to a poor season if the team can get over the line at the San Mames stadium.
“Winning a trophy is never easy. I think in any case you don’t downgrade that, because you have to fight hard to get into the position to win a trophy. You have to beat opponents who are strong and who are also really hungry to be in that final.
“Eventually, I think if you look back at your career, at this season, you’re going to be proud of winning, if we win on Wednesday, the Europa League, more than you’re going to look at the failure in the Premier League.”
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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