If there was any doubt about just how in love with the game Soufiane Rahimi is, his answer to the age-old question of what career he would pursue if not a footballer should leave no doubt.
“I would choose football all over again,” he tells FIFA.
That, on the basis of the available evidence, would be a very wise move. Coming off arguably the best year of his career, the recently turned 29-year-old Al Ain forward heads to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in a rich vein of form.
In the recently concluded AFC Champions League Elite campaign the Moroccan hot-shot bagged five goals in seven matches. Even in the midst of a disappointing fifth-place finish for the club on the domestic front, Rahimi was still dominant, with 15 goals involvements in 26 UAE Pro League outings.
On top of all that he starred at Paris 2024, finishing as the top scorer in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, remarkably scoring in all six of Morocco’s fixtures as they ended up walking away with a bronze medal.
Not short of confidence, the prolific marksman has promised another glut of goals stateside.
“It’s true that this past year was a special one for me and I want keep striving to improve every year and make this one better than the last.
“Hopefully [at the Club World Cup] I’ll be one of the tournament’s top scorers or one of the players who makes an impact. I always say that nothing’s impossible in football.
“You need to believe in your abilities. Thankfully, I’m one of those players who does believe in their abilities, and I want to keep the same aspiration and level of focus that brought me success in the Champions League and at the Olympics.”
If the goals do indeed flow stateside then it’s probable that Al Ain will make a deep run in the tournament and that is also very much Rahimi’s focus.
“Just like any team that is taking part in this major tournament, we have great ambitions. We hope to live up to our fans’ expectations, as well as those of every football fan. Nothing is impossible in football. We’ll play with everything we’ve got and we hope to achieve our goal of representing Al Ain with pride.”
Firstly, the club known as the ‘Boss’ need to navigate a daunting Group G where they have been slotted alongside European heavyweights Manchester City and Juventus as well as African royalty in the shape of Wydad AC.
Far from being overawed, those are exactly the kind of challenges that excite one of the planet’s deadliest finishers.
“They’re huge teams. Each one of us wants to give their best and make the whole world notice. I want to give my all and I’ll make the world watch us. Facing big teams takes away any hesitation and removes all obstacles. These matches, as we said earlier, make men, and are played with passion and heart. Thank God, we’re playing against big teams that will make us perform well, God willing.
Having regularly experienced some of the most fervent atmospheres in Asia during his four seasons with Al Ain, the Moroccan ace is looking forward to sampling the atmosphere in the USA, at a tournament where he could cross paths with the one player he’s been longing to share a pitch with.
“The atmosphere is going to be awesome, especially as the tournament is bringing all these big teams together as well as those who won their continental championships and at venues which will also host the World Cup next year.
“That in itself is exciting and then you also consider all the legends that will be there. For me, one stands above all others though and that is Lionel Messi. Every player and fan in the world – and I was a fan before I was a player too – loves Messi.
“He’s one of the best players in the world and that’s why we’re so drawn to him and it would be amazing to play against him in America.”
