Ziyech-Like Qualities: Unexpected Player Rediscovery

Rafael van der Vaart enjoys Younes Taha’s game. The former top footballer of Ajax, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur believes that the 23-year-old playmaker of FC Groningen is a bit like Hakim Ziyech, although not much of that was visible on Saturday against NAC Breda.

“I thought he played really badly,” Van der Vaart says Studio Football about Taha. “You can see in everything that he can play football, but yesterday (Saturday, ed.) Nothing worked. That can sometimes happen. You see that he wants to go forward and score that goal, but everything was just… a bad assumption, a bit too far. It just wasn’t possible, and then you play a very bad match. That can just happen.”

  • FC Twente

Van der Vaart nevertheless remains enthusiastic about the attacking midfielder, who has been loaned to FC Groningen by FC Twente. “I believe in this player,” emphasizes the 109-time international. “He has the movements a bit like Ziyech. Not as good, but a bit the same. Only yesterday he was the worst on the field, given his qualities.”

Taha was good for three goals and three assists in eighteen Eredivisie matches at Groningen. He still has a contract with FC Twente until mid-2027.

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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