Aston Villa: The story of Dutch League champion Karim El Ahmadi
By Josh Tonti
Former Aston Villa midfielder Karim El Ahamdi is one of several stars nominated for Eredivisie Player of the Year. El Ahmadi was the midfield destroyer that led Feyenoord to an incredible league victory over perennial giants, Ajax Amsterdam.
Just four short years ago, Karim El Ahmadi was starting in midfield for Premier League strugglers Aston Villa. Under then-manager Paul Lambert, El Ahmadi was an anonymous player on an anonymous squad. Today, at the experienced age of 32, Karim El Ahmadi is an Eredivisie champion with the 2016/2017 victors, Feyenoord.
His performance throughout the season saw the Moroccan international win several player of the year accolades from the Dutch press. While the official current year award has not been announced, El Ahmadi is thought to be definitely in the running.
Karim El Ahmadi was nothing short of incredible for Feyenoord this season across all competitions.
In 36 club appearances, El Ahmadi scored six goals from his defensive midfield position. Moreover, he completed 88% of his passes to go alongside 3.4 tackles per match and 2.2 interceptions. He was a force on every third of the pitch this season.
El Ahmadi is yet another story of a player miscast among the misery under former owner Randy Lerner. Aston Villa have seen countless players leave the club, only to find success elsewhere.
He arrived at Villa Park in the summer of 2012 for a £2 million fee – from Feyenoord. Karim’s presence coincided with several years of pain in the Premier League. Year after year, the claret and blues barely scraped by with ~16th-place finishes. Ironically, it was Feyenoord who transferred in their former player back-in after El Ahmadi struggled to stake his claim at Aston Villa.
El Ahmadi has been a mainstay for the Rotterdam-side for years now. Before his two year intermission with Villa, Karim was a regular starter at both FC Twente and Feyenoord.
Now, he’s an Eredivisie and KNVB Cup champion