Originally from Morocco, the PAOK midfielder was born in Brussels on August 21, 1990. He took his first steps into football at the Diegem Sport Academy and distinguished himself from a very young age, attracting the attention of the country’s big clubs as a result. RSC Anderlecht won the race to sign him and he was drafted into club’s reserve team, where he played for two seasons from 2006 to 2008. Since he did not get many opportunities in the first team, this led him to decide to seek his future elsewhere.

Chasing the dream in Italy

Brescia offered him a new perspective and although he was only 18 years old, he did not hesitate to leave his country to play in Serie B. He was given several opportunities with the reserve team, and produced some excellent performances. His debut was not long in coming, and it finally came on March 29, 2009.

The following season he played several times for the first team and in the 2010-11 season he was then loaned to FC Südtirol in order to gain more experience. He returned to Brescia much stronger and in May 2012 finished the season with 40 appearances and seven goals in Serie B and the Coppa Italia. His appearances did not go unnoticed by Italy’s bigger clubs and the transfer scenarios began to appear.

Naples Chapter

Napoli was the club which put their faith in him. El Kaddouri became a member of a first-team squad which had high competition for places. In his first year he managed to make 14 appearances – half of those coming in the Europa League – scoring one goal and providing one assist.

His role, however, did not satisfy him. He wanted to go to a club where he would play a bigger part and feel important. And he found his Ithaca in Torino. He enjoyed two appearance-packed and impressive seasons there, playing in 76 games, scoring nine goals and contributing 16 assists. He became a vital cog in the team’s impressive form in the Europa League, managing for the first time to show his true talent.

Napoli fans demanded his return to the team, but while the management listened to them, they could not also leave Marek Hamsik on the bench. Maurizio Sarri used El Kaddouri in in various positions, but he never got a solid run of consecutive games. He finished the season having made 20 appearances, scoring one goal and providing two assists, in only 230 minutes in total.

The following summer he decided to stay with the club, but he was not registered for the Champions League games, came off the bench just five times as a substitute, and by January he left to join Empoli, who spent € 1.2 million to sign him in order to help them battle against relegation. The club did not succeed in achieving its goal and El Kaddouri requested a transfer. PAOK was the club that won the race for his signature.

In his first season at the Double-headed Eagle, although he struggled with injuries, he managed to make 21 appearances, and scored two goals, while also providing one assist. He also celebrated a Greek Cup win.

From Belgium … Morocco

In November 2011 he was called up to the Belgium Under-21 side and he played in two games, scoring one goal against England in the European Championship qualifiers. Shortly afterwards, an invitation came from the Moroccan Olympic team, with El Kaddouri accepting it and participating in the 2012 London Olympics.

On 14 August 2013, he made his full debut for the Moroccan national team in a friendly against Burkina Faso, and he has been a key member of the squad ever since, with 27 appearances and five goals to his name so far.

His record at PAOK

In five years in Thessaloniki, El Kaddouri has made 149 appearances, while he has scored 10 goals and contributed 13 assists, winning one Greek league title and three Greek Cups.