SHis parents named him Abdelhak, but everyone knew him as Appie. He had everything to succeed and 2017 seemed his year. With his last name, Nouri, on his back, the Ajax footballer was one of the players with the most future in Europe. Not surprisingly, three years earlier ‘The Guardian’ included him in its selection of the best promises on the planet, along with names like Rben Neves, Ousmane Dembl and Youri Tielemans.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Nouri, of Moroccan descent, He led with three of his best friends, Frenkie de Jong, Donny Van de Beek and Matthijs de Ligt, a magnificent batch at Ajax. Moreover, with them he was proclaimed three times champion of the Netherlands in youth, sharing trivot with Van de Beek and De Jong. Of the three, Nouri was the most skilled. The one who always dares.
Along with them Appie also got the runner-up in the second Dutch division with the Ajax subsidiary, in 16-17. A year in which Nouri won the Best Player of the League award, in which he scored 10 goals and distributed 11 assists. His skills caught the attention of Peter Bosz, then head of the first team, who led him in 15 games. With 34 on the back he made his debut with a goal, in the Cup against Willem II. Dream baptism. Later, he played the Eredivisie and the Europa League. In both competitions Ajax came second. In parallel, Nouri debuted with the Netherlands under-21s and in the summer of 2017 he won the record with the ‘greatest’ of the club of his life. The world was at his feet.
But everything changed only a few days later. On July 8 (it’s just been four years old), playing in preseason against Werder Bremen, the young man collapsed due to a cardiac arrhythmia. The skilled footballer’s heart failed as his career took off. I went into cardiorespiratory arrest, just like Christian Eriksen a few weeks ago in the Eurocup. And, like the ’10’ from Denmark, Nouri was also revived. Although the maneuvers lasted longer, leaving the footballer “serious and irreversible brain damage” that made him go into a coma. And later, in a persistent vegetative state, a situation from which it is practically impossible to recover and which condemned him to live in a hospital bed.
What happened with Nouri was a worldwide shock, one of those who remember how ephemeral everything is. But in March 2020, yeIn a phenomenon with few medical precedents, Nouri woke up and came back to life. Although, yes, in difficult conditions. He communicates with his eyebrows (he raised one, for example, when De Jong told him he was going to sign for Barcelona) and even, from time to time, he smiles. He also sleeps, eats and sneezes, although he does not speak and is dependent for almost everything. “But at least we have him home again, after three years in a hospital,” said Abderrahim, Appie’s brother.
From home, Nouri continues to enjoy her passion, albeit in a different way. Every day he spends hours with his brother watching games on television. And those moments are worth gold to Appie, who loves football. “He had a tremendous talent, which made a difference. He was going to be a star, to conquer the world. And he was not the type who was engrossed in his mobile and his helmets, but always wanted to learn. It seemed that nothing could stop him“recalled his great friend Amin Younes, a footballer for Eintracht and an international with Germany.
Unforgettable 34
In honor of Appie, in fact, Younes began to wear number 34 on his jacket. And so did Van de Beek, Justin Kluivert, Joel Veltman, Kevin Diks or Philippe Sandler. Two years ago Ajax won their 34th title in the Eredivisie and dedicated it to Nouri, whose contract with the Amsterdam club expired on June 30, 2020. It was not renewed, in a gesture, by the way, that was widely criticized by football and by the Nouri family, who have taken Ajax to court for the protocol that was followed when Appie collapsed.
Although litigation aside, the Amsterdam squad also named Nouri for the award that recognizes the best player of the year in his quarry. The trophy is in the shape of a heart drawn with the hands, which was how Appie celebrated his goals. A muscle, precisely, which was the one that failed him four years ago … shattering a soccer player’s dream.
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