Leila Ouahabi El Ouahabi (born 22 March 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Spain national team. She has also played for Catalonia regional team.
 Ouahabi with Barcelona in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leila Ouahabi El Ouahabi | ||
| Date of birth | 22 March 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Mataró, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester City | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vilassar de Mar | |||
| 2007–2009 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | Barcelona B | ||
| 2011–2013 | Barcelona | 21 | (2) |
| 2013–2016 | Valencia | 85 | (3) |
| 2016–2022 | Barcelona | 86 | (1) |
| 2022– | Manchester City | 40 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2012 | Spain under-19 | 11 | (1) |
| 2016– | Spain | 49 | (1) |
| 2014– | Catalonia | 3 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:35, 16 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:12, 31 January 2023 (UTC) | |||
Born in Catalonia, Ouahabi played youth football with Barcelona before being elevated to become a first team player for the 2011–12 season. She left Barcelona to join Valencia in 2013, before returning to the club in 2016. She had won numerous accolades with Barcelona, which includes the UEFA Women's Champions League, Primera División, and Copa de la Reina. She left Barcelona to join Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
A full international since 2016, Ouahabi had represented the Spain national team in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.
Early life
editOuahabi was born in Mataró, Spain to a family of Moroccan origin.[1] Growing up, she would play futsal with her brother and at one point joined a futsal team of eleven other boys.[2] The first club she joined was a girl's youth team of the club UE Vilassar de Mar.[3]
Club career
editBarcelona
editOuahabi was thirteen when she joined Barcelona's youth teams in 2007.[4] After five years of elevating through the ranks of La Masia, she became a first-team player for the 2011–12 season. This season saw Barcelona achieve their first ever league title win. Ouahabi was frustrated with a lack of playing time after playing a second year in the Spanish Primera División with Barcelona.
Valencia
editShe joined Valencia in 2013,[5] where she remained until 2016.
Return to Barcelona
editIn the summer of 2016, Ouahabi re-signed with Barcelona from Valencia.[6]
She won three Primera División titles, five Copa de la Reina titles, two Supercopa de España titles and the UEFA Women's Champions League in her second spell at Barcelona, including the continental treble of Primera División, Copa de la Reina and Champions League in 2021.[7]
Manchester City
editOuahabi joined Manchester City from Barcelona in 2022 on a two-year deal.[8] She made her club debut in a UEFA Women's Champions League tie against FC Tomiris Turan on 19 August 2022, [9] and her goal debut in the first minute of a 5-0 victory against West Ham United, on 21 April 2024.[10]
International career
editOuahabi has played for Spain's U19 national team.[11]
Ouahabi earned her first senior national team callup in February 2016 under newly appointed Spain coach Jorge Vilda.[12] A month later, Ouahabi made her senior international debut for Spain on 4 March 2016, starting a 0–0 friendly draw with Romania in Mogoșoaia.[13]
In February 2017, Ouahabi was called up to the Spain squad for the 2017 Algarve Cup, her first call-up for a senior national team tournament.[14] Her first international goal turned out to be the winning goal in the 2017 Algarve Cup final against Canada.
At the 2019 Women's World Cup Ouahabi started one group stage match, a 0–0 draw against China. The draw was enough to get them past the group stages for the first time in Spain's history where they would then face the United States in the Round of 16. Ouahabi started that Round of 16 match, where Spain had a convincing performance but lost 1–2 against the eventual tournament winners. She ended the tournament having played 180 minutes.[15]
She was one of Las 15, a group of players who made themselves unavailable for international selection in September 2022 due to their dissatisfaction with head coach Jorge Vilda, and among the dozen who were not involved 11 months later as Spain won the World Cup.[16][17]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 21 November 2024[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona | 2010–11 | Primera División | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Primera División | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Primera División | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 2 | |||||
| València | 2013–14 | Primera División | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Primera División | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Primera División | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 92 | 3 | |||||
| Barcelona | 2016–17 | Primera División | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 1 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | Primera División | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Primera División | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Primera División | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Primera División | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Primera División | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 9[c] | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| Total | 109 | 2[c] | 16 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 168 | 4 | |||
| Manchester City | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 58 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 255 | 7 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 44 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 340 | 10 | ||
- ^ Includes Copa de la Reina de Fútbol, Women's FA Cup
- ^ Includes FA Women's League Cup
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearance(s) in UEFA Women's Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España Femenina
International
edit- As of match played 7 September 2022[19]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 18 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ouahabi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 March 2017 | Estádio Algarve, Algarve |  Canada
|
1–0 | 1-0 | 2017 Algarve Cup | [20] |
Honours
editBarcelona
- Primera División: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
- UEFA Women's Champions League: 2020–21[21]
- Copa de la Reina: 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Supercopa Femenina: 2019–20, 2021–22
- Copa Catalunya: 2017, 2018, 2019
Spain
References
edit- ^ Irigoyen, Juan I. (29 March 2017). "Leila: "En Marruecos igual no jugaría al fútbol"". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Soria, Miki (3 April 2019). "Leila Ouahabi Una de les nostres". esportiumaresme.cat. Esportiu Maresme. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ Paniagua, Raúl (21 March 2019). "Leila Ouahabi: "Estamos abriendo los ojos a mucha gente"". elperiodico.com. El Periodico. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ Irigoyen, Juan I. (29 March 2017). "Leila: "En Marruecos igual no jugaría al fútbol"". El País. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Profile at Valencia Féminas website". Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "Who has joined and left FC Barcelona this summer". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "The Treble is ours!". FC Barcelona. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ Edwards, John (8 June 2022). "CITY SEAL LEILA OUAHABI DEAL". www.mancity.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Manchester City 6-0 Tomiris-Turan: Player ratings as City progress in Champions League". 90min.com. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Cox, Sam (21 April 2024). "Record 13th successive WSL win moves City back to league's summit". mancity.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ Fernandez-Delgado, Ignacio (27 November 2013). "Un equipo para sentirse orgulloso/a". diariodemestalla.com. Diario de Mestalla. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ Menayo, David (22 February 2016). "Jorge Vilda continúa la revolución". marca.com. MARCA. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "4 newcomers to the Spanish squad". Royal Spanish Football Federation. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ Menayo, David (20 February 2017). "Jorge Vilda ya tiene a sus 23 elegidas para disputar la Copa Algarve". marca.com. MARCA. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ - Players - Leila OUAHABI - Leila Ouahabi". fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Jorge Vilda Recalls Players Who Resigned Back Into His Spanish World Cup Squad, Asif Burhan, Forbes, June 12, 2023
- ^ Spain v Sweden: Las 15+3, An International Team In Chaos And Lonely Jorge Vilda, Simon Lillicrap, The Sportsman, 14 August 2023
- ^ "Spain - Leila Ouahabi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
- ^ "Spain - Leila Ouahabi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
- ^ "Spain vs. Canada - 8 March 2017 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona: Barça surge to first Women's Champions League title". UEFA.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
External links
edit- Leila Ouahabi at BDFutbol
- Leila Ouahabi at ESPN FC
- Leila Ouahabi at FBref.com
- Leila Ouahabi at Soccerway
- Leila Ouahabi on Twitter
