Nabil El Zhar, Liverpool
Here we have one of my favourite reserve players (along with Craig Lindfield), Nabil "ElZhario" El Zhar. This player certainly has something special and I believe he has what it takes to become Liverpool's next big thing.
Nabil was born on the 27th August 1986 in Alès, France. Although born in France, El Zhar opted to play internationally for the country of his parents, Morocco. However he has represented France at youth level. In the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship El Zhar was one of the stars of the tournament, and helped guide Morocco to the semi-finals, where they were defeated 3-0 by Nigeria. Morocco ended the tournament in fourth place after a 2-1 loss to Brazil.
Nabil El Zhar is currently involved in the Liverpool set up, having been unhappy with the new contract offer from Saint-Étienne. He made his debut for Liverpool reserves against Sunderland on 28 September 2006. Following that match, he signed a contract with Liverpool and made his official debut against Newcastle in a reserves match on 3 October 2006. He scored his first goal, from the penalty spot, in a reserve 'mini-derby' against Everton on 10 October 2006.
El Zhar was named as a substitute for Liverpool on 29th November 2006 for the home game against Portsmouth and was brought on in the 71st minute for Luis Garcia. His second appearance also came against Portsmouth, in the away game on 28th April 2007, coming on for Momo Sissoko in the 83rd minute and almost creating a goal for Craig Bellamy. He got another 26 minutes under his belt during the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on 5th May 2007, when he replaced Jermaine Pennant.
El Zhar never got a chance to shine in the first team, even though he played consistently well in the reserves. Nabil is naturally gifted with great technique and brings flair to any team he plays in. He is certainly one for the future to look out for, and will surely be given more opportunities next season, (I hope so anyway).
Age: 20 (27/8/86)
Foot: R
Position: WF* SS SMF
Attack: 72
Defence: 38
Balance: 72
Stamina: 76
Top Speed: 84
Acceleration: 85
Response: 73
Agility: 85
Dribble Accuracy: 79
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Acc.: 69
Short Pass Spd.: 68
Long Pass Acc.: 72
Long Pass Spd.: 70
Shot Accuracy: 73
Shot Power: 77
Shot Technique: 71
FK Accuracy: 66
Curling: 71
Header: 67
Jump: 77
Technique: 84
Aggression: 83
Mentality: 62
GK Skills: 50
Teamwork: 66
Consistency: 4
Condition/Fitness: 5
Weaker Foot Acc.: 5
Weaker Foot Freq: 5
Tactical dribble*