Yassine Bounou has become a national hero, the 31-year-old Sevilla goalkeeper has a unique story. Born in Canada, he’d eventually go to Morocco with his family and began his career at local club Wydad Casablanca, but he’d make a name for himself in Spain.
After breaking in with Atlético Madrid’s reserve side, Bounou would eventually play for Zaragoza, Girona, and now starting currently for Sevilla.
So how does a Moroccan goalkeeper born in Canada playing in LaLiga become a die-hard supporter of River Plate in Argentina? The story is an amazing one.
Yassine Bounou – River Plate fan
Yassine Bounou’s first ever soccer jersey was an Argentina national team kit, his admiration for Argentine soccer turned him into a River Plate fan, where he would eventually come to idolize former playmaker and Argentina World Cup veteran Ariel Ortega.
Bounou’s fandom for Argentine soccer’s all-time winningest club knew no limits as he’d eventually become a member of the Moroccan supporters’ club of River Plate and even traveled to see River win the Copa Libertadores against Boca Juniors in Madrid in 2018.
At Atlético Madrid, one of Diego Simeone’s assistants was legendary River Plate goalkeeper German Burgos, who worked with Bounou and told him about his experiences as River Plate’s number 1. Bounou even traveled to Japan to watch River Plate participate in the Club World Cup the year they defeated Boca Juniors.
Recently Argentine journalist Javier Gil Navarro was able to get the Morocco number 1 a signed Ariel Ortega jersey and a video message from his idol. Bounou was ecstatic, and now the video has gone viral.