
Arguably one of the most skilful footballer ever to don a Sky Blue shirt and a star of the 1998 World Cup with Morocco, Hadji arrived from Spanish giants Deportivo La Corunna for a club record £4 million in 1999. His fellow countryman Youssef Chippo arrived at the same time and with McAllister and Keane also in great form, City were dubbed the entertainers after several thrilling home games on Sky television. City were virtually unstoppable at home and Hadji, playing in the hole behind the strikers, put in some virtuoso performances, none more so than the Christmas win over Arsenal and a 3-2 win over Sunderland when Hadji had a hand in all three goals. The following season, without McAllister and Keane was hard for the Sky Blues and ‘Mous’ failed to lift the gloom. In the vital penultimate game at Villa Park he scored two great first-half goals but could do nothing to stop the inevitable defeat and relegation. As one of the club’s finest assets it was inevitable that he would leave and City reluctantly accepted a bid of £4.5 million from Aston Villa. Since Villa he has played for Espanol in Spain, Saarbrucken in Germany, and Al Ain in Arabia.
Free kick goals (2)
1999-00
16 October 1999 v Newcastle United H
2000-01
16 September 2000 v Arsenal A
























































































































































Morocco, 16 caps, 3 goals
Selected for the 2000 African Nations Cup squad (#7).
1999-00
7 September 1999 Belgium v Morocco, Liege, friendly, 4-0
17 November 1999 Morocco v USA, Marrakesh, friendly, 2-1, goal (pen)
21 December 1999 Morocco v Senegal, Agadir, friendly
18 January 2000 Morocco v Trinidad & Tobago, El Jadida, 2000 African Nations Cup Qualification, 1-0, goal
25 January 2000 Morocco v Congo, Lagos, 2000 African Nations Cup Group D, 1-0
29 January 2000 Morocco v Tunisia, Lagos, 2000 African Nations Cup Group D, 0-0, replaced
3 February 2000 Nigeria v Morocco, Lagos, 2000 African Nations Cup Group D, 0-2
9 April 2000 Gambia v Morocco, Bakau, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, 0-1, replaced
22 April 2000 Morocco v Gambia, Casablanca, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, 2-0
2000-01
2 September 2000 Gabon v Morocco, Libreville, 2002 African Nations Cup Qualification, 2-0
13 January 2001 Tunisia v Morocco, Tunis, 2002 African Nations Cup Qualification, 0-1, replaced
28 January 2001 Egypt v Morocco, Cairo, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group C, 0-0
24 February 2001 Morocco v Senegal, Rabat, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group C, 0-0, replaced
24 March 2001 Morocco v Tunisia, Rabat, 2002 African Nations Cup Qualification, 2-0, replaced
21 April 2001 Morocco v Namibia, Rabat, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group C, 3-0
30 June 2001 Morocco v Egypt, Rabat, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group C, 1-0, goal, replaced
Other caps for various clubs including Sporting, Deportivo La Coruna and Aston Villa (total 63 caps, 12 goals)
African Footballer of the Year 1998
Selected for the 1994 and1998 FIFA World Cup squads.
Selected for the 1998 African Nations Cups squad all before joining City.
Assistant mananger of Morocco national team 2014-2022