APPIE 4 EVER
Abdelhak Nouri was ‘incredible’ young Ajax star who was robbed of a career after a heart attack aged 20
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ACCORDING to those who played with him, Abdelhak Nouri was one of the best players coming out of the Ajax stable of his generation before his career was robbed from him.
Back in July 2017, the attacking midfield talent collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack at the tender age of 20 while playing in a preseason friendly against Werder Bremen.
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Nouri was in a coma for a year at an Amsterdam hospital, and was left with severe and permanent brain damage.
He is now out of hospital and at home, which has been specially adapted to fit his needs.
Nouri is in a wheelchair and is able to sit up, but now at 22 he is "dependent" on his family.
His brother Abderrahim told Dutch TV show De Wereld Draait Door: "I must say that since he is at home it is going much better than before in the hospital.
"He is aware of where he is, he is back in a familiar environment with his family. He’s no longer in a coma. He’s just awake.
"He sleeps, he sneezes, he eats, he burps, but it’s not like he gets out of bed. He’s very bedridden and still very dependent on us.
"On his good days, there is a form of communication, for example, confirmation with his eyebrows or a smile. But you notice that he can’t last that very long.
"We talk to him like he’s not sick. We take him into our conversations and we watch football with him in the living room, for example.
"Then he watches. You notice that he likes that very much. He often shows emotions. Sometimes he is emotional, but often there is also a smile. That does us good. That makes you really appreciate a smile."
A BOY WITH PROMISE
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Nouri, nicknamed 'Appie', grew up in a suburb outside of Amsterdam called Geuzenveld.
The area is littered with concrete yards, where the locals play football against each other to fill the hours in the day.
Nouri played in one cage near the main train station, where a banner saying 'Appie 4 Ever' is currently draped on a fence.
Looking to emulate his heroes like Andre Iniesta, Kaka and Ronaldinho he practiced endlessly on his close control and touch.
It was a place he still returned to see how the 'Next Nouri' was shaping up, and a place he never forgot.
From a young age he was destined for the top. In 2014 The Guardian ranked him as one of the 40 best youth players.
Those that played with him thought the same.
DE JONG AND VAN DE BEEK
Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek, two players from Nouri's generation, were close friends.
Van de Beek revealed he would make a pilgrimage to his friends' bedroom, just like when they were kids, to see how he was after his tragic collapse.
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And when Van de Beek scored an equaliser in last season's 2-1 win over Juventus - fate would have it that the goal came in the 34th minute, which was the same number Nouri wore.
"I looked at the screen and I saw my goal was in the 34th minute. It had to be him, you have to think," he said.
Last summer, De Jong moved from Ajax to Barcelona in a £75million deal.
But he had his deliberations, so he sounded out Nouri by visiting him at his home.
"He talked to me a lot in the summer," De Jong revealed.
"When I sat with him, his mother came in. She then asked Appie, 'Appie, where should Frenkie go? To Barcelona?'
"As soon as she said that, his eyebrow rose. That was a very special moment."
'BEST PLAYER I PLAYED WITH'
Manchester City youngster Philippe Sandler, on loan at Anderlecht, played with Nouri at youth level for the Netherlands.
He is adamant that he was as promising as De Jong and Van de Beek, if not better than those two luminaries of the modern game.
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"Nouri is by far the most gifted player that I have ever played with," he revealed.
While Ajax's former head of academy, Wim Jonk was equally as wowed by the wonderkid, calling him "an incredible player."
He added: "If you ever saw an Ajax game, everybody was talking about Appie because his skills were so different to all the others."
In 2016-17, Nouri's exploits saw him named Ajax's Young Player of the Season. He was soon to be blooded into the first team for more experience.
THAT FATEFUL DAY
In July 2017 Nouri was taken on a preseason tour of the Austrian Alps, where Ajax played Werder Bremen.
The match took place at the Lindenstadion Hippach, about 65km from Innsbruck, in an unforgiving heat.
Earlier in the day, Nouri had complained about feeling unwell with stomach pains and hadn't slept well.
He started on the bench, coming on for Chelsea new boy Hakim Ziyech at half-time.
But in the 72nd minute, Nouri slowed down, he collapsed to the ground on his back facing the sky.
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Immediately his teammates rushed around him, some in tears, others praying, as they realised he was going into cardiac arrest.
A helicopter took Nouri to a nearby Innsbruck hospital, where he lay in an induced coma and was joined by family members.
A week later Ajax fans gathered outside Nouri's family home, with brother Abderrahim waving to supporters who were lighting flares and singing the youngster's name.
AJAX ADMIT RESPONSIBILITY
Ajax, to their credit, admitted their fault in providing inadequate medical treatment for the player after he collapsed on the pitch.
Although they sought an external opinion during the incident and the Dutch giants acted accordingly, further investigations revealed that a defibrillator should have been used sooner in the treatment.
"We recognise our responsibility and liability for the consequences of this," the club's general manager Edwin Van der Sar revealed.
"For a long time we were convinced that Abdelhak had received the best possible care on the field. Had this happened, it's possible that Abdelhak would have come out in a better condition. This isn't certain, but it's a possibility."
NUMBER 34
After the incident, several footballers wanted to pay tribute to Nouri - many taking on his squad number.
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Once he had had completed a £19m move to Roma, flying winger Justin Kluivert opted to swap his usual number 45 for Nouri's.
"Why 34?" he said on Instagram in a now deleted post after he was unveiled in the Italian capital.
He continued: "(Because it's) Appie’s number. My prayers and shirt number for you, my friend-brother who taught me so much."
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And when Sandler moved to Manchester City from PEC Zwolle in 2018, his first request wasn't a bumper contract but the No34.
Other players including Amin Younes and Kevin Diks also followed suit.
Nouri has certainly not been forgotten by those who knew him and still love him.
Ronaldo blows kiss in message to brain damaged ex Ajax star Abdelhak Nouri, 22, who collapsed during pre-season friendly
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