Walid Birrou

Walid Birrou
Personal information
Full name Walid Birrou
Date of birth (1995-09-06) September 6, 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Kaya–Iloilo
Number 1
Youth career
2011–2014 Gandía
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Oakland City University 28 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 CD Teruel
2018–2019 Little Rock Rangers
2019–2020 Atlanta SC
2020–2021 Almagro 3 (0)
2021 FC Wichita
2021–2022 Stade Marocain
2022 RB Keflavík 12 (0)
2022–2023 Þróttur Vogum 1 (0)
2023 Njarðvík 5 (0)
2023–2024 Glacis United 8 (0)
2024– Kaya–Iloilo 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5:45, June 20, 2024 (UTC)

Walid Birrou Essafi (born 6 September 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Philippines Football League club Kaya-Iloilo.[1][2]

Personal life

Birrou was born in the city of Vilanova i la Geltrú in Spain and is of Moroccan heritage. He is the eldest of two brothers.[3][4]

Club career

Youth and college career

Until the age of 19, Birrou played for the youth team of Gandía, before playing for lower league side CD Teruel while pursuing his studies.[3] From 2017 to 2018, he played football for Oakland City University, making 27 appearances in 2 seasons before graduating.[5][6][7]

Early club career

After graduating, Birrou left Oakland and Teruel and signed for USL League Two side Little Rock Rangers, where he played for two seasons.[8][9][10] He transferred to Atlanta SC in 2019[4] before returning to Spain and sign with Almagro CF.[11][12][13]

After two seasons, he returned to the US to play for FC Wichita.[14] A year later, he played in the second tier of Morocco football, playing for Stade Marocain.[3]

Iceland and Gibraltar

In 2022 he left Stade Marocain and played for Icelandic side RB Keflavík.[15] He stayed with them for a short while before transferring to Þróttur Vogum in the same year.[16] In 2023, he signed with second-tier side Njarðvík.[17][18][19]

In August that year, he transferred to the Gibraltar Football League, signing for Glacis United where he made 8 appearances and kept 2 clean sheets.[20]

Kaya

In 2024, Birrou left Glacis United to join Filipino club Kaya–Iloilo, who were defending champions of the Philippines Football League.[21] [22][23] He made his first appearance and got his first clean sheet for the club in the opening match against United City.

Honours

Kaya–Iloilo

References

  1. ^ Walid Birrou at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Walid Birrou - Global Sports Archive". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Del Amor, Jose (March 9, 2023). "Walid Birrou, nuevo guardameta del UMF Njardvík de la Segunda División de Islandia". Vavel. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Meet the Atlanta SC Soccer Players - Get to Know Walid Birrou #73". Atlanta SC on YouTube. October 16, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Men's Soccer Roster: Walid Birrou Essafi". Oakland Mighty Oaks. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "OCU Men's Soccer Setting Up Well for 2018 Season". Oakland Mighty Oaks. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Elmore, Austin (August 25, 2017). "Norse win opener in extra time". The Northerner. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  8. ^ "Ryan's Weekend Wrap Up 7/10-7/12". Protagonist Soccer. July 16, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Peacock, Benjamin (July 8, 2019). "LITTLE ROCK RANGERS FALL 2-0 TO DEMIZE NPSL". National Premier Soccer League. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Kubena, Brooks (July 12, 2018). "With 1-0 win at War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock Rangers advance in playoffs". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Cochero, Cruz José (October 14, 2020). "Cambio radical en el Almagro CF para esta nueva temporada". Lanza Digital. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  12. ^ Fernández, Raúl (July 19, 2020). "Así están las plantillas de los provinciales de Tercera División". Lanza Digital. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "EL MERCADO EN 3ª DIVISIÓN ACTUALIZADO". Deporte Castilla La Mancha. September 26, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  14. ^ "FC WICHITA FALLS TO KAW VALLEY". FC Wichita. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  15. ^ ÁSGEIRSSON, GUÐMUNDUR AÐALSTEINN (November 2, 2022). "NJARÐVÍK FÆR SPÆNSKAN MARKVÖRÐ (STAÐFEST)". Fotbolti. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Karlar: Félagaskiptin í íslenska fótboltanum - lokadagur". April 26, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Spænskur markvörður til Njarðvíkur". Iceland Monitor. March 11, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Professional Rangers". Little Rock Rangers. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Þórhallsson, Runólfur Trausti (July 12, 2023). "Afturelding áfram taplaust". Visir. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "KOMNIR/FARNIR OG SAMNINGSLAUSIR Í LENGJUDEILDINNI". Fotbolti. April 26, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  21. ^ "Kaya FC - Team Roster". pfl.org.ph. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  22. ^ "Kaya-Iloilo 3-1 Manila Digger". Kaya FC. June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Malihan, Drew (April 22, 2024). "Komaki lists hat-trick as Kaya blasts Maharlika, 10-1". Dugout PH. Retrieved June 20, 2024.