From the Panenka Crisis to Derby Stardom.. A New Birth for Moroccan Diaz at Real Madrid

SadaNews - Moroccan international Ibrahim Diaz, a player for Real Madrid, is experiencing an amazing artistic period, surpassing the tough time he faced recently after missing the decisive penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations final 2025 and afterwards sitting on the bench with the royal team.

Diaz (26 years old) transitioned from being in the shadows to becoming an indispensable starter in the lineup of Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbelua, as stated by the Spanish newspaper Marca. He played a crucial role in his team’s victory in the Madrid derby against Atletico in La Liga last Sunday.

A New Birth for Moroccan Diaz at Real Madrid

The report added, "Diaz has become a role model in resilience within the dressing room, overcoming the difficult moments he experienced at the end of January last."

Diaz was the cause of the penalty from which his teammate Vinicius Junior scored the equalizer (1-1), and he stood out during the derby with remarkable numbers, being the player with the most touches in the opponent's box (7 times) and winning the most duels equal to Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez and David Hancko (11 times).

The player's personality and mentality were put to an unprecedented test after he missed the penalty in the Panenka style against Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final held on January 18 last.

Since that penalty, Diaz has not only faced difficulty in getting playing minutes with Real Madrid, but some academy players like Thiago Pitarich and Cesar Palacios have sometimes preceded him in Arbelua's selections.

However, Arbelua gave Diaz new hope when he included him as a starter in 5 consecutive matches (Celta Vigo, two matches against Manchester City, Elche and Atletico Madrid), as the player benefited "ideally" from the absence of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

His attacking partnership with Vinicius resulted in 3 assists (Rayo Vallecano, Valencia, Manchester City), in addition to earning 2 penalties (Rayo and Atletico Madrid).

The newspaper believes that Diaz now needs to maintain his high level with the return of La Liga and the Champions League after the international break.

Diaz has played 31 matches with Real Madrid this season across all competitions, scoring only one goal and providing his teammates with 6 assists according to data from the renowned Transfermarkt website.