5th February, 2023
Aymen Mahious became the second Algerian to win the African Nations Championship (CHAN) Golden Boot award on Saturday night in Algiers.
The 25-year-old scored five goals in the competition, earning him the award because no one could catch him after the final at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.
He joins his countryman El Arbi Hillel Soudani as the second Algerian to win the award, which he shared with four other players in 2011.
Senegal won 4-3 on penalties after a tense CHAN 2022 final ended goalless at full time, with Mahious scoring five goals but missing a penalty.
The 25-year-old failed to score at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Saturday, as Pape Thiaw’s Teranga Lions won the match.
Mahious’ goals against Libya and Ethiopia in the first two group stages signalled his arrival in the CHAN.
A last-minute goal against Cote d’Ivoire in the quarterfinals and a brace against Niger in the semi-finals were enough to earn him the award.
The forward appeared in all six of Algeria’s CHAN 2022 games. He only failed to score in the group games against Mozambique and Senegal in the final.
Goalkeeper Razafindranaivo Koloina of Madagascar finished the competition two goals ahead of USM Algier.
The 22-year-old scored three goals in six matches to propel his nation to a third-place finish.
Mahious inherits the ‘goal king’ crown from 2020 CHAN Golden Boot winner Soufiane Rahimi. The Moroccan scored five goals in the previous tournament, helping his country to claim their second CHAN trophy.
Algeria’s Mahious is the third player to score five or more goals at the tournament.
Only Ayoub El Kaabi’s nine goals for Morocco during the 2018 event is better than Mahious and Rahimi’s tally.
Mahious joins the likes of Elia Meshack, Chisom Chikatara, Ahmed Akaichi and Bernard Parker as the players to have won the award.
Also, Algeria star Houssem Eddine Mrezigue was adjudged as the Best Player of the tournament.
The Technical Study recognised the 22-year-old midfielder for his consistency in making a difference for the Desert Foxes.
Senegal goalkeeper Pape Mamadou Sy bagged the Best Goalkeeper Award, while Senegal won the Fair Play Award.
NAN