Video analyst Mousa El Habchi fulfills his football dream

Born and raised in Temse, Mousa El Habchi has turned his passion into profession. What could be better than that? As a young footballer, he dreamed of making it to the top. That proved difficult on the pitch, so he found another way: video analysis. This video analysis eventually took him to Morocco, where he works alongside his colleague Harrison Kingston as a video analyst for the national team coach.

How it all began

Mousa's parents moved from Morocco to Belgium. On the recommendation of his older brother, Mousa started playing football at Temse. As a young boy, he wanted to be like Messi, but that was harder than he thought. So he had to find another way to get to the top.

From youth coach to video analyst

In 2007, Mousa began his career as a youth coach at Sporting Lokeren and took his first steps as a video analyst through Herman De Landtsheer. Mousa had tactical understanding and computer skills. Thanks to Georges Leekens, who was open to change, he got the chance to grow. ‘I got the freedom I needed to make mistakes and kept getting better,’ says Mousa. His new career path gradually took shape.

A rapid rise

His expertise took him to Al Shabab, managed by Michel Preud'homme. He then moved on to KRC Genk, the Egyptian club Al-Zamalek and the Belgian national teams (both the Red Flames and the Rode Duivels) at the request of then technical director Chris Van Puyvelde. Mousa was also part of the technical staff at RSC Anderlecht.

Love for the job

Mousa loves his job as a video analyst. It's hard work, but it's very satisfying. ‘The analysis is carried out in four sections,’ explains Mousa.‘I study individual players using action images and data, look for the strengths and weaknesses of the opposite team, collect live images during the match for quick feedback at half-time and then analyse every moment in detail.’ Each phase therefore requires precision, timing and, above all, understanding. Something that Mousa definitely has. ‘A good video analyst must be able to work under pressure and, above all, think ahead. You always need a plan A, B, C and D.

A new adventure in Morocco

His good performances with the national teams in Belgium did not go unnoticed in Morocco. In 2022, he received an offer to work as a video analyst for the Moroccan national team. Thanks to his dual citizenship (Belgian/Moroccan), he jumped at the chance. His language skills are a real advantage, as most Moroccan footballers play in European clubs. So you hear Dutch, French, English, Spanish and Arabic.

Belgium still feels a bit like home

Mousa has now extended his contract with the Moroccan Football Association until 2026 and is very happy about it. He hopes to lead Morocco to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Preferably in 2026 – or else in 2030.

Mousa returns to Belgium regularly. ‘Belgium is still one of my top three: because most of my family lives there, because I've had so many opportunities there and because everything is so well organised, including social security, for example.’ Thanks to their membership with the Overseas Social Security, he, his wife and their young daughter now enjoy this same social security in Morocco.

Thank you very much for the interesting conversation, Mousa! We will continue to follow your adventure in Morocco.