Hungry for success and highly talented: Profile of new signing Ibrahim Maza

The last few years could not have been better for Ibrahim Maza. After making his start in football at the Berlin club Reinickendorfer Füchse and moving on to the youth section at Hertha Berlin in 2016, he signed his first professional contract with the Blue and Whites in April 2023. His Bundesliga debut came a few days later making Maza the second youngest Bundesliga player in the history of Hertha Berlin.

Maza scored his first Bundesliga goal a month later. That strike at the age of just 17 years, six months and three days made him the sixth youngest Bundesliga goalscorer of all time. Second place in that ranking belongs to a certain Florian Wirtz at the age of 17 years, one month and three days.

special squad number despite young age

Maza did suffer relegation to Bundesliga 2 with Hertha Berlin at the end of the 2022/23 season but he continued to develop. After a long injury lay-off, the offensive player played in 13 of the last 14 games during the 2023/24 run-in, scoring one goal and providing two assists along the way. At the age of 18 years and 92 days he became the youngest player ever to score a goal in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

The management at Hertha Berlin rewarded his performances with the squad number 10 and a contract extension. He was congratulated on social media by the well-known Berlin musician Peter Fox. Maza passed his Abitur examinations just before that. A successful summer that was to be followed by even more promising months.

algeria international

Maza's international career has run like clockwork recently: After 13 appearances for the Germany U18, U19 and U20 teams, the son of a Vietnamese mother and an Algerian father decided to play for Algeria in the autumn of 2024. He made his international debut in October of last year in the AFCON qualifiers and he made another appearance at the end of March in a World Cup qualifier.

Maza is the second Algerian player at the Werkself after Ahmed Madouni (42 appearances for Bayer 04 from 2005 to 2007).

Rolfes: "Knows how to bring his teammates into play"

Maza has made 30 appearances in Bundesliga 2 this season for Hertha Berlin, scoring five goals and providing five assists. He scored twice in three ties in the DFB Pokal. The 1.80 metre tall right footer appears to be ready for the move to the champions and DFB Pokal winners. Sporting managing director Simon Rolfes takes a similar view and says about the strengths of the new signing: “Ibrahim Maza is currently one of the most interesting young attacking players. He has outstanding technical ability, is good at dribbling and assertive and he also has vision for his teammates who he can brilliantly bring into play.”

For the highly talented offensive midfielder himself, with his focus first on the run-in with Hertha Berlin, the move under the Cross represents "a great chance – a dream! I'm very much looking forward to Bayer 04, to the special, tight stadium with its great atmosphere and to a team that has really impressed me in recent years. Here in Leverkusen I can develop even more and win titles – that's what motivates me.”

A hunger for success that matches the ambitions of the German double winners…