Hicham Zerouali (Arabic: هشام زروالي; 17 January 1977 – 5 December 2004), nicknamed 'Zero' or the 'Moroccan Magician', was a Moroccan footballer.
After playing in his native Morocco for US Yacoub El Mansour and USP Police,[1] Zerouali was signed by Aberdeen manager Ebbe Skovdahl from FUS de Rabat in November 1999 for a fee of £450,000, on the recommendation of the club's director of football, Keith Burkinshaw.
[1] In August 2000, Zerouali was injured with a broken ankle during a match against Motherwell,[1] and subsequently missed out on a place at the Sydney Olympic Games,[3] and was eventually out of action for a full year.
He featured for Morocco in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations in Mali, and scored two goals in a 2–1 win over Burkina Faso.
[1] A memorial and tribute was held at Pittodrie Stadium after he died, which was attended by thousands of fans, despite him not playing for the club at the time and only having spent a short period there.