Alaa Bakir had a difficult start to the season. Now things are looking up – both for the former Duisburg player and for his club, FC Emmen.

Alaa Bakir is making his mark at FC Emmen. After his transfer from MSV Duisburg to the Dutch second division club in the summer of 2024, the attacking midfielder is currently fighting for his place in the starting lineup at Emmen. In the 2-0 win against FC Dordrecht at the weekend, Bakir played the full 90 minutes for the third game in a row. Although he was not directly involved in the goals, the former Zebra was still able to claim an award.

Bakir was named player of the match following the third win of the season. The club documented Bakir receiving the trophy on social media.

Emmen has now moved up to tenth place in the table. Ten points from seven games mark an average start to the season, but their recent form is encouraging: three wins and one draw from the last four games. Bakir has contributed one assist so far. He witnessed the three defeats at the start as a substitute against PSV Eindhoven II and twice without even being in the squad. Now the situation has changed – for Emmen and for Bakir.

Bakir came to MSV Duisburg via BVB

Alaa Bakir was born in Münster and has Jordanian citizenship. He initially trained in the youth team at TSV Handorf. In the winter of 2013, he took the plunge and moved to Borussia Dortmund.

Until 2020, he played for all of the youth teams there, fighting his way up through the U17 and U19 teams to the second team. He played 40 times for them in the Regionalliga West, scoring four goals and providing twelve assists. At the end of the 2020/21 season, BVB II was promoted to the 3. Liga.

Bakir also moved to the 3. Liga – but to MSV Duisburg. He played 61 third division games for the Zebras in three years, scoring six goals and providing eight assists. However, injuries repeatedly slowed him down. A torn meniscus in the 2022/23 season alone cost him 16 games.

Now Bakir wants to get back on track in Emmen. So far, he has been successful. After 19 games, he has scored three goals and provided two assists.