Younes Mokhtar played for FC Twente from 2013 to 2015. Through Saudi Arabia, PEC Zwolle, Turkey, Norway, USA, ADO The Hague and Morocco, the left-wing ended up at Bayangara FC of Indonesia. He is currently in a training camp with the club in Bogur, two hours south of his hometown of Jakarta.

“We’re in the middle of the mountains now,” says Mokhtar International football. “We are training here near a tropical forest. There are a lot of banana trees here and all the greenery is growing here. It might be a good area, but the training field is not there yet. “Of course it is difficult to lay a good lawn in the mountains. We are training here in a yam field. .It’s not right, let me put it this way.Every step I have to watch where I put my foot.

After his departure from ADO Den Haag and the summer of 2021, Mokhtar has been without a transfer for a while. Earlier this year he was captured by the Moroccan king of Casablanca. “I was taken by Mark Wilmots in January but he was sacked after three weeks. Then a local coach came in and of course wanted to get his own players. Then it becomes a difficult story in countries like that. I was a bit hopeless,” said Mokhdar. It is not a success story in Morocco. He never played a single game for Raja Casablanca.

He moved from Morocco to Indonesia in May. “One way or another, agents from all over the world always know where to find you,” laughs the 31-year-old lefty. “I’m really an adventurer. I have been to many countries.

Mokhtar embarked on an adventure by moving to Bayangara FC. The club is owned by the Indonesian police force, which he noticed immediately after arriving in Indonesia. “The red carpet was immediately rolled out as the police knew I was coming. The whole process through customs went very fast. 75 percent of the candidates are police officers. As long as they are in contract with Payangara, they don’t have to report to their police. But they get double salary,” said the former FC Twente player.

The fact that Payangara is a police club is also reflected in a standard ritual at the exam. “Before the match, ‘Terrible!’ Then: ‘Police! Law enforcement! Law enforcement!’ It is definitely special if you are not a police officer yourself,” concludes Mokhtar.