Ibrahim Maza, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder ranked in world top 10 by Romain Molina

Ibrahim Maza features in the world top 10 talents of his generation according to journalist Romain Molina, who spoke about the Algerian playmaker in an interview with DZFoot.

Born in Berlin to an Algerian father and Vietnamese mother, the 20-year-old player initially wore Germany’s shirt in youth selections before choosing Algeria, with whom he played his first international matches in October 2024 against Togo. Since then, he has established himself as a regular fixture in Vladimir Petkovic’s setup.

Molina backed his judgment on Maza’s performance during Algeria’s 3-0 defeat to Argentina. “Maza is the only midfielder who was not disappointing against Argentina,” he said, before going further: “When you see a talent like that and compare him to players of his generation and age, he is in the world top 10. Maza is not just a continental talent, he is a world talent.”

The journalist also highlighted the context of the player’s development to support his point. “Look at the club where he is. Leverkusen is a team that rarely gets it wrong with young players. After that, it takes attitude and consistency, but he has enormous talent,” Molina insisted.

To describe his playing style, the journalist drew a flattering comparison: “He plays centrally and reminds me of Arda Güler. He is not the most athletic player in the world, but he has football intelligence.” Molina did, however, point out a condition for the player’s full emergence: “His problem is that if nothing changes around him, he risks not being effective. To exploit all his potential, the team needs to play differently.”