PFA Player of the Year, Premier League winner and just a jolly nice bloke, it’s been a season to remember for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez.
The tricky winger has played a key role in Leicester’s unlikely title victory and his partnership with Jamie Vardy has been the cause of many moments of footballing magic this season.
Which is why it’s no wonder one football fan decided to recreate Mahrez’s best bits in FIFA 16.
JOE reader and YouTuber “MrTomoh” (Tom to his mates) has done digital versions of every one of Riyad Mahrez 17 Premier League goals in FIFA 16 this season in a feat that must have taken a fair few hours to accomplish.
Based in Dublin, 17-year-old MrTomoh was inspired to take up the task following Leicester’s impossible title win. This video covers the period of last August – October (there will be a second part to the video later on).
Talking to JOE he said: “I had a look around YouTube one day and saw a few videos of people recreating goals from real life in FIFA 16 and I thought I should give it a try. Also I searched for Mahrez’s goals recreated in FIFA 16 on YouTube and found no videos, so I saw this as an opportunity.”
To achieve his goals, Tom would play games of FIFA 16 against his brother, who’d be on call to set up defensive lines juuuust right for the tricky Algerian winger to cause havoc.
“My brother had to be on my team and against me on different occasions,” Tom said. “For example he had to play against me to concede a penalty or play as a defender at times to make a path for me to run through, and then other times he was the one crossing the ball or the one scoring the goal.”
With over 17 Mahrez goals to choose from in the league this season, some strikes were harder to replicate than others. While many view Mahrez’s goal against Chelsea in December as the bunch, strangely it was another goal that proved hardest for MrTomoh to recreate.
“Mahrez’s third goal of the season against West Ham [all the way back in August 15] was the hardest to recreate. Although it looks relatively simple, it took about an hour to get it right! Give it a try sometime if you think this is easy to do.”
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
All of this hard work is a great tribute for the player of the season, which only begs the question: is MrTomoh a Leicester City fan?
Funnily enough, the answer is no. As MrTomoh explained: “I’m a wholehearted Manchester United fan! Hopefully they surpass City to secure 4th place and collect 6 points form their remaining 2 games. We need to get a Champion League spot!”
Now Mahrez is done, MrTomoh wants to expand his YouTube videos. “My next FIFA challenge will be to do more goal recreations, pack opening, trading tips and general gameplay,” he said. “I have been playing FIFA since I was a child so I do see myself as being very knowledgeable when it comes to this game! Suggestions on what player’s goals to recreate next would be greatly appreciated!”
Hit him up on his YouTube channel here. And MrTomoh, if you ever around the JOE offices, feel free to drop in for a game of FIFA at any time.
Have you spotted any cool FIFA videos? Let us know at hello@JOE.co.uk, or drop us a message on Facebook.
