Achraf Lazaar moved to Italy with his family in 2003 and never really looked back. He landed in the Varese youth system at just fifteen years old and by 2012 he was already making his senior debut in Serie B, instantly turning heads as one of the most exciting young talents to come out of that small Lombardy club. That kind of early spark tends to tell you everything about a guy, and Lazaar has spent the years since proving it was no fluke, turning a teenage move to a new country into the foundation of a career built on grit and timing.
By January 2014 he was on the move to Palermo, first on loan and then permanently, becoming part of the club's 2014 to 2015 squad as they pushed through Serie B and into Serie A. Two years later, on August 28, 2016, Newcastle United signed him to a five year deal, and he made his debut in style, helping the Magpies to a 2 to 0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
He earned Italian citizenship in April of 2015, and on the international side he made his senior debut for Morocco back in May 2014 in a 4 to 0 win over Mozambique, going on to collect nineteen caps for the Atlas Lions. Left back, six feet tall, and built for the big stage, Lazaar has always carried himself like someone who belongs wherever he shows up, whether that is a packed stadium or a red carpet along the water in Venice.
From Casablanca To The Big European Stages
What makes his story so much fun to follow is how many places it touches. Varese gave him his start, Palermo gave him Serie A football, and Newcastle gave him a taste of the Premier League. Along the way he picked up loan spells with Benevento, Sheffield Wednesday, and Cosenza, then signed with Watford before heading to Portugal to join Portimonense on a two year deal. He later brought his experience back to Italy with Novara.
Every stop added another layer to a career that reads like a genuine world tour, and every club he joined got a player who had already lived through a handful of different footballing cultures. That kind of range does not happen by accident, it comes from a guy who kept saying yes to new challenges instead of settling into comfort, and it is exactly why Lazaar carries himself with the kind of easy confidence you saw on full display in Venice.
Behind The Screen Rolled Out The Magic In Venice
Vanity Fair Italia brought its Behind the Screen event back for a third edition, and this year it landed right in the middle of the Venice Film Festival with support from Campari Italia. The whole night was built around the costume designers who quietly shape the way we remember our favorite films, the folks behind the fabric and the silhouettes that turn actors into icons. Along the Grand Canal, guests moved through a setting dressed up in old school Venetian glamour.
A custom score, composed just for the occasion, drifted through the air as guests wandered from one dressing room set piece to another, and the whole scene felt like something pulled straight out of an old Fellini reel. It was the kind of evening built for people who know how to show up looking like a million bucks, and Lazaar fit right into that picture.
Achraf Lazaar Showed Up In Trussardi And Absolutely Owned The Room
And show up he did. Lazaar walked into Behind the Screen wearing an all white suit by Trussardi, and the look was nothing short of gorgeous. Clean lines, crisp tailoring, not a single detail out of place, the kind of outfit that makes a room go quiet for a second before everyone starts talking about it.
Pairing Italian craftsmanship with that effortless confidence he has carried since his Varese days, Lazaar turned heads in a setting full of people who are used to seeing incredible fashion. The Trussardi suit did exactly what a great piece of tailoring is supposed to do, it let the man wearing it shine even brighter than the fabric itself, and among a crowd full of cinema's finest, Lazaar held his own with total ease.
This Feels Like Just The Beginning Of A Whole New Chapter
Watching Lazaar move through a night like Behind the Screen, surrounded by costume legends and Venetian glamour, it is hard not to get excited about where this next chapter takes him. Here is a guy who built a career out of chasing new stages across Italy, England, Portugal, and beyond, and now he is bringing that same star power into rooms filled with fashion and film. The suit fit, the setting fit, and honestly, the whole night fit him like it was made for exactly this moment.
There is something genuinely exciting about watching an athlete step so naturally into a world of couture and cinema, carrying the same confidence that carried him through every locker room he ever walked into. Venice got a preview of something special, and if this is any indication, Achraf Lazaar is only getting started on turning heads far beyond the pitch, one gorgeous room at a time.
