Former SuperSport United forward Darren Smith has shed light on his brief stint at Nasreddine Nabi’s former club, AS FAR Rabat.
The Cape Town-born striker spent six months in Morocco, making 10 appearances in the Botola Pro under Belgian coach Sven Vandenbroeck.
After his Moroccan experience, the 28-year-old embarked on a successful two-year stint with Finnish side Inter Turku.
Prior to his move to Morocco, Smith honed his skills at Ekenäs IF in Finland’s second tier, where he impressed with 25 goal contributions in just 27 games.
Smith’s two-year spell at Inter Turku was particularly noteworthy, as he scored 19 goals in 38 matches across all competitions. His outstanding performances earned him the Veikkausliiga Fan’s Player of the Season award.
The free-scoring striker explained that unforeseen circumstances led to his premature departure from the North African club.
WHY DARREN SMITH’S STINT AT AS FAR WAS SHORTLIVED
“Oh, that was just an unfortunate situation,” he told FARPost. “So basically, I had signed a deal. It was a six-plus one. I joined the club in the second half of the season, and you know, that’s not an easy time. The coach that brought me there was Belgian, and after six months, he had moved on.”
Smith expressed his disappointment at the early termination of his contract but acknowledged the club’s position.
“And it was a situation where the club must let you know at a certain time whether they’re going to keep you or not. To save themselves, they said, ‘We’re not going to keep you. The coach’s not going to be here. We don’t know who’s coming in, but we’ll keep in touch.
“It was that kind of a situation where we don’t know which coach is coming in and what he wants. So, we cannot just extend your contract without knowing what the coach wanted.
“I understand the situation, and it was that the coach would be involved. I didn’t continue with them. I would have loved to stay, but that’s basically what happened. And there was nothing else to it except for that.”
RELATED STORY: ‘I was crying & mucus was rolling’: Darren Smith on emotional farewell
