Ibrahim Afellay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Ibrahim Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay Oranje.jpg
Afellay playing for The Netherlands in 2011.
Personal information
Full name Ibrahim Afellay
Date of birth (1986-04-02) 2 April 1986 (age 27)
Place of birth Utrecht, Netherlands
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club Schalke 04 (on loan from Barcelona)
Number 11
Youth career
1990–1995 USV Elinkwijk
1996–2003 PSV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004–2011 PSV 159 (35)
2011– Barcelona 20 (1)
2012– → Schalke 04 (loan) 10 (2)
National team‡
2007– Netherlands[2] 44 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:07, 15 December 2012 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:09, 17 June 2012 (UTC)

Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986 in Utrecht) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Schalke 04, on loan from FC Barcelona as an attacking midfielder or winger. He is described as a powerful and dynamic player with great ball skills and the ability to speed up action on the pitch.[3]

He has played for the Dutch national youth team and is now part of the senior Dutch national team, which he represented at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the latter of which saw them reach the final.

Previously he played for and captained PSV Eindhoven with whom he won four national titles and during which time he was named Best Young Player in The Netherlands (2007). He is in relationship with Sofija Todosieva.

Contents

Club career [edit]

PSV Eindhoven [edit]

Afellay with PSV

Born in Utrecht of Moroccan descent, in 1986. Afellay switched to the youth academy of PSV Eindhoven. Afellay's official debut for PSV Eindhoven was on 4 February 2004 during a cup match against NAC Breda at the age of 17. His debut in the competition was on 14 February, against Twente. In the 2003–04 seasons he played three official games, and seven more in the 2004–05 season.

On 15 May 2005, PSV Eindhoven played a game against Feyenoord. Afellay was a part of the starting lineup, and made a great impression with five goals in 4 matches.

In the 2005–06 season, Afellay played games in the Johan Cruijff-schaal and the first three competition games. Because of the absence of DaMarcus Beasley and Mika Väyrynen, he always started in the line-up.

On 13 September, Afellay made his Champions League debut against Schalke 04. PSV won the game 1–0. On 8 October, Dutch coach Marco van Basten took Afellay into the full national team during the games against the Czech Republic and Macedonia, though he did not play.

In the 2005–06 season, following the departure of important players including midfielders Johann Vogel and Mark van Bommel, Afellay grew to be a first-team regular, and was even pre-selected for the Dutch national team. He managed to play a total of 23 league matches during a season hit with a string of minor injuries.

Barcelona [edit]

On 5 December 2010, Afellay travelled to Barcelona for a medical test to finalize the deal. The fee to transfer for FC Barcelona was reported to be around €3 million.[4][5]

Afellay recently signed a contract that will tie him until 2015 with the club and wears the squad number 20.[6] He is the 19th Dutch player to represent Barcelona.[7] Afellay made his Blaugrana debut on 5 January 2011 in the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao. He was brought in for David Villa in injury time. Afellay was given his first start for the Barcelona on 19 January 2011 against Real Betis during the second leg of the Copa del Rey in which they lost 3–1 but qualified for the semis on a 6–3 aggregate. He scored his first goal for Barcelona against UD Almería in the Copa del Rey.

Afellay playing for PSV

Afellay made his debut for Barça in the Champions League in the second match against Arsenal, and came close to scoring on two occasions. Barcelona went on to win the match. Later in the tournament, Afellay came on as a substitute in the 71st minute during the first Leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid. In the 76th minute, Afellay assisted Lionel Messi to score the opening goal of Barcelona's 2–0 victory over Madrid. He scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away win for Barcelona against Málaga CF on the last day of the 2010–11 season. He came on as a substitute in the final of the UEFA Champions League against Manchester United.

He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during training on September 2011[8] and was sidelined for more than seven months. After undergoing surgery, he went through a long recovery period and in April 2012 he stated he was ready to be recalled to the first team.[9] On 29 April, he returned to the field as a substitute in the 71st minute replacing teammate Sergio Busquets against Rayo Vallecano on a 7–0 away trashing win for the Catalan side, playing as a central midfielder and impressing in the unorthodox position. After the match, Afellay stated his happiness for his return, and that he had confidence in Barcelona's next manager Tito Vilanova.

Schalke 04 [edit]

FC Barcelona confirmed on their official website about the loan move of Ibrahim Afellay to Schalke 04 on 31 August 2012.[10] Afellay scored in the 2–0 win against Arsenal.

International career [edit]

After both the Moroccan and the Dutch national teams managers selected him for their squads, he was caught in the dilemma to either play for the Moroccan national team, because of his Moroccan descent, or to play for the Dutch team, the Netherlands being his place of birth and residence. He ultimately decided to play for the Dutch national team despite the heavy competition for places in midfield.[3] He made his international debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia on 28 March 2007. On 12 October 2010, Afellay scored his first international goals in a Euro 2012 qualifier against Sweden.

Euro 2008 [edit]

Afellay was included in Marco van Basten's squad for UEFA Euro 2008 and was mostly used as a substitute. Just seconds after replacing Dirk Kuyt in the group match against Italy he nearly scored a goal but his volley went off the crossbar. In their last group game against Romania, he was given a place in the starting eleven alongside Arjen Robben in midfield.

2010 World Cup [edit]

Afellay was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 World Cup managed by Bert van Marwijk.[11] The player came on as a substitute for their first and second matches in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark[12] and 1–0 victory over Japan respectively, as well as the round of 16 match against Slovakia.

Euro 2012 [edit]

Despite being injured for most of the 2011–12 season, he was included in the Netherlands' Euro 2012 squad. On 2 June 2012, Afellay scored two goals in a 6–0 friendly win over Northern Ireland, which was the Netherlands' final match ahead of the tournament. In the first game of the tournament, a 1–0 loss to Denmark, he was part of the starting 11 as he was against Germany as well. After the second loss Holland coach van Marwijk decided to replace him by Rafael van der Vaart

International goals [edit]

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 October 2010 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Sweden 2–0 4–1 Euro 2012 qualification
2. 12 October 2010 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands Sweden Sweden 4–0 4–1 Euro 2012 qualification
3. 25 March 2011 Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest, Hungary Hungary Hungary 0–2 0–4 Euro 2012 qualification
4. 2 June 2012 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 4–0 6–0 Friendly
5. 2 June 2012 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 5–0 6–0 Friendly

Career statistics [edit]

As of 20 October 2012
Club Season League Cup Europe Other1 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
PSV 2003–04 2 0 1 0 — — 3 0
2004–05 7 2 2 0 — — 9 2
2005–06 23 2 2 0 8 0 1 0 34 8
2006–07 27 6 2 0 5 0 — 34 6
2007–08 24 2 0 0 8 0 1 0 33 2
2008–09 28 13 1 0 4 0 1 0 34 13
2009–10 29 4 4 1 11 1 — 44 6
2010–11 19 6 1 0 6 1 — 26 7
Total 159 35 13 1 42 2 3 0 217 38
Barcelona 2010–11 16 1 6 1 7 0 — 29 2
2011–12 4 0 0 0 1 0 — 5 0
Total 20 1 6 1 8 0 — 34 2
Schalke 04 2012–13 9 2 1 1 3 1 — 13 4
Total 9 2 1 1 3 1 — 13 4
Career total 188 38 20 3 53 3 3 0 264 44

1Includes other competitive competitions, including the Johan Cruijff Shield, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup

Honours [edit]

Club [edit]

PSV Eindhoven [edit]

2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
2004–05
2008

FC Barcelona [edit]

2010–11
2010–11
2011
2011
2011
2011–12

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Ibrahim Afellay". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 August 2009. 
  2. ^ "Ibrahim Afellay" (in Dutch). Wereld van Oranje. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 
  3. ^ a b "Little Big Man in a Team of Giants". qantara.de. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008. 
  4. ^ "Barcelona and PSV strike deal for Afellay". UEFA. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010. 
  5. ^ "Agreement with PSV for Afellay signing". FC Barcelona. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010. 
  6. ^ "Barcelona: takes the number 20 shirt in the Camp Nou". FC Barcelona News. 26 December 2010. [dead link]
  7. ^ "The Oranje are now Blancos FC Barcelona". 10 December 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 
  8. ^ "Affelay set for knee surgery". FIFA.com. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 
  9. ^ "Affelay ready for Guardiola's call". fc-barcelonanews.com. Retrieved 5 June 2012. [dead link]
  10. ^ "Trainer und Manager zufrieden: Freuen uns, dass der Transfer geklappt hat" (in German). schalke04.de. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. 
  11. ^ "Holland coach Bert van Marwijk finalises World Cup squad". guardian.co.uk. Press Association. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
  12. ^ "Netherlands 2:0 Denmark". FIFA.com. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ibrahim Afellay
FC Schalke 04 – current squad
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ibrahim_Afellay&oldid=555545878"