Marouane Fellaini
| File:Fellanivmanu.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Everton | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:07, 30 October 2008 (UTC) | |||
Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born November 22 1987 in Etterbeek)[1] is a Belgian footballer of Moroccan descent currently playing for Everton in the English Premier League. His primary position is central / holding midfield but he can also play in defence.
He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Belgian First Division and resulted in him winning the Ebony Shoe in 2008,[2] an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.
Biography
Fellaini was born to Moroccan parents from Tangier and brought up in Brussels. His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper for Raja Casablanca and Hassania Agadir and who had signed for Racing Mechelen but was not able to play due to the Moroccan club refusing to release his paperwork. Instead of returning home, he opted to become a bus driver for STIB.[3] Marouane's father felt he had the potential to become a professional football player and took him to have a trial with RSC Anderlecht's academy when he was 7 years old despite the fact that Marouane had never played for a team before.[citation needed] In his first season at Anderlecht Academy he scored 26 goals and in his second he scored 37, both seasons he had played as a defensive midfielder. [citation needed]
Fellaini is bilingual (Arabic and French) and is a Muslim.[citation needed]
Club career
In Belgium
Fellaini began playing football at the age of seven for Anderlecht. He was at the club's academy until the age of ten when he joined Mons. Three years later he joined R. Francs Borains. He then left the club and was signed by Sporting Charleroi. At the age of seventeen he signed his first full-time contract with Standard Liège. Between 2006 and 2008 he made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 11 times. [1]
In England
Following reported interest from Aston Villa[4], Real Madrid[5], Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich[6], Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five year deal from Standard Liège with an initial transfer fee of around £4 million rising to £15 million, a record for a Belgian player[citation needed] and a club record for Everton.[7] He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory at Stoke City on September 14th 2008[8] and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2-2 home draw on October 5th 2008.[9]
Everton fans have nicknamed him 'Screech' due to his resemblance to the character Samuel 'Screech' Powers in the television series Saved By The Bell.[citation needed]
International career
Fellaini was eligible to play for Belgium or Morocco, but chose to represent the country of his birth. He has been referred to as "le Diable" (Template:Lang-en) for not choosing to play for Morocco, the term also a play on the Belgian team's nickname, 'The Red Devils'.[citation needed]
Statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Standard Liege | 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Everton | 2008–09 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | |||||||||||
International
Goals
- Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-03-24 | Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels |  Portugal |
1-1 | 1-2 | 2008 European Championships Qualifying |
Red Cards
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007-06-06 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki |  Finland |
0-2 | 2008 European Championships Qualifying |
Honours
Standard Liège
Winner
- Belgian First Division - 2007–08
- Belgian Ebony Shoe - 2008
References
- ^ a b "Players: Squad Profiles: Marouane Fellaini". www.evertonfc.com. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ Template:Nl icon "Ebbenhouten Schoen voor Marouane Fellaini". www.hln.be. 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-09-02.
- ^ http://www.bladi.net/17605-marouane-fellaini-top-europeen.html (french)
- ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/08/29/aston-villa-weigh-up-move-for-standard-liege-star-marouane-fellaini-115875-20716062/
- ^ http://www.realmadrid.dk/news/article/?newsid=11223
- ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/25032008/58/premier-league-toffees-fellaini-bid-comes-unstuck.html
- ^ "Marouane Fellaini signs for Everton".
- ^ Marouane Fellaini at Soccerbase
- ^ Barder, Russell (2008-10-05). "Everton 2-2 Newcastle". BBC Sport Online. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
External links
- Marouane Fellaini at Soccerbase
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