Aras Özbiliz facts for kids

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Aras Özbiliz
Personal information
Özbiliz with Armenia in 2013
Date of birth	(1990-03-09) 9 March 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	Bakırköy, Turkey
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
0000–1998	Hollandia
1998–2010	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Ajax	26	(2)
2012–2013	Kuban Krasnodar	24	(11)
2013–2016	Spartak Moscow	35	(3)
2016–2019	Beşiktaş	6	(0)
2016	→ Rayo Vallecano (loan)	3	(0)
2018	→ Sheriff Tiraspol (loan)	4	(0)
2018–2019	→ Willem II (loan)	14	(1)
2019–2022	Pyunik	26	(6)
2023	Urartu	18	(5)
International career
2012–2023	Armenia	41	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aras Özbiliz (born March 9, 1990) is a former professional footballer. He played as a winger, which means he played on the sides of the field. Aras was born in Turkey, but he proudly represented the Armenia national team.

Early Life and Family History
Club Football Career
International Career
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Awards and Trophies
See also

Early Life and Family History

Aras Özbiliz was born on March 9, 1990, in Istanbul, Turkey. His parents were Armenian. He was named after the Aras River, which flows through Armenia. His family's last name, "Özbiliz," means "one who keeps their identity."

In the early 1990s, his family moved from Turkey to the Netherlands. When he was five years old, Aras started playing football for a youth team called HVV Hollandia. At age eight, he joined the famous Ajax youth team. During his time in the youth academy, Aras faced two serious injuries. He tore a knee ligament and later had a shoulder injury. Both needed surgery.

Club Football Career

Starting at Ajax

Aras Özbiliz grew up playing football in the Ajax youth academy. Before joining Ajax, he played for HVV Hollandia in his hometown of Hoorn. At eight, he tried out for Ajax and was chosen. He played for every level of their youth teams.

In 2010, he made his debut for the main Ajax team. This was under coach Martin Jol. In a friendly match in 2007, he scored three goals in just seven minutes. This was a personal best for him.

In February 2009, Aras signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Ajax. Later that year, he won the Talent van de Toekomst award. This award is given to the most talented young player from the Ajax training ground. His great performances in the junior team helped him join the first team for the 2010–11 season.

In November 2010, Aras was chosen for two big matches. These included a championship game against PSV Eindhoven and a UEFA Champions League match against Real Madrid. However, he stayed on the bench for both.

His first game in the Eredivisie (the top Dutch league) was on November 28, 2010. He came into the game after halftime, replacing another player. Ajax won the game 2–0. The coach, Martin Jol, praised Aras for his play. In the very next league match, Aras started the game.

A few days before a Champions League match, Aras got the flu. This meant he couldn't play in that important European tournament. The coach, Martin Jol, resigned, and Frank de Boer became the new coach. Aras returned to play in the next game for Ajax. On December 22, Frank de Boer included Aras in the team for a cup match. Aras came on as a substitute late in the game.

In January 2011, Aras traveled with the team to Turkey for friendly matches. He played as a substitute in both games.

Aras scored his first league goal on April 3, 2011. It was in the 80th minute of a 3–0 win against Heracles Almelo. On April 14, he extended his contract with Ajax for three more seasons. On February 24, 2012, he made history in a Europa League match. He scored a goal against Manchester United at their home stadium, Old Trafford. He was the first Ajax player to do this in a European cup match.

Moving to FC Kuban

Özbiliz with FC Kuban in 2012

On May 4, 2012, the Russian club Kuban Krasnodar announced they wanted to sign Aras. The transfer was officially announced on August 8. He moved for about €1 million and signed a four-year contract.

Aras played his first game for Kuban on August 20, 2012. He came on as a substitute. On September 2, 2012, he scored his first goal for Kuban in the last minute of a game. In September 2012, he scored two more goals in home games. One was against Spartak Moscow, and another was a long-range winning shot against Terek Grozny. On March 31, 2013, Aras scored an amazing goal from far away in a match against Spartak Moscow.

Time at Spartak Moscow

In July 2013, Aras signed a five-year contract with Spartak Moscow. Kuban Krasnodar received €10 million for the transfer. On August 29, he scored his first goal for his new club.

In May 2014, Aras suffered a serious knee injury. This injury required him to have two surgeries. In April 2015, the coach of Spartak moved Aras to the reserve team. This was because the coach felt Aras was not fully fit after his injury.

Playing for Beşiktaş

In January 2016, Aras signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Beşiktaş, a club in Turkey. He was then loaned out to Rayo Vallecano in Spain.

Loan to Sheriff Tiraspol

On February 7, 2018, Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova announced that Aras had joined them on loan from Beşiktaş. However, after playing only four games, Beşiktaş called him back on June 12, 2018.

Joining Pyunik

On August 31, 2019, Aras Özbiliz signed with Pyunik, an Armenian club. On June 30, 2020, Pyunik extended his contract for another year. He left Pyunik on December 28, 2022.

Playing for Urartu and Retirement

On January 17, 2023, Aras signed with Urartu, another Armenian club. He played for Urartu until November 22, 2023, when he announced his retirement from professional football.

International Career

In May 2010, the Football Federation of Armenia invited Aras to join the Armenian youth national team. Aras said he had never been to Armenia but hoped to play for the team. He traveled to Yerevan, Armenia, and started training with a local club. The Armenian national team coach was impressed with him. However, Aras had some issues with his documents, so he couldn't play right away.

In February 2011, the Armenian coach said Aras had to choose between playing for Armenia or the Netherlands. A representative from the Armenian Football Federation went to the Netherlands to talk with Aras. Aras wanted to secure his place at Ajax first before making a final decision.

In June 2011, Aras decided to play for Armenia. He said, "Netherlands might be a good choice in sporting terms but my heart beats for Armenia. That's why I made this choice." He asked for some time to train before playing his first match. In August, he was called for a friendly match but did not play due to a back injury.

On October 4, 2011, the President of Armenia granted Aras Özbiliz Armenian citizenship. This made him an official player for the Armenia national football team. He was given an Armenia team jersey with the number 23.

Aras made his debut for the Armenian national team on February 29, 2012. It was a friendly match against Canada, and he scored a goal in that game!

Personal Life

Aras Özbiliz grew up in Hoorn, Netherlands. He holds Armenian citizenship. On April 25, 2021, he lost his Dutch citizenship. He received his Armenian passport on October 4, 2011, because he wanted to play for the Armenia national team.

Aras's favorite football player and sporting idol is Lionel Messi.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ajax	2010–11	Eredivisie	14	1	3	0	–		3	0	0	0	20	1
	2011–12		12	1	2	0	–		2	1	0	0	16	2
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	–		0	0	1	0	1	0
	Total		26	2	5	0	0	0	5	1	1	0	37	3
Kuban Krasnodar	2012–13	Russian Premier League	22	9	2	0	–		–		–		24	9
	2013–14	Russian Premier League	2	2	0	0	–		–		–		2	2
	Total		24	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	11
Spartak Moscow	2013–14	Russian Premier League	27	3	2	0	–		1	0	–		30	3
	2014–15		1	0	0	0	–		–		–		1	0
	2015–16		7	0	2	0	–		–		–		9	0
	Total		35	3	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	40	3
Beşiktaş	2015–16	Süper Lig	0	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17		1	0	3	0	–		0	0	0	0	4	0
	2017–18		0	0	1	1	–		0	0	0	0	1	1
	2018–19		0	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		0	0
	Total		1	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Rayo Vallecano (loan)	2015–16	La Liga	3	0	0	0	–		–		–		3	0
Sheriff Tiraspol (loan)	2018	Divizia Națională	4	0	0	0	–		0	0	0	0	4	0
Willem II (loan)	2018–19	Eredivisie	14	1	3	1	–		–		–		17	2
Pyunik	2019–20	Armenian Premier League	11	5	0	0	–		0	0	–		11	5
	2020–21		6	0	1	0	–		–		–		7	0
	2021–22		0	0	0	0	–		–		–		0	0
	2022–23		9	1	1	0	–		3	1	–		13	2
	Total		26	6	2	0	-	-	3	1	-	-	31	7
Urartu	2022–23	Armenian Premier League	7	2	2	2	–		–		–		9	4
	2023–24	Armenian Premier League	11	3	0	0	–		4	0	1	0	16	3
	Total		18	5	2	2	-	-	4	0	1	0	25	7
Career total			151	18	22	4	0	0	13	2	2	0	186	34

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Armenia	2012	6	2
	2013	9	2
	2014	2	0
	2015	5	0
	2016	6	0
	2017	6	2
	2018	3	0
	2019	4	0
Total		41	6

Scores and results list Armenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Özbiliz goal.

List of international goals scored by Aras Özbiliz
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	29 February 2012	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Canada	3–1	3–1	Friendly
2	14 November 2012	Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Lithuania	4–1	4–2	Friendly
3	11 June 2013	Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	2–0	4–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	11 October 2013	Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Bulgaria	1–0	2–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	26 March 2017	Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Kazakhstan	1–0	2–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	9 November 2017	Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Belarus	1–0	4–1	Friendly