Liban Abdi facts for kids
Abdi with Ferencváros
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Liban Abdi Ali | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Burao, Somaliland | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Vålerenga | |||
| Skeid | |||
| 2004–2007 | Sheffield United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2010 | Sheffield United | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | → Ferencváros (loan) | 17 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | → Ferencváros II (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Ferencváros | 29 | (2) |
| 2010–2012 | Ferencváros II | 14 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | Olhanense | 16 | (4) |
| 2013–2014 | Académica de Coimbra | 11 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Çaykur Rizespor | 13 | (1) |
| 2015 | → Levski Sofia (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Haugesund | 38 | (7) |
| 2018 | Al-Ettifaq | 12 | (2) |
| Total | 164 | (28) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:40, 23 June 2019 (UTC) | |||
Liban Abdi Ali (born on October 5, 1988) is a talented Somali footballer. He plays as a left winger, which means he runs along the side of the field to help both attack and defend. Liban has played for several clubs in different countries, including Sheffield United in England, Ferencváros in Hungary, Olhanense in Portugal, and FK Haugesund in Norway.
Liban was born in Somalia but grew up in Norway. He has Norwegian citizenship. This means he could play for the national teams of Somaliland, Somalia, or Norway.
Contents
Early Life and Moving to Norway
Liban Abdi was born in Burao, Somaliland, in 1988. He spent most of his childhood in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. He went to both primary and secondary school in Oslo, living in an area called Stovner.
Football Journey
Starting in England
When Liban was 14, he moved to England with his family. After about a year, he joined the youth academy of Sheffield United. This is where young players train to become professional footballers. Liban was the first Somali player to get a professional contract with Sheffield United because he was so good in their Academy. He had played for smaller clubs like Newport Pagnell Town and Buckingham Town before joining Sheffield United. He got help moving to Sheffield through a program called Football Unites, Racism Divides.
In 2008, Liban signed a two-year contract with Sheffield United. To help him get more experience playing in real games, he was loaned to Ferencváros, a club in Hungary that was connected to Sheffield United. After his loan ended, he returned to Sheffield United but didn't get to play much for their main team. So, in July 2010, he left the club.
Playing in Europe
After leaving Sheffield United, Liban joined Ferencváros permanently. He played there for two seasons. Then, in 2012, he moved to Portugal to play for Olhanense, which is a club in Portugal's top football league, the Primeira Liga.
He continued his career playing for different clubs across Europe and beyond. He played for Académica de Coimbra in Portugal, Çaykur Rizespor in Turkey, and was loaned to Levski Sofia in Bulgaria. Later, he returned to Norway to play for FK Haugesund. In 2018, he moved to Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.
International Football Hopes
Liban Abdi has the choice to play for the national football teams of Somaliland, Somalia, or Norway. Even though he hasn't played for any of them officially, he has said he would like to play for Norway.
In 2012, the coach for the Norway national team, Egil "Drillo" Olsen, mentioned that he hadn't seen Liban play, even though Liban was playing in Portugal at the time. A couple of months later, the coach said that Liban wasn't quite good enough for the Norwegian team. In 2018, Liban shared that he wouldn't play for Somalia but wanted to help the country's football in other ways.
Images for kids
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Liban Abdi playing in 2014.
See also
In Spanish: Liban Abdi para niños
