Omar Elabdellaoui facts for kids
.png)
Elabdellaoui playing for Galatasaray in 2020
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Omar Elabdellaoui | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 5 December 1991 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oslo, Norway | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right back, right midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Sagene IF | ||||||||||||||||
| Skeid | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Manchester City | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | → Strømsgodset (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | → Feyenoord (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | → Eintracht Braunschweig (loan) | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 29 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2020 | Olympiacos | 116 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Hull City (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Galatasaray | 17 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Bodø/Glimt | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Norway U17 | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Norway U19 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Norway U21 | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Norway U23 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2020 | Norway | 49 | (0) | |||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Omar Elabdellaoui, born on December 5, 1991, is a former professional footballer from Norway. He was known for playing as a right back or a right midfielder.
Omar started his football journey with the Norwegian club Skeid. Later, in 2008, he joined the famous English club Manchester City. Although he didn't play any official matches for Manchester City, he gained experience through loan spells. He made his first professional appearance while on loan at Strømsgodset in Norway. He also played for Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
In 2013, Omar joined Eintracht Braunschweig in Germany, first on loan and then permanently. He then moved to Olympiacos in Greece in 2014, where he played until 2020. After that, he joined Galatasaray in Turkey.
Omar also proudly represented his home country, Norway. He played for Norway's youth teams, including the team that competed in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He was also a part of the senior Norwegian national team from 2013 to 2020.
Contents
Omar's Club Football Journey
Starting with Manchester City
Omar Elabdellaoui joined the English club Manchester City when he was just 16 years old. A coach from City's youth team, Scott Sellars, believed Omar had a "big future" in football. Omar worked hard in the academy and was even given a first-team number for the 2010–11 season. He sat on the bench for a Europa League match, showing how close he was to playing for the main team.
Playing for Strømsgodset
In March 2011, Omar was loaned to Strømsgodset in Norway. This was a chance for him to play regularly. He played eight league matches before he broke his foot in May 2011. He had to return to Manchester for surgery. After recovering, he came back to Strømsgodset and played until the end of the 2011 season. He played a total of 12 matches, scoring one goal and helping with one assist.
Strømsgodset wanted him to stay for another season, but Omar was worried about playing on their artificial turf field. He feared it might cause his foot injury to return.
Time with Feyenoord
In June 2012, Omar signed a new two-year contract with Manchester City. He was then loaned to the Dutch club Feyenoord for the 2012–13 season. His former teammate, John Guidetti, who had also played for Feyenoord, suggested that Omar would be a great fit for the club. Guidetti described Omar as strong, skilled, and fast.
Feyenoord's technical director, Martin van Geel, said they wanted Omar to play as a winger or an attacking midfielder. However, Omar only played five matches for Feyenoord, mostly as a substitute. In January 2013, he asked to leave the club because he wanted to play more often. It was tough to get a regular spot because he was competing against players from the Dutch national team.
Moving to Eintracht Braunschweig
In January 2013, Omar was loaned to the German club Eintracht Braunschweig. He quickly became a regular player and helped his team get promoted to the top German league, the Bundesliga. In May, his loan deal became permanent, meaning he officially joined the club.
He made his first appearance in the Bundesliga on August 10, 2013. He started the first three matches of the season as a right back.
Joining Olympiacos
.jpg)
On June 17, 2014, Omar was offered a contract by the Greek club Olympiacos. He signed the next day, excited to be part of the team.
Loan to Hull City
On January 20, 2017, Omar went on loan to Hull City in England. This meant he joined his national teammates Markus Henriksen and Adama Diomande. Hull City had the option to sign him permanently later. He played his first match for Hull City two days later.
Returning to Olympiacos
Omar played very well during the 2018–19 season, and other clubs became interested in him. However, Olympiacos said they would only consider offers of at least 5 million euros.
For the 2019–20 season, Omar became the team captain. He played 47 matches in all competitions and was a very important player as his team won the Greek Super League. In August 2020, he announced that he was leaving the club.
Playing for Galatasaray
After leaving Olympiacos, Omar signed a three-year contract with the Turkish club Galatasaray. The contract was reportedly worth €4,050,000 in salary.
On December 31, 2020, during New Year celebrations, Omar was involved in an accident where fireworks exploded in his hands. He was taken to the hospital for treatment, with special concern for injuries to his eyes.
Omar returned to training in July 2021, wearing special protective glasses. In February 2022, after more than ten eye surgeries, he was ready to play again. His eyes were rebuilt with help from his sister and an anonymous donor. His contract with Galatasaray ended on September 2, 2022.
Coming Back to Norway
In December 2022, Omar signed a contract with Bodø/Glimt in Norway for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. In his first year with Bodø/Glimt, he helped the club win their third league title in just four seasons.
Omar's International Career
_-_Norway_national_under-21_football_team_(02).jpg)
Omar Elabdellaoui started playing for Norway's national youth teams at a young age. He made his debut for the under-15 team in 2006. He later played for the under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19 teams, scoring goals for some of them.
He made his debut for the Norway national under-21 football team in October 2010. He played a big role as a right-back in the qualification matches for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Omar also played for the Norway under-23 team. In June 2012, he scored the first goal in a 4–0 victory against Wales.
In August 2013, Omar was called up to the senior Norwegian national team for a friendly match. He made his debut for the senior team by starting the match and playing 72 minutes as a right back.
Omar's Family Connections
Omar Elabdellaoui has Moroccan family roots. He is the cousin of two other football players, Mohammed Abdellaoue and Mustafa Abdellaoue.
Honours and Awards
Olympiacos
- Super League Greece: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20
Bodø/Glimt
- Eliteserien: 2023
Norway U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship bronze: 2013
Individual
- Norwegian Footballer of the Year: 2015
- Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20
See also
In Spanish: Omar Elabdellaoui para niños
