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_2.jpg) El Ahmadi withMorocco at the2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karim El Ahmadi Aroussi[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-01-27)27 January 1985 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Enschede, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| UDI Enschede | |||
| Twente | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2008 | Twente | 89 | (3) |
| 2008–2012 | Feyenoord | 94 | (4) |
| 2011 | →Al Ahli (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2012–2014 | Aston Villa | 51 | (3) |
| 2014–2018 | Feyenoord | 122 | (10) |
| 2018–2022 | Al-Ittihad | 90 | (0) |
| Total | 456 | (21) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2019 | Morocco | 66 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:14, 2 May 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:18, 12 July 2019 (UTC) | |||
Karim El-Ahmadi Aroussi (Arabic:كريم الأحمدي; born 27 January 1985) is a former professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder. El-Ahmadi was born in the Netherlands and played forFC Twente andFeyenoord before moving to thePremier League withAston Villa in 2012 and subsequently returning to Feyenoord in September 2014 and before moving to theAl-Ittihad in theSaudi Professional League in 2018. Born in theNetherlands, he representedMorocco internationally.
El Ahmadi was born and raised inEnschede,Overijssel, Netherlands. His parents are bothMoroccan, making him eligible to acquire theMoroccan citizenship and represent theMorocco national football team.[citation needed]
At the age of 9, El Ahmadi started playing football at local Enschede clubUDI. He got noticed quickly by scouts fromTwente and was invited to join their academy.
On 21 March 2004, El Ahmadi made his official debut inTwente's first team in the away match against FC Utrecht (2–0), where he played 90 minutes.[3] El Ahmadi able to play 2 more games againstGroningen andRBC Roosendaal but with the return of On the last match of the season in a match againstRKC Waalwijk on 9 May 2004, El Ahmadi provided as assist forKim Christensen to make it 3–2 but RKC Waalwijk scored in the late minutes to make 3–3.[citation needed]
The following season 2004–05, El Ahmadi began coming on as a substitute for the next two games againstAjax and RKC Waalwijk at the start of the season. In a match againstHeerenveen on 28 August 2004, El Ahmadi played for 90 minutes and setting up a goal forBlaise Nkufo in a 4–1 victory. On 13 November 2004, El Ahmadi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win overN.E.C. At the end of the season, El Ahmadi played 16 league games, playing mostly on the wing positions.
The following 2005–06 season, El Ahmadi found himself out of the first team and made 8 appearances following the arrival ofKennedy Bakırcıoğlu andPatrick Gerritsen. In the following 2006–07 season, El Ahmadi suffered a knee injury in aUEFA Cup match against Estonian sideLevadia Tallinn in a 1–1 draw.[4] After recovering, El Ahmadi returned to the reserve and by mid-November, El Ahmadi played his first match of the season, coming on as a substitute forWout Brama in a 7–1 win over Groningen. After the match, El Ahmadi began establishing himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right side of the support. In late-October, El Ahmadi signed a contract with the club, until 2009, with an options to extend until 2011.[5] On 3 February 2007, El Ahmadi scored the first goal in a match with Twente won 2–1 overExcelsior. On 8 April 2007, El Ahmadi scored Twente's only goal in the game in a 1–1 draw againstHeracles. El Ahmadi played a single game for the club from 13 November 2006 to 29 April 2007. At the end of season 2006–07, the club finished fourth which resulted in entering theUEFA Cup.
The following 2007–08 season, Twente began suffering after the club sold Bakırcıoğlu to Ajax andSharbel Touma sold to German sideBorussia Mönchengladbach. Even worse, Patrick Gerritsen suffered a leg injury, leading El Ahmadi to get more playing time in the starting line-up. In late July, El Ahmadi signed a contract extension which will keep him until 2011.[6] At the end of 2007–08 season, El Ahmadi made 33 appearances, primarily playing as a defender. At the end of the season FC Twente qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
On 16 April 2008, it was announced that El Ahmadi signed a five-year deal with Dutch clubFeyenoord for a transfer fee of €5 million (£4.3 million).[7]
After a groin injury had initially kept him from playing[8] he made his debut on 2 October 2008, coming on as a substitute forLuigi Bruins in theUEFA Cup-match againstKalmar FF, which Feyenoord won 2–1. He made his debut in the starting line-up againstNEC before coming off after 58 minutes, and the game ended in a 0–2 home defeat on 5 October 2008. On 9 November 2008, El Ahmadi scored his first goal for the club in a 5–2 win overUtrecht. On 22 February 2009, El Ahmadi scored his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win overDe Graafschap. Since making his debut, he played regularly in the starting line-up which led to interest from a German teamHamburger SV.[9] In early April El Ahmadi, suffered an ankle injury before making his return in the last game of the season, a 3–2 loss againstRoda JC.[10] At the end of the season, he was linked to league rivalsPSV Eindhoven[citation needed], however, no offer was made from the club.[11]
In the following 2009–10 season under managerMario Been, El Ahmadi was deployed in central midfield with the rise of youngstersLeroy Fer andJonathan de Guzmán. Playing in this position, he played 26 league games. In the quarter-final of theKNVB Cup, he scored a brace and set up a goal for captainGiovanni van Bronckhorst in a 3–0 win over PSV Eindhoven on 27 January 2010. Feyenoord would later on reach the final of the KNVB Cup, which they lost 6–1 on aggregate to Ajax.[citation needed]
After a loan spell atAl Ahli Club, El Ahmadi returned to feyenoord. Under managerRonald Koeman he managed to become a regular in the starting line-up as a midfielder forming a partnership withJordy Clasie andOtman Bakkal. On 11 September 2011, he scored his first goal since 2009 in a 3–1 win overNAC Breda. On 16 October 2011, El Ahmadi scored again this season in a 4–0 win overVVV-Venlo.[12]
After making 15 league appearances in the 2010–11 season at Feyenoord, El Ahmadi joined an UAE teamAl Ahli Club on a six-month loan deal in order for the club to boost funds required to sign a new striker on 25 January 2011.[13] On 4 February 2011, he made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw againstAl Dhafra S.C.C.[14] On 24 March 2011, he scored his first goal in the UAE League with a 2–2 draw againstIttihad Kalba. During his loan El Ahmadi appeared in 10 games and scored one goal. At the end of the season, he stated he wanted to play European Football again next season and that the level of competition at Al Ahli was 'too low' compared to the 'weakest teams in the Dutch league'.[15] The chairman of Al Ahli football club, Abdullah Saeed Al Naboudah, said the club wanted to sign El Ahmadi on a permanent basis, however, the two clubs failed to reach an agreement.[16]
On 26 June 2012, both the British and Dutch media strongly linked El Ahmadi with a transfer toAston Villa of England'sPremier League.[17] Soon after, new Villa managerPaul Lambert confirmed his interest in the player. On 2 July 2012, El Ahmadi completed his transfer from Feyenoord to Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £2,000,000. This made him Lambert's first signing as Aston Villa manager, and Aston Villa's second signing of the summer (following Australia internationalBrett Holman's move fromAZ). On 14 July 2012, El Ahmadi made his debut in a 2–1 win againstBurton Albion at thePirelli Stadium, demonstrating a man of the match performance.[18] On 25 August, he made his home debut and scored a spectacular strike in the 74th minute, in Aston Villa's 3–1 defeat toEverton.[19] Having made a good start despite losing opening two Premier League games of the season, El Ahmadi was voted the club's player of the month of August.[20] Later in the season, El Ahmadi was left out of the squad due to injury and made 24 appearances across all competitions. El Ahmadi started the 2013–14 season in midfield, including a goal in a 3–2 win againstManchester City.[citation needed]
On 1 September 2014, El Ahmadi returned toFeyenoord for an undisclosed transfer fee, signing a contract that would keep him atDe Kuip until 2017.[21]
On 22 April 2018 he played as Feyenoord won the 2017–18KNVB Cup final 3–0 againstAZ Alkmaar.[22]
On 9 July 2018, El Ahmadi signed a two-year contract withSaudi Arabian sideAl-Ittihad.[23]
El Ahmadi played for the Dutch national youth teams, but opted to representMorocco at the2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in theNetherlands.[24]
In May 2018 he was named in Morocco's 23-mansquad for the2018 World Cup inRussia.[25]
El Ahmadi is a practicingMuslim.[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Twente | 2003–04 | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 26 | 2 | ||||
| 2007–08 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 89 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||||
| Feyenoord | 2008–09[27] | Eredivisie | 22 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 |
| 2009–10[27] | 26 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11[27] | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12[27] | 31 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | ||
| Total | 94 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 7 | ||
| Al-Ahli FC (loan) | 2010–11[28] | UAE Pro-League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| Aston Villa | 2012–13[29] | Premier League | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14[29] | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 56 | 3 | ||||
| Feyenoord | 2014–15[27] | Eredivisie | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7[a] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 |
| 2015–16[27] | 32 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17[27] | 30 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 37 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18[27] | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| Total | 122 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 152 | 11 | ||
| Al-Ittihad | 2018–19[28] | Saudi Pro League | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2[d] | 1 | 1[e] | 1 | 32 | 2 |
| 2019–20[28] | 26 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21[28] | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Total | 72 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 90 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 438 | 21 | 43 | 5 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 507 | 28 | ||
| Morocco | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 6 | 0 |
| 2009 | 7 | 1 |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 |
| 2012 | 4 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 66 | 1 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 August 2009 | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium,Rabat,Morocco |  Congo | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Twente
Feyenoord
Al Ittihad
Individual
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