Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional
footballer who plays as a
forward for club
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
and the
Belgium national team.
Origi began his career at
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A year and a half later, he was signed for £10 million by
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, who
loaned him back to Lille for the
2014–15 Ligue 1
The 2014–15 Ligue 1 season was the 77th season since its establishment. Paris Saint-Germain were the two-time defending champions and successfully defended their title.
Teams
There were 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Li ...
season. After struggling at Liverpool due to injuries, and spending a year on loan at
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
, Origi made various crucial contributions to the club during the 2018–19 season. He most notably scored two goals in the
2019 Champions League semi-final in a comeback against
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. He was also a part of the squad that won the
2019–20 Premier League
The 2019–20 Premier League was the 28th season of the Premier League, the top English professional football league, since its establishment in 1992, and the 121st season of top-flight English football overall. The season started on 9 August 2 ...
the following season, Liverpool's first league title for 30 years. After 8 years at Liverpool, Origi was permitted to leave the club, joining AC Milan in Italy on a permanent deal in the 2022 summer transfer window.
Origi made his international debut for Belgium in 2014 and was part of their team which reached the quarter-finals of the
2014 FIFA World Cup, during which he became the youngest goalscorer in Belgian World Cup history as a 19 year old.
Club career
Early career
Origi began his career playing football at
Genk
Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...
's youth academy where he spent nine years before signing for
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...
in May 2010, aged 15, after turning down an approach by
Manchester United.
Lille
![Divock Origi (LOSC Lille)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Divock_Origi_%28LOSC_Lille%29.JPG)
On 24 January 2013, Origi was an unused substitute in Lille's 3–1 away win over
Plabennec in a
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
match. Nine days later, he scored on his competitive debut for the senior Lille side, coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute for
Ronny Rodelin
Sylvio Ronny Rodelin (born 18 November 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss club Servette.
Club career Early career
Rodelin began his youth and senior career at Rodez. During the 2007–08 season, he score ...
and scoring to bring his side from 1–0 down against
Troyes.
Liverpool
On 29 July 2014,
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
announced that they had completed a £10 million transfer for Origi, who signed a five-year contract but was immediately
loaned back to Lille for the
2014–15 season.
Loan to Lille
In his first match back in Lille, Origi scored his first goal of the new Ligue 1 season through a penalty against
Caen to secure a 1–0 win for his side. This was after he had been brought down in the box by defender
Dennis Appiah, who was sent off by the referee towards the 70th minute.
On 11 December 2014, as Lille lost 0–3 at home to
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
to be eliminated from the
UEFA Europa League group stage, Origi had a penalty saved by
Diego Benaglio
Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
He spent most of his professional career with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany's top flight, the Bundesliga, winning the 2009 league champ ...
. On 15 March 2015, Origi scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
for Lille in a 3–0 league win against
Rennes.
Return to Liverpool
![Divock Origi (25273591916)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Divock_Origi_%2825273591916%29.jpg)
On 11 July 2015, Origi was named in Liverpool's 30-man squad for their pre-season tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia. In his non-competitive debut for Liverpool, a pre-season friendly against
Thai All-Stars on 14 July, Origi scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win.
His first competitive game for the team was on 12 September, replacing
Danny Ings for the final sixteen minutes of a 3–1 loss at
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
Manchester United. Origi scored his first competitive Liverpool goals on 2 December, a hat-trick in a 6–1 away win over
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in the quarter-finals of the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. Eleven days later, he scored his first Premier League goal, replacing the injured
Dejan Lovren
Dejan Lovren (; born 5 July 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Russian Premier League club Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Croatia national team.
Lovren began his career at Dinamo Zagreb before moving to ...
in the 79th minute and scoring an added-time equaliser from outside the penalty area for a 2–2 draw against
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. On 14 February, he scored his second league goal against
Aston Villa in a 6–0 victory, only 27 seconds after replacing
Daniel Sturridge
Daniel Andre Sturridge (; born 1 September 1989) is an English professional footballer who last played as a striker. As well as representing England, he has played in the Premier League for Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool ...
in the second half; this was the fastest goal scored by a substitute that season.
On 7 April 2016, Liverpool manager
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Klopp spent most of his playing ...
surprisingly started Origi ahead of Sturridge (the team's first-choice striker) during Liverpool's
Europa League quarter-final match against
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
, Klopp's former side. Origi scored a vital away goal in a 1–1 draw. Three days later, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over
Stoke City after coming on as a substitute to replace
Sheyi Ojo at half-time.
On 20 April 2016, Origi sustained a severe ankle ligament injury in a home game against
Everton. This was caused by a foul tackle by Everton defender
Ramiro Funes Mori
José Ramiro Funes Mori (; born 5 March 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga MX club Cruz Azul. He plays primarily as a centre-back but can also operate as a left-back and defensive midfielder.
Early ...
who received a red card and subsequent 3 match ban.
Origi was used predominantly as a substitute and cup player at the start of
the 2016–17 campaign. He scored his first goal of the season on 23 August 2016 in a 5–0
EFL Cup win over
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
. He scored his first
2016–17 Premier League goal on 26 November, coming off the bench for the injured
Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, ...
to score the opener in a 2–0 win over
Sunderland. On 1 April 2017, he scored Liverpool's third in a 3–1 win against rivals Everton. On 14 May, he scored Liverpool's fourth in a 4–0 win against
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, edging the team closer to
Champions League qualification.
Loan to VfL Wolfsburg
On 31 August 2017,
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
club VfL Wolfsburg signed Origi on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for the club against
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
, on 19 September. He scored six goals in total for the club during his loan spell.
[
]
Return to Liverpool
On 2 December 2018, Origi scored his first goal of the season in a Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...
match against city rivals Everton, which Liverpool won 1–0. Origi came on as a substitute for Roberto Firmino in the 84th minute and scored with a header in the 96th minute, capitalising on an error from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. On 4 May 2019, he scored a last-minute goal against Newcastle in a 3–2 victory, keeping Liverpool's hunt for their first title since the introduction of the Premier League alive.
On 7 May 2019, Origi scored for the first time in the Champions League, netting a brace in the semi-final second leg against Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, vitally scoring the final goal to complete Liverpool's comeback from a three-goal first leg defeat. On 1 June 2019, he scored Liverpool's second goal in a 2–0 win over Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2019 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, the 64th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA and the 27th season since it was rebranded the UEFA Champions League. ...
, as he won his first honour with the club. In doing so, he became only the second Belgian player to score in a Champions League final after Yannick Carrasco in 2016.
On 10 July 2019, Origi signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. On 30 October, Origi scored twice, including a last minute bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
in an EFL Cup match against Arsenal which Liverpool eventually won on penalties following a 5–5 regular time finish. On 4 December, he scored two goals as Liverpool beat rival Everton 5–2 in the Merseyside derby to extend their unbeaten run in league football to 32 matches, which was a new club record.
Origi featured seventeen times and scored only one goal for Liverpool over the course of the 2020–21 season. His second goal in the 2021–22 season was a scorpion kick
The scorpion kick, also known as a reverse bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by ...
inside the six-yard box in a 2–0 Carabao Cup win over Preston on 27 October. He scored Liverpool's winning goal in a 2–1 win away to AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
on 7 December 2021, as Liverpool became the first English club to win all six Champions League group games in the competition's history.
In June 2022, it was announced by Liverpool that Origi would leave the club at the end of the month when his contract expired.
AC Milan
On 5 July 2022, Origi signed for Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
club AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
on a four-year contract.
International career
Origi has represented Belgium at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He scored ten goals while in the under-19 team, the first in a 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification match against Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
on 12 October 2012.
The Football Kenya Federation expressed an interest in persuading Origi to play for the Kenya senior national team in the future. However, on 13 May 2014, Belgium senior national team manager Marc Wilmots
Marc Robert Wilmots (born 22 February 1969) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who recently managed the Iran national team and is now active at Raja CA. During his club career as attacking midfielder, he won trophies w ...
announced Origi would be part of the 23-man squad representing Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Origi came on as a substitute for Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team.
Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...
in the 58th minute of the opening Group H game against Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
in Belo Horizonte on 17 June. In Belgium's second match, again after coming on as a substitute for Lukaku, he scored his first senior international goal in the 88th minute of a 1–0 win over Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
to qualify the ''Red Devils'' for the knockout stage. In so doing, at 19 years, 2 months and 4 days, he became the youngest goalscorer of the tournament (until American winger Julian Green scored against Belgium during their round of 16 match), the youngest goalscorer in Belgian World Cup history, and the first player of Kenyan origin to score at a World Cup finals. For his performances, he was named the Young Talent of the 2014 Belgian Sportsman of the year The Belgian Sportsman of the Year is elected at the end of each year by professional sportjournalists and former winners, annually since 1967. A Belgian Sportswoman of the Year title has been given out since 1975. Top winners include Ingrid Berghm ...
awards.
Origi scored once in Belgium's successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
campaign, in a 6–0 home win over Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
on 10 October 2014. He was included in the squad for the final tournament, but missed out on the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Personal life
Origi was born in Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
and grew up in Houthalen-Oost. He was born into a family of footballers: his father, Mike Origi, played for KV Oostende (at the time Divock was born) and Genk, among other Belgian clubs, as well as the Kenya national team. His uncle, Austin Oduor Origi, played for Gor Mahia in the Kenyan Premier League
The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan ...
while his other uncles, Gerald and Anthony, played for Tusker. His cousin, Arnold Origi, is also a professional player who has been capped for the Kenyan national team as a goalkeeper. The Origi family is of Kenyan Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
*** Luoland, th ...
ethnicity. Origi speaks four languages fluently: Swahili, English, Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and French.
Origi is a Christian. He has said, “My religion, being a Christian, has values of working hard, staying focused on the right things that helps you in life. Of course you’re going to slip. I made mistakes. But those mistakes helped me and still help me these days.”
On 25 June 2014, a baby dolphin at the Boudewijn Seapark in Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population.
The area of the whole city a ...
was baptised "Origi" after Origi scored the winning goal against Russia during Belgium's group stage match at the 2014 World Cup.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Origi goal''[
]
Honours
Liverpool
*Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
: 2019–20
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
: 2021–22
* Football League Cup/EFL Cup: 2021–22; runner-up: 2015–16
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2018–19
*UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
: 2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
* FIFA Club World Cup: 2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
*UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
runner-up: 2015–16
Individual
* Belgian Sportsman Promising Talent of the Year: 2014
References
External links
Divock Origi
at Liverpool F.C.
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Origi, Divock
1995 births
Living people
People from Houthalen-Helchteren
Sportspeople from Ostend
Footballers from West Flanders
Belgian footballers
Association football forwards
K.R.C. Genk players
Lille OSC players
Liverpool F.C. players
VfL Wolfsburg players
A.C. Milan players
Championnat National 2 players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
Bundesliga players
Serie A players
UEFA Champions League winning players
Belgium youth international footballers
Belgium under-21 international footballers
Belgium international footballers
2014 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
Belgian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in France
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Belgian people of Kenyan descent
Belgian sportspeople of African descent
Belgian people of Luo descent
Black Belgian sportspeople