Etzaz Muzafar Hussain (born 27 January 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Cypriot club

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC ( el, Απόλλων Λεμεσού, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Divisi ...

. Born in Oslo, he played for nearby

Langhus Langhus is a suburban area in the municipality of Nordre Follo in Viken, Norway. With a population of about 13,000, Langhus includes the local areas of Bøleråsen, Vevelstad and Langhus. Transport The village is stretched along the Østfold ...

as a youth player, before moving to

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in 2009. After two years in England, he returned to Norway with

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

, but shortly after moved to

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad. The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...

, where he made his professional debut. Hussain transferred to

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

in mid-2012 and won the

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

in his first season at the club. After winning four league titles and three Norwegian Cups with Molde across two spells, he moved to Apollon Limassol as a free agent in January 2023.

Playing career

Hussain played for

in his early days, before he transferred to

on 21 February 2009, and signed a professional contract with United on his 17th birthday. Even though Hussain only stayed in England for two years, and did not get any chances for the first team, he said to the Norwegian newspaper VG in February 2012 that "it was an experience for life" and would advice other Norwegian youngster to grab the opportunity if they had the chance. In January 2011 he returned home to Norway, and signed for the

club

. Less than three months later, Hussain signed for

, also a Tippeligaen club, after some disagreements between Vålerenga and Hussain on the way forward. On 14 August 2011, Hussain sent Fredrikstad to the semi-final of

2011 Norwegian Football Cup The 2011 Norwegian Football Cup was the 106th edition of the Norwegian annual knockout football tournament. It began on 6 April 2011 with the matches of the first qualifying round and ended on 6 November 2011 with the Final. The winners, Aalesun ...

with the match-winning goal with only a couple of minutes left of the

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

, at the expense of

now managed by his former boss at the Manchester United reserves,

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his care ...

. On 31 October 2011, Hussain scored his second goal in two matches, with the match winning goal against Vålerenga, the club that believed he was not good enough for Tippeligaen.

Molde

On 27 July 2012, Hussain moved to

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a professional football club based in Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club was originally known as International and changed its name to ...

, reuniting with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He won the league with Molde in 2012 and 2014 and the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

in 2013 and 2014.

Sivasspor

On 7 January 2016, Hussain signed a 2.5-year contract with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

side

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

. With Sivasspor, Hussein was unable to avoid relegation to the second Turkish division. Following relegation, his contract at Sivasspor was terminated in mutual agreement on 4 July 2016.

Rudeš Zagreb

Hussain signed for the second-tier Croatian side

NK Rudeš Nogometni Klub Rudeš ( en, Football Club Rudeš), commonly referred to as NK Rudeš or simply Rudeš, is a Croatian football club founded in 1957 in Zagreb's neighbourhood of Rudeš. The club competes in Croatia's second division. History Be ...

, coached by the former

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 popul ...

player

Igor Bišćan Igor Bišćan (; born 4 May 1978) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Croatia national under-21 team. In his playing career, he was a versatile player and could play almost every position in th ...

, in October 2016.

Molde return

On 28 February 2017,

announced that Hussain had returned to the club along with the signing of

Erling Haaland Erling Braut Haaland (; born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Manchester City and the Norway national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his speed, stre ...

. On 11 July 2019, he scored Molde's sixth goal in the club's

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...

record 7–1 win over KR in the

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. It ...

first qualifying round. On 20 October 2019, he scored a brace in an Eliteserien game Molde won 3–1 over

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

. On 31 January 2020, Hussain signed a new contract with

that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2022 season.

Apollon Limassol

Following Hussain's release from Molde after winning the

2022 Eliteserien The 2022 Eliteserien will be the 78th season of top-tier football in Norway. This will be the sixth season of Eliteserien after rebranding from Tippeligaen. The season is scheduled to begin on 2 April 2022 and end on 13 November 2022, not includi ...

, Cypriot club

announced on 20 January 2023 that the midfielder had reached an agreement to sign with the defending Cypriot league champions till May 2025. On 24 January 2023, Etzaz Hussain formally signed with the Limassol club and chose to play with the number 18. He made his league debut for the club on 9 February, coming on as a late substitute in the 4-3 home defeat to Karmiotissa.

International career

Hussain played on youth level for Norway. As he has never appeared for Norway in a competitive match, he remains potentially eligible to represent

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In October 2021, he had declared his intention to play for Pakistan.

Personal life

Born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Hussain has discussed his Pakistani heritage in interviews. His both parents originate from the city of

Kharian Kharian ( ur, ), is a city located within the Gujrat District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kharian is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil. According to 2017 Census of Pakistan, it has a population of about 87,419. It is known as Litt ...

in the

Gujrat district Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...

of Pakistan. He was also honoured by the Pakistani government at its embassy in Oslo during the country’s

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

celebrations on 14 August 2021.

Career statistics

Honours

Molde *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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 ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 2021–22

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Etzaz 1993 births Living people People from Ski, Norway Norwegian people of Pakistani descent Norwegian men's footballers Pakistani men's footballers Eliteserien players Süper Lig players First Football League (Croatia) players Cypriot First Division players Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Vålerenga Fotball players Fredrikstad FK players Molde FK players Sivasspor footballers NK Rudeš players Odds BK players Apollon Limassol FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Pakistani expatriates in England Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Footballers from Viken (county)