Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (born 28 March 1994) 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

for Omonia. Born in Switzerland, he represents the Libya national team.

Early life

Tajouri-Shradi was born in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland, to Libyan parents. His father was a diplomat. He moved to Austria at the age of 9, and received his Austrian passport in March 2016. He has always considered himself Libyan.

Club career

Shradi spent his early career at

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mos ...

, coming up through the youth ranks in 2013 before going on loan to Rheindorf Altach. After two-and-a-half years at Altach, Shradi returned to Austria Wien and became a regular starter. Shradi signed with Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC on 12 January 2018. In his debut season, he scored 11 league goals while also contributing 3 assists. On 14 December 2021, Tajouri-Shradi was selected by Charlotte FC in the

2021 MLS Expansion Draft The 2021 MLS Expansion Draft was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team Charlotte FC that was held on December 14, 2021. The list of exposed players was revealed on December 13, 2021. The picks were made on December 14, 2021 a ...

and was immediately traded to

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...

in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. He was traded again on 5 August 2022, joining

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

in exchange for $400,000 In General Allocation Money. On 4 January 2023, Tajouri-Shradi joined Cypriot club Omonia.

International career

Shradi debuted for the Libyan under-20s in a friendly with the Morocco under-20s in the summer of 2012. He debuted for the Libya senior national team in a 0–0

2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the 32nd edition of the international men's football champion ...

tie with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 8 September 2018.

Personal life

In February 2019, Tajouri-Shradi earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

New York City FC *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

1994 births Living people Libyan footballers Libya international footballers Libya youth international footballers Libyan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austrian footballers Austrian people of Libyan descent Austrian Football Bundesliga players 2. Liga (Austria) players Austrian Regionalliga players FK Austria Wien players SC Rheindorf Altach players New York City FC players Los Angeles FC players New England Revolution players Major League Soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association football forwards Footballers from Bern Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austrian expatriate footballers Libyan expatriate footballers {{Libya-footy-bio-stub