Omar El Kaddouri ( Riffian-Berber: ⵄⵎⴰⵔ ⵍⵇⴰⴷⵓⵔⵉ; born 21 August 1990) 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 ...

or a winger for Greek

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

club PAOK. Born in Belgium, he represents

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

at international level.

Club career

Early career

Born in Belgium to Riffian-Moroccan parents, El Kaddouri began his early career at K. Diegem Sport. He subsequently moved to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

after being scouted by their youth system. During the

Torneo di Viareggio The Torneo di Viareggio ( en, Viareggio Tournament), officially named the Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament Coppa Carnevale, is a youth association football tournament held annually in the commune of Viareggio, Italy and its surrounding area ...

in 2007, he was scouted by Italian football club

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

who signed him in 2008. He played two seasons with the Brescia youth team, managing a first team appearance when he came on as a substitute against

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

on 30 March 2009, aged just 18. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he was sent out to

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

side

Südtirol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, where he managed 32 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting a further 10.

Brescia

During 2011–12, El Kaddouri returned to

, who decided to establish him in the centre midfield. On 3 October 2011, he scored the second goal in a defeat of

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

. On 5 March 2012 he scored his fifth goal of the season for le Rondinelle against

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

, on an assist of

Jonathas Jonathas is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jonathas de Jesus (born 1989), Brazilian footballer *Jonathas Granville (1785–1839), Haitian educator, legal expert, soldier, and diplomat ;Other *''David et Jonathas'', French ope ...

. He concluded the season with 38 appearances and 7 goals.

Napoli

On 24 August 2012 El Kaddouri officially signed with

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

under a co-ownership agreement for €2 million. He officially debuted with the Neapolitans on 20 September as a starter in a

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 ...

match against Swedish side

AIK Fotboll AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

; his

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 Coppa ...

debut was on 2 December, in a home game against

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

. He collected 7 appearances in

, with 14 in total throughout the season. On 20 June 2013 Napoli acquired the second half of his contract from Brescia.

Torino

On 11 July 2013 El Kaddouri was loaned to

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

with the right to redeem half of his contract in co-ownership. He made his debut on 17 August in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, a 1–2 defeat against

, substituting

Alexander Farnerud Alexander Hans Christian Farnerud (born 1 May 1984) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as attacking midfielder. Starting out at Landskrona BoIS in the early 2000s, he went on to represent clubs in France, Germany, Denmark, Sw ...

at halftime. On 24 November he scored his first two goals for Torino during a 4–1 win against

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

. On 17 February 2014 he scored the final goal in a 3–1 win away at

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, after providing two assists on the earlier goals. In the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

El Kaddouri collected 29 appearances and 5 goals. At the end of the season Torino opted to acquire 50% of his contract, however, Napoli exercised the right redeem his contract in full as stipulated. On 1 July 2014 he was reloaned to Torino with a buyout clause. On 7 February 2015 he scored his first goal of the season during an away fixture against Verona; the game ended 3–1 in favour of the ''Granata''.

Return to Napoli

On 25 June 2015 El Kaddouri's contract was not redeemed by Torino and he returned to Naples.

Empoli

On 31 January 2017, during the winter transfer window, El Kaddouri has officially joined

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...

, moving from Napoli on a three-and-a-half-year contract, until 30 June 2021.

PAOK

On August 24, 2017, PAOK announced the signing of the Moroccan

, who signed a four-year contract with the team. On 14 April 2018, he scored his first goal in the

, in a 3–1 home victory over

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

. In his first year in the team of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, he reached the conquest of the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

. The final between PAOK and

AEK A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

was held at the OAKA stadium, with "Dikefalos tou Vorras" prevailing with a score of 2–0. The following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

he clearly had a more active role in the team and took many opportunities from Razvan Lucescu, the coach of PAOK. However, during the winter transfer window, there were strong rumors of a possible transfer to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, but after a suggestion from Lucescu and

Ivan Savvidis Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi (russian: Иван Игнатьевич Саввиди, , el, Ιβάν Σαββίδης, translit=Ivan Savvidis, , ka, ივან ეგნატეს ძე სავიდი, ''Ivan Egnates dze Savidi'', , also ...

, he eventually stayed at the club, and in the season finale celebrated the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, in addition to the championship, also won the

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

. In the 2019-2020 season, he was one of the main selections for the starting lineup, while 2020-2021 was his most productive year with the Thessaloniki team, participating in 39 games and offering 3 goals and 6 assists. In the final he celebrated the conquest of the

Greek cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

with PAOK. PAOK in the final prevailed with a score of 2-1 over OSFP. This was the fourth overall title of El Kantouri with the team of PAOK. He did not play in the final. On June 16, 2021, PAOK and El Kantouri agreed to extend their contract for another two years, with the prospect of an extension for another year, where, according to information, it will be activated automatically if the participation limit of 50% of the total number of games will be reached. given by PAOK in the 2022–23 season. El Kaddouri entered the

with a muscle injury, after the first matches in Europe with

Bohemian F.C. Bohemian Football Club ( ga, an Cumann Peile Bóihéamach), more commonly referred to as Bohemians or Bohs, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and are the ...

and

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

in which he was present. He left him out of the first two matches of the Conference League groups with

Lincoln City F.C. Lincoln City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Lincoln, England, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the "Imps" aft ...

and Slovan Bratislava as well as in the first five matches of the Championship with PAS at home,

Asteras Asteras is a Greek word meaning star. See also: * Ethnikos Asteras F.C. * Asteras Tripolis F.C. * Agrotikos Asteras F.C. * Kyanos Asteras Vari F.C. * Asteras Amaliada F.C. * Nafpaktiakos Asteras F.C. * Asteras Magoula F.C. *Neos Asteras Rethymno F. ...

away,

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

away,

inside and OFI away. He returned in October and did a series of races. He played in seven consecutive Championship games and three European games but in December a new muscle injury came. He left him out for two months, from 10 consecutive Championship matches, the final of the Conference League groups but also the two matches of the Cup quarterfinals with AEK. He returned at the end of February to play four Championship games at the end of the regular season, but only 90 minutes with Lamia while he also had short appearances in the two matches against

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

and in the first with

K.A.A. Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (, English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname ' ( en, The Buffalos), is a Belgian sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football ...

. However, he lost the rematch with the Belgians, with a new problem that took almost 20 days to overcome. El Kaddouri returned at the beginning of April again at the disposal of Razvan Lucescu, played 63 minutes in the playoff match with Panathinaikos and in the second half of the match in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, of course scoring PAOK's goal against Marseille. Report so far? 24 games of all competitions, 12 only as a starter and 25 absences that will of course become more through the period of three weeks that will be left out again. The truth is that PAOK used to play without El Kantouri but that does not mean that it is not a significant loss. The quality, the experience but also the fact that he has one of the biggest contracts in the team make him valuable but… the fractures do not count on them. We remind you that El Kaddouri, who has a contract next season with Dikefalos, last year counted 39 games of all competitions, a number that of course does not manage to reach this year while in the 2019-20 season he counted 29 games. Recording the total of his games and absences in his five years at PAOK, the Moroccan lost 38.58% of his team's games for various reasons. Mainly of course due to injuries and in less cases due to cards or staying on the bench.

International career

El Kaddouri was part of the Belgium U21 team. He scored his first goal for them on 14 November 2011 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a match part of the European Under-21 qualifiers in 2013. In July 2012, he participated in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in London with

, making two appearances. El Kaddouri then played for the Moroccan national team, making his debut 14 August 2013 in a friendly against

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. He scored his first goal on 23 May 2014 in a 4–0 friendly win over

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.''

Honours

PAOK *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

: 2018–19 *

: 2017–18, 2018–19,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

; runner-up: 2021–22

References

External links

Career profile (from aic.it)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaddouri, Omar 1990 births Living people Riffian people Moroccan footballers Morocco international footballers R.S.C. Anderlecht players Brescia Calcio players F.C. Südtirol players S.S.C. Napoli players Torino F.C. players Empoli F.C. players PAOK FC players Serie A players Serie B players Super League Greece players Moroccan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Greece Belgian sportspeople of Moroccan descent Belgian expatriate footballers Olympic footballers of Morocco Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Belgium under-21 international footballers Belgian footballers Belgium youth international footballers 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Association football midfielders Footballers from Brussels K. Diegem Sport players Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Greece Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Italy