Wassim El Banna ( ar, وسيم البنا; born 10 May 1979) is a former 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 ...

who played as a forward. He has represented

Odense Boldklub Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

, Aarhus Fremad, and

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

. Born in Lebanon to Palestinian parents, El Banna obtained Danish citizenship in 1997. He represented Denmark internationally at youth level between 1997 and 1998.

Early life

El Banna, who was born in Lebanon, moved to Germany at the age of five before settling with his family in the

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

suburb Vollsmose. In 1997, El Banna obtained Danish

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

Club career

El Banna started his senior career with

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

, making his

debut at age 18 in August 1997. He scored four goals in 12 games, including 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 ...

against

Ikast FS Ikast FC is an association football club based in the town of Ikast, Denmark, that competes in the Series 1, the sixth tier of the Danish football league system and the second tier of the regional DBU Jutland. Founded in 2018 as a superstructur ...

, but could not keep Odense from being relegated at the end of the

Danish Superliga 1997-98 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

season. He spent time on loan with Superliga club Aarhus Fremad in 1999, scoring two goals in nine games in the last half of the

Danish Superliga 1998-99 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

season, as Aarhus Fremad was relegated. He then enjoyed spells in the Danish 1st Division with all of the other big

clubs Dalum IF,

B 1913 Boldklubben 1913 is a Danish football club which plays in Albani Series. They play at Campus Road, in Odense on Funen. B1913 spent one season in the ''1961–62 European Cup'', which is the club's most notable international appearance. From ...

, and

B 1909 Boldklubben 1909, known as B1909, is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Denmark Series. They play at Gillested Park in Odense on Funen, which has a capacity of 6,000. Founded in 1909, the club spent a total 38 seasons ...

, before moving to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

club

BK Frem Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby- Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has wo ...

in the summer of 2005. El Banna played a total of 66 matches, scoring 28 goals during his first spell with Frem, before he was sold to

Ajman Club Ajman Club (Arabic: نادي عجمان‎) is an Emirati football club based in Ajman. In 2015, Ajman was relegated to the second division, but managed to climb back to the top flight in 2017. Honours The club has gained the following honours: ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

in 2007. He returned to Frem in March 2008 on an amateur contract. It was to be a rather short second stay with Frem, as he transferred to Superliga club

by the end of the season. After half a season in Vejle, the striker returned to Frem in to begin his third spell at the club, staying with Frem until the summer 2009. In September 2009, El Banna signed an amateur contract for the remainder of the year with

FC Hjørring Vendsyssel Forenede Fodboldklubber is a professional football club based in Hjørring, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of Danish football. The club plays home matches at Nord Energi Arena, which has a capaci ...

in the

Danish 2nd Division The 2nd Division ( da, Danmarksturneringens 2. division or Herre-DM 2. division) is a semi-professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Foo ...

. He was without a club for a while, before signing with 2nd Division team BK Glostrup-Albertslund in April 2010.

International career

From September 1997 to December 1998, El Banna played seven games for the Denmark national under-19 and under-20 teams.

References

External links

*
Wassim El Banna
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com
Wassim El Banna at Boldklubben Frem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banna, Wassim El 1979 births Living people Danish men's footballers Palestinian men's footballers Odense Boldklub players Boldklubben Frem players Vejle Boldklub players Vendsyssel FF players SfB-Oure FA players Ajman Club players Danish Superliga players Palestinian expatriate men's footballers Palestinian emigrants to Denmark UAE First Division League players Men's association football forwards Boldklubben 1913 players Dalum IF players Denmark men's youth international footballers