Omar Elabdellaoui (born 5 December 1991) is a Norwegian 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 plays as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and as a

right 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 Bodø/Glimt and the Norway national football team. Elabdellaoui began his career with Skeid before signing with Manchester City in 2008. He never appeared for the club. He made his professional debut while on loan at Strømsgodset. He has also spent a loan spell in the Netherlands with

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...

. After spending a half season on loan with Eintracht Braunschweig in 2013, Elabdellaoui joined the German side permanently in May 2013. He signed for

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

in June 2014 and stayed at the club until August 2020 when he moved to

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

. Elabdellaoui represented Norway at youth international level, and was with Norway in the

2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

. He made his debut for the senior national team in August 2013.

Club career

Manchester City

After playing for the Norwegian club Skeid, Elabdellaoui joined the English club Manchester City when he was 16 years old.

Scott Sellars Scott Sellars (born 27 November 1965) is an ex English football coach and former professional footballer who is ex Technical Director at Wolverhampton Wanderers. As a player, he was a winger who made more than 500 appearances, notably playing ...

, coach of the City's U18 team, stated in an interview with Norwegian TV 2 in January 2010 that Elabdellaoui had "a big future". Elabdellaoui made an impressive effort at the academy and was awarded a first-team number for the 2010–11 season, but sat on the bench during City's

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 Juventus on 16 December 2010.

Strømsgodset

On 31 March 2011, the last day of the Norwegian transfer window, Elabdellaoui was loaned out to Strømsgodset in Norway until City's pre-season started in July. In Strømsgodset he was reunited with his teammates from City, Mohammed Abu and Razak Nuhu. He played eight league matches before fracturing his foot in the league match against

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

on 28 May 2011, and returned to Manchester for surgery. On 1 September, he returned to Strømsgodset where he played until the end of the 2011-season, in a total of 12 matches, scoring one goal and giving one assist. Strømsgodset wanted Elabdellaoui for another loan-spell for the 2012 season, but Elabdellaoui was reluctant to play at Godset's home ground

Marienlyst Stadion The Marienlyst Stadion has been the home ground of Strømsgodset Toppfotball since 1967. It's located on Marienlyst in Drammen, Norway. History The pitch was opened in 1924, and was the home ground of Drafn, Skiold and Drammens BK. The final ...

because he was concerned that its artificial turf would re-injure him.

Feyenoord

In June 2012, Elabdellaoui signed a two-year contract with City, and was loaned to the Dutch club

for the 2012–13 season. His teammate at City,

John Guidetti John Alberto Guidetti (, ; born 15 April 1992) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for AIK. Whilst growing up Guidetti played football in his native Sweden as well as Kenya. He returned to Sweden in 2008 and played with ...

, who was loaned to the same club in the 2011–12 season, both recommended Elabdellaoui to Feyenoord and advised Eladbellaoui to accept Feyenoord's offer if Manchester City let him go. Guidetti said that Elabdellaoui was a perfect fit for Feyenoord because he was physically strong, technically well-equipped and a fast player. According to Feyenoord's technical director

Martin van Geel Martin van Geel (born 27 November 1960 in Goirle) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch footballer who was active as a midfielder. Van Geel made his professional debut on at 24 August 1977 Willem II (football club), Willem II, and also played for AFC ...

, Elabdellaoui was to mostly play as a left or right winger, but would also play as an attacking midfielder behind the forwards. He also said that Feyenoord wanted Eladbellaoui on their team for a couple of years, but were unable to sign him previously. Elabdellaoui played five matches for Feyenoord, four as a substitute, until he in January 2013 requested to be released from the club. He wanted to play regularly and realized that his chances at Feyenoord would be limited, where he were competing against the right back and the right wing at the Netherlands national team.

Eintracht Braunschweig

In January 2013, Elabdellaoui was loaned to German club Eintracht Braunschweig for the second half of the

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 ...

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

season. He became a regular from the start and won promotion to the

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 ...

with his team. On 10 May, the club announced that the loan deal had been made permanent. Following their promotion, he made his debut in the top flight 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 10 August 2013. He started the first three matches of the season as a right back, but sat on the bench in the next match against

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Olympiacos

On 17 June 2014 he was offered a contract by Greek club

. He signed for the club the next day, stating that he was very excited to be a part of the club.

Loan to Hull City

On 20 January 2017, Elabdellaoui signed a loan deal with

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

, linking him with his international teammates

Markus Henriksen Markus Henriksen (born 25 July 1992) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eliteserien club Rosenborg. Club career Rosenborg Henriksen moved from Trond IL to Rosenborg as a boy. He proved himself early on as an ...

and Adama Diomande. Hull were given the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season. He made his debut two days later in the 2–0 away loss to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Return to Olympiacos

Elabdellaoui's form during the 2018–19 season attracted interest from other clubs, though Olympiacos said they would have had to offer a minimum of 5 million euros. Elabdellaoui was made club captain for the 2019–20 season and made 47 appearances in all competitions playing an important role in his side winning the Greek Super League. In August 2020, he announced that he was leaving the club.

Galatasaray

Following his departure from Olympiacos, Elabdellaoui signed a three-year deal with Turkish club

worth a reported €4,050,000 in salary over the course of his contract. On 31 December 2020, during the New Year celebrations, fireworks exploded in Elabdellaoui's hands. He was transferred to hospital for treatment, with specific concern over injuries to his eyes. Elabdellaoui returned to training in July 2021, wearing protective glasses. On 11 February 2022, according to various reports, and after a marathon with more than 10 eye surgeries, Elabdellaoui is preparing to play again. He had to go to the USA, where his eyes were literally reconstructed and with the help of his sister, but also of an anonymous donor, he managed to continue and complete the required surgeries. His contract was unilaterally terminated by Galatasaray on 2 September 2022.

Return to Norway

In December 2022 he signed a contract with Bodø/Glimt for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

International career

Elabdellaoui made his debut for Norway when he played for the under-15 team in the 0–0 draw Poland U15 on 8 August 2006, in a match where Stefan Johansen also made his debut at youth international level. Elabdellaoui played one more match for the under-15 team before he scored one goal in ten matches for the under-16 team. He later scored one goal in eight matches for the under-17 team, before he made six appearances for the under-18 team and eleven for the under-19 team, where he scored one goal. Elabdellaoui made his debut for the

Norway national under-21 football team Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

against Greece U-21 on 17 October 2010. He featured heavily in the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification as a right-back. He made his debut for the Norway under-23 team in a game against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in June 2012, with Elabdellaoui as the first goalscorer in the 4–0 victory. Elabdellaoui was first called up for the Norwegian national team for the friendly match against Sweden in August 2013, and made his debut for the senior team when he started the match and played 72 minutes as a right back.

Personal life

Elabdellaoui is of Moroccan descent and is the cousin of

Mohammed Abdellaoue Mohammed "Moa" Abdellaoue ( ar, محمد عبد اللاوي; born 23 October 1985) is a retired Norwegian footballer who played as a forward. He started his career with Skeid and Vålerenga before moving to Germany where he played for Hannover ...

and

Mustafa Abdellaoue Mustafa "Mos" Abdellaoue (born 1 August 1988) is a Norwegian professional association football, footballer who most recently played as a forward (association football), forward for Eliteserien side Sarpsborg 08 FF, Sarpsborg 08. He is the younger ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Olympiacos * Super League Greece: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20 Norway U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

bronze:

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 fa ...

Individual

*Norwegian Footballer of the Year: 2015 * Super League Greece Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elabdellaoui, Omar 1991 births Living people Footballers from Oslo Norwegian people of Moroccan descent Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Norwegian men's footballers Norway men's international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Norway men's youth international footballers Skeid Fotball players Manchester City F.C. players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Feyenoord players Eintracht Braunschweig players Olympiacos F.C. players Eliteserien players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Hull City A.F.C. players 2. Bundesliga players Super League Greece players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Premier League players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Süper Lig players People from Surnadal FK Bodø/Glimt players