Ibrahim Afellay

Football player infobox
playername = Ibrahim Afellay


fullname = Ibrahim Melvin Afellay
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1986|4|2
cityofbirth = Utrecht
countryofbirth = Netherlands
height = height|meters=1.81
currentclub = PSV Eindhoven
clubnumber = 20
position = Attacking Mifielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2003–| clubs = PSV Eindhoven
caps(goals) = 85 (15)
nationalyears = 2007–
nationalteam = Netherlands
nationalcaps(goals) = 011 0(0)
pcupdate = September 13, 2008
ntupdate = September 10, 2008

Ibrahim Afellay (born April 2, 1986 in Utrecht) is a Dutch footballer of Berber Moroccan descent playing for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. He has played for the Dutch national youth team and is now part of the senior Dutch national team. He usually plays as the centre attacking midfielder for PSV but can also play at the right or left side due to his creative qualities.

Career

Early years

Afellay began his football career at the amateur club USV Elinkwijk in Utrecht. Afellay's official debut for PSV was on 4 February, 2004 during a cup match against NAC Breda at the age of 17. His debut in the competition was on 14 February, against FC Twente. In the season of 2003-2004 he played 3 official games. In the season of 2004-2005 he played 7 times. On 15 May, 2005, PSV played a game against Feyenoord. Afellay was a part of the starting 11, and made a great impression with 2 goals.

Breakthrough

In the season of 2005-2006 he played games in the Johan Cruijff-schaal and the 3 first competition games. Because of the absence of DaMarcus Beasley and Mika Vayrynen he always started in the line-up.

On 13 September, Afellay made his Champions League debut against Schalke 04. PSV won the game 1–0. On 8 October, Dutch coach Marco van Basten took Afellay into the full national team during the games against the Czech Republic and Macedonia, though he did not play.

In the 2005/2006 season, following the departure of important players including midfielders Johann Vogel and Mark van Bommel, Afellay grew to be a first-team regular, and was even pre-selected for the Dutch national team. He played a total of 23 league matches during the season, scoring 2 goals. This number could have been higher were it not for the minor injuries he suffered throughout the season.

National team

After both the Moroccan and the Dutch national teams managers selected him for their squads, he was caught in the dilemma to either play for the Moroccan national team, because of his Moroccan descent, or to play for the Dutch team, the Netherlands being his homeland. He has finally decided to play for the Dutch national team despite the heavy competition for places in midfield. [ [http://www.knvb.nl/oranje/selectie - KNVB Official Selection] ] He made his international debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia on 28 March 2007. In the Netherlands' opening game of the 2008 European Championships, against Italy, Afellay came on as a substitute towards the end of the match, he impressed many and very nearly scored- after lobbing Italian Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and striking the crossbar and denying him what would have been a stunning goal.

Career Stats

References

External links

* [http://www.pbase.com/tvw/football Ibrahim Afellay photos by Tvw]
* [http://www.wereldvanoranje.nl/profielen/profiel.php?id=1529 Profile]