| Adel Taarabt |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Adel Taarabt |
| Date of birth |
24 May 1989 (1989-05-24) (age 20) |
| Place of birth |
Fes, Morocco[1] |
| Height |
1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] |
| Playing position |
Second Striker |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| Number |
19 |
| Senior career1 |
| Years |
Club |
App (Gls)* |
2006–2007
2007
2007–
2009 |
Lens
→ Tottenham Hotspur (loan)
Tottenham Hotspur
→ Queens Park Rangers (loan) |
1 (0)
2 (0)
7 (0)
7 (1) |
| National team2 |
| 2009– |
Morocco |
3 (1)[3] |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 22:30, 15 May 2009 (BST).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 09:25, 14 March 2009 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)
|
Adel Taarabt (born 24 May 1989) is a Moroccan footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder. He grew up in Berre-l'Étang, France having moved there at the age of nine months and represented France at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level, but opted to play for Morocco, saying "I felt the time was right when I was given this opportunity"[1] and is able to play as a second striker, attacking midfielder or on either wing. He is known for his dribbling ability and shooting from distance.
[edit] Club career
In January 2007, Taarabt signed for Tottenham on loan after the club offered to quickly integrate him into the first team to offer him maximum playing time.[4]
Within two months he made his first senior appearance in a Spurs shirt aged 17, coming on as a substitute on the 85th minute against local rivals West Ham United, in a tense game which ended 4-3 to Spurs. He made an immediate impact with his first touch leading to the 3-3 equaliser as a driving run from half-way was ended by a foul on the edge of the box. Dimitar Berbatov subsequently scored the resulting free kick, before Paul Stalteri's winner in added time.
He made a second appearance in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea, again as a second half substitute.
On 8 June 2007 Tottenham confirmed that agreement had been reached for the permanent signing of Taarabt.[5] Taarabt scored his first goal for Spurs in a pre-season friendly against Stevenage Borough on 7 July 2007. Taarabt made his first appearance of the 2007–08 season with Tottenham against Derby County in the 4–0 win on 18 August. He was brought on in the 70th minute and instantly excited the fans with some sublime skill.
At the beginning of the 2008–09 season, Taarabt was not given a squad number by then manager Juande Ramos, though he was given his old number when Harry Redknapp took charge. On the 13 March 2009 he joined Championship team Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the season.[6] He scored his first goal for QPR in a 2-1 win over Bristol City.[7] His loan spell was cut short after Adel suffered a knee injury which required surgery.[8]
[edit] International career
On 11 February 2009 Taarabt played his first international match with Morocco in a friendly against Czech Republic in Casablanca.[9] He also made an appearance on March 29th, 2009 during Morocco's FIFA World Cup qualifier loss against Gabon 2-1.
Taarabt scored his first international goal in his first start for Morocco on 31 March 2009 in a friendly match that Morocco won 2-0 over Angola. The goal came after a poor clearance by Angola's goalkeeper. Taarabt latched onto the ball and lashed a stunning lofted strike from 45 yards out over the 'keeper's head to give Morocco the lead in the ninth minute. In the same game, Taarabt brilliantly set up Morocco's second goal in the 50th minute by picking out star Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh along the floor, who tapped in for an easy goal. Taarabt readily claimed man-of-the-match honors.
[edit] Career statistics
As of 15 May 2009
[edit] References
[edit] External links
