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Ibrahim Afellay
Personal information
Date of birth	2 April 1986 (age 23)
Place of birth	Utrecht, Netherlands
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Club information
Current club	PSV
Number	20
Senior career*
National team‡
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of February 2, 2009.; † Appearances (Goals).; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 2, 2009

Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986 in Utrecht) is a Dutch footballer of Moroccan descent (Rif region) playing for PSV 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.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

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 Twente. In the 2003–04 season he played three official games, and seven more in the 2004–05 season.

On 15 May 2005, PSV played a game against Feyenoord. Afellay was a part of the starting lineup, and made a great impression with two goals.

[edit] Breakthrough

In the 2005–06 season he played games in the Johan Cruijff-schaal and the first three 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 2005–06 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.

[edit] International career

Afellay with the Netherlands.

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.^[3] He made his international debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia on 28 March 2007.

Afellay was included in Marco van Basten's squad for Euro 2008 and was mostly used as a substitute. Just seconds after replacing Dirk Kuyt in the group match against Italy he nearly scored a goal but his volley went off the crossbar. In their last match against Romania, he was given a place in the starting 11 alongside Robben and van Persie in midfield.

[edit] Career Stats

Season	Club	Country	Competition	Matches	Goals
2003–04	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	2	0
2004–05	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	7	2
2005–06	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	23	2
2006–07	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	27	6
2007–08	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	24	2
2008–09	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	28	13
2009–10	PSV	Netherlands	Eredivisie	20	3
			Total	131	28

[edit] References

^ "Ibrahim Afellay". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11914_288596,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
^ Ibrahim Afellay Profile - Full statistics
^ - KNVB Official Selection

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ibrahim Afellay

[Sky_profile-0] "Ibrahim Afellay". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11914_288596,00.html. Retrieved 2009-08-09.

[1] Ibrahim Afellay Profile - Full statistics

[2] - KNVB Official Selection

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