Ibrahim Afellay

At 38 years old, Ibrahim Afellay has this physical status:

Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for PSV Eindhoven as an attacking midfielder or winger. He played youth football at Elinkwijk before joining the PSV Eindhoven youth academy at age 10.

After debuting in 2004, he played for PSV for eight seasons, helping the team win four Economisie titles before heading to Barcelona for €3 million in January 2011.

He was loaned to Schalke 04 and Olympiacos before signing for Stoke City in 2015. He was rarely used by Barcelona and marred by injury before signing for Stoke City in 2015. Afellay made his Netherlands national team debut in 2007 at the 2010 World Cup, contributing to the Dutch team's second-place finish in the tournament.

He appeared at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, totaling over 50 appearances.

Early life

Afellay is of Riffian descent; his parents left Al Hoceima in the 1960s to work in the Netherlands. He grew up in Overvecht, a Utrecht neighborhood with a large immigrant population. Since his father died when he was young, Afellay and his brother, Ali, were taken up by their mother, Habiba.

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Club career

Afellay began playing football for VSK, but he joined USV Elinkwijk after one season.

In 1996, Afellay left Elinkwijk for PSV. At the age of 17, Afellay's official debut for PSV was on February 4, 2004, during a KNVB Cup match against NAC Breda. His first Elementivisie fixture came ten days later against FC Twente. In the 2003–04 season, Afellay played one more senior match. In May, he renewed his PSV deal, which will continue until 2007. Afellay secured a spot in the first eleven against Roda JC in December for the second time in the next season. However, he sustained a broken toe during his winter break training camp in Dubai. Afellay was unable to play for three months. In the 2004–05 season, he appeared in nine games; his most memorable was PSV's final home match against Feyenoord (2–4). In the match, Afellay scored twice and gave an assist. He also won the KNVB Cup after playing as a substitute in the final against Willem II, which PSV defeated 4–0.

Afellay made his PSV debut in the 2005–06 season as a first-team regular. He formed a midfield team with Timmy Simons and Phillip Cocu. Afellay received four yellow cards in his first four games (Johan Cruijf Shield and league), resulting in a prompt suspension. Afellay made his Champions League debut against Schalke 04 in September (1–0 win). He played a total of 23 league games during a season plagued by a series of minor injuries. PSV won the Economies in 2006, Afellay's second title in a row. He appeared in 27 league games and scored six goals for PSV in the upcoming season. After defeating Vitesse (5–1) in the last league round, the team secured the Economisie on a single goal difference. Afellay scored the third goal of the game. Afellay received the Johan Cruijf Award for his efforts in the Netherlands this year, for his efforts.

In the away match against Heracles Almelo (0–2), Afellay started the 2007–08 season by scoring the first goal and aiding the second. A month later, a broken toe had brought Afellay's return to a two-month recovery. In December, he extended his deal until 2011. In the 2007-08 season, Afellay played 24 Economy matches. In a match against FC Twente, PSV could have clinched the title, but the team was unable to do so. In the last match against Vitesse with Afellay in the squad, the league championship was eventually won. For Afellay, the 2008–09 season was more difficult because he received less holiday than he wanted after Euro 2008. Despite his good start, Johan Cruyf Shield's victory over Feyenoord (0–2) and three goals in the first two Ethiomie matches got off to a promising start. Afellay scored 13 goals in total, with one of them scoring in the home match against Feyenoord in December. PSV's 2008–09 season, in which PSV came in fourth, came to an end early in April after he sustained an injury.

Afellay shifted to a more defensive midfield role under new coach Fred Rutten for the 2009–2010 season. Afellay was named as the team's second captain in February. However, Afellay was effectively the new captain because first captain Timmy Simons was mainly off the bench this season. Afellay was banned for three matches in March after video evidence showed foul play against Eyong Enoh in the match against Ajax. PSV and Afellay ended the Elementivisie season in third place. He was officially appointed as the team's captain in the summer. Afellay revealed in October that he did not sign a new deal with PSV. PSV was ready to sell in the winter break as the season comes to an end. It was FC Barcelona that agreed to a PSV contract on November 15th. Afellay has been in charge of four-and-a-half years. The fans paid him a farewell in his last PSV match against Roda JC.

Afellay signed a four and a half years at FC Barcelona after completing the €3 million trade. In the Copa del Rey match against Athletic Bilbao, he made his Blaugrana debut on January 5, 2011, replacing David Villa in injury time. In his first season, he appeared in 28 Barcelona games, 18 of whom were as a substitute. In the Copa del Rey, Afellay was given his first appearance against Real Betis on January 19, 2011. In February, his first goal against UD Almera was also played. In a 3–1 away win over Málaga CF on the last day of the season, Afellay scored his first league goal in a 3–1 victory. Barcelona won the title and Afellay's fifth league championship overall, and the fifth in total. He made his Champions League debut against Barcelona against Arsenal and went on to play in the quarter-finals against Shakthar and the semi-finals against Real Madrid. He was assisting Lionel Messi in scoring the first goal of Barcelona's 2–0 away win over Madrid. After beating Manchester United (3–1), Afellay and Barcelona eventually won the Champions League. In the 90th minute of the final, Afellay came to a conclusion.

In the 2011–12 pre-season, Afellay sustained a minor hamstring injury, therefore missing out on the Supercopa de Espaa matches against Real Madrid. He returned to one Champions League and one La Liga match before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during preparation in September. Afellay went through a seven-month recovery process after recovering from surgery. In the 71st minute of his teammates Sergio Busquets' against Rayo Vallecano on a 7–0 away trashing win for the Catalan side, he returned to the field as a replacement. Despite appearing in two other La Liga games, Pep Guardiola did not call up Afellay for the major matches against Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Tito Vilanova, Barcelona's general, told Afellay that he would have reduced playing time in the forthcoming year. On August 31, it led him to decline a loan offer from FC Schalke 04. He and Jefferson Farfán and coach Huub Stevens were reunited. Afellay made his debut against FC Augsburg on the next day. He scored four goals at Schalke, including the opening goal against Borussia Dortmund (1–2) and a goal against Arsenal in the Champions League. Afellay played his last Schalke match on November 10th; he suffered a muscle injury in a Dutch national team friendly against Germany a few days later. Afellay was unable to play until January after suffering a similar muscle strain in a friendly against Al Sadd SC. Afellay returned to The Netherlands after expressing his dissatisfaction with the medical care at Schalke 04, despite the fact that he was recovering for the remainder of the season. Although both sides stayed in touch, Afellay did not return to Gelsenkirchen after the crash; a step that resulted in an investigation by Schalke's general manager Horst Heldt.

Afellay returned to Spain in May to assess his FC Barcelona medical staff's. In order to concentrate on his recovery, he decided to begin training two weeks earlier than the rest of the squad. However, Afellay had to have another surgery in Barcelona on a thigh injury in August, sidelining him for another four months. Despite the fact that he was not allocated a squad number, Barcelona gave Afellay the number 19 jersey after the transfer window deadline had passed.

The Olympiacos announced the signing of Afellay on a season-long contract on August 10, 2014. Following a pass from Alejandro Domnez, he scored his first goal in the Superleague on his debut in the 23rd minute on his debut in the Superleague on August 23. Afellay and Olympiacos won the league and Cup double in Greece during a fruitful season. He was released by Barcelona at the end of the 2014-15 season after his injury forced him to miss the club.

On July 27, 2015, Afellay signed with Stoke City in Premier League on a two-year deal. In a 1–0 loss to Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium on August 9, he made his debut on September 9th, playing 78 minutes before giving way to Peter Odemwingie. Craig Gardner was slapping Craig Gardner on August 29, 2015, and he was sent-off against West Bromwich Albion. In a 2–0 League Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday on December 1, 2015, he scored his first goal for Stoke. In a 3–1 victory over AFC Bournemouth on February 13, Afellay scored his first Premier League goal. In a 2–2 draw with Swansea City on April 2, 2016, he scored his second Premier League goal on his 30th birthday. Afellay sustained a serious knee injury in preparation on April 22, 2016, limiting his availability for up to eight months. As the team finished in ninth place, Afellay played 36 times for Stoke between 2015-16, scoring three goals.

On December 27, 2016, Afellay returned from injury against Liverpool. On March 2, 2017, Afellay signed a two-year contract extension with Stoke. In April 2017, he sustained another injury and underwent knee surgery. In 2016, Afellay made 13 appearances, three of whom were active as Stoke finished in 13th place. In September 2017, he recovered from injury, but Mark Hughes' team was unable to establish himself in Mark Hughes's 2017–18 squad, making just six appearances. With new manager Paul Lambert in March 2018, Afellay's training ground bust up, and the club was told not to return to the club. Afellay returned to the club for the pre-season and scored in a friendly against Walsall, but sustained another long-term knee injury. Stoke's employment was terminated by mutual agreement on January 28, 2019.

PSV reported Afellay's return to PSV on June 18, 2019, after nine years.

Afellay announced his retirement from professional football on January 31, 2021. "What I wanted has not happened," he said. But I am content with it. You can be sure that this day will arrive sooner or later. It's fine like this."

International career

Afellay and his family are Moroccan Dutch. After both the Moroccan national team's and the Dutch national team's selected him for their squads, he was stuck in the dilemma of whether or not he'd play for the Moroccan national team or play for the Dutch team, with the Netherlands being his place of birth and residence. Despite the intense competition for midfield, he eventually decided to play for the Dutch national team. On March 28, 2007, he made his international debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia. He appeared as a substitute in the 2008 European Championships. He barely scored a goal in the group match against Italy just seconds after replacing Dirk Kuyt, but his shot was blocked at the top of the crossbar. He was given a place in the starting eleven alongside Arjen Robben in midfield in their last group match against Romania. In a Euro 2012 qualifier against Sweden, Afellay scored his first international goals on October 12th.

Afellay was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 World Cup, supervised by Bert van Marwijk. The player came on as a replacement for their first and second matches in the tournament, a 2–0 win over Denmark and a 1–0 victory over Japan, as well as the round of 16 matches against Slovakia.

Despite being out of commission for the majority of the 2011–12 season, he was included in the Netherlands' Euro 2012 squad. Afellay scored two goals in a 6–0 friendly victory over Northern Ireland on June 2, the Netherlands' last game before the tournament. His team lost 1–0 to Denmark in the tournament's first round. He was also on the starting eleven against Germany. After losing his second time, head coach Bert van Marwijk decided to swap him with Rafael van der Vaart.

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