Ibrahim Afellay
Personal information
Full name	Ibrahim Afellay
Date of birth	April 2, 1986 (1986-04-02) (age 22)
Place of birth	Utrecht, Netherlands
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	PSV Eindhoven
Number	20
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003–	PSV Eindhoven	82 (12)
National team2
2007–	Netherlands	06 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 29, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 9, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Ibrahim Afellay (born April 2, 1986 in Utrecht) is a Dutch footballer of 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. Afellay is seen as one of the greatest talents of The Netherlands. He usually plays as a right-sided midfielder for PSV but can also play in the centre of the park 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-schaalen the 3 first competition games. Because of the absence of DeMarcus 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 Affelay 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.^[1] 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, and very nearly scored what would have been a stunning goal.

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	23	2
			Total	70	11

References

Awards
Preceded by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	Dutch Football Talent of the Year 2007	Succeeded by Miralem Sulejmani