Ibrahim Afellay

Ibrahim Afellay (Arabic language: ابراهيم أفيلاي) (born April 2, 1986 in Utrecht (city)) is a Netherlands football (soccer) of Morocco roots playing for PSV Eindhoven. He has played for the Dutch national youth teams and is now part of the Netherlands national football team. Afellay is seen as one of the biggest talents of The Netherlands. For PSV he usually plays as a right-sided midfielder but he can also play in the centre of the park due to his creative qualities.

Afellay played for the youth of PSV since his childhood (after spending his earliest years at amateur team Elinkwijk in Utrecht), and finally in February 2004, at the age of 17, he made his debut for PSV in the KNVB Cup match against NAC Breda. He would go on to play two league matches in the remainder of that season. In the following season (2004/2005), PSV's most successful since 1988 (winning the double (league and cup) and reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League), Afellay did not break through until the end of the year, with as highlight 2 goals in PSV's 4-2 win against Feyenoord in May 2005. He finished the season having played 7 matches and scored 2 goals.

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, in which he scored 2 goals. This number could have been higher were it not for the minor injuries he suffered throughout the season.

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 albeit the heavy competition for places in midfield. He made his international debut in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia national football team on 28 March 2007.

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