Anwar El Ghazi

Anwar El Ghazi (born 3 May 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Netherlands national team.

Anwar El Ghazi
El Ghazi with Ajax in 2015
Personal information
Full name Anwar El Ghazi[1]
Date of birth (1995-05-03) 3 May 1995[2]
Place of birth Barendrecht, Netherlands[2]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Number 21[4]
Youth career
2000–2006 BVV Barendrecht
2006–2008 Feyenoord
2008–2009 Spartaan '20
2009–2013 Sparta Rotterdam
2013–2014 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Ajax 70 (20)
2017–2019 Lille 39 (5)
2018–2019 → Aston Villa (loan) 31 (5)
2019– Aston Villa 43 (9)
National team‡
2011 Netherlands U17 2 (1)
2012–2013 Netherlands U18 3 (2)
2014–2016 Netherlands U21 11 (3)
2015 Netherlands 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:08, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:03, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

El Ghazi began his football career in the youth ranks of his local club BVV Barendrecht, joining the youth academy of Feyenoord for two seasons. He then joined the ranks of Spartaan '20 before being recruited to Sparta Rotterdam, where he progressed through the academy. In 2013, he joined the Ajax Youth Academy, playing for the A1 selection (under-19), competing in the UEFA Youth League.[5]

Ajax

El Ghazi was signed by Ajax in July 2013.[6] During the 2014–15 pre-season, he scored 8 goals in 150 minutes of playing time, finishing as Ajax's top pre-season scorer. While Ajax initially intended to send El Ghazi to their reserve team, Jong Ajax, El Ghazi's pre-season prompted Ajax to include him in the first-team squad, following the loan of fellow winger Lesley de Sa to Go Ahead Eagles. El Ghazi made his official debut for Ajax in the 2014 Johan Cruyff Shield against PEC Zwolle, coming on for Ricardo Kishna in the 1–0 loss at home.[7]

El Ghazi made his regular season debut for Ajax in the 2014–15 Eredivisie season opener against Vitesse. The match ended in a 4–1 home victory, with El Ghazi providing the assist for the fourth goal by Lasse Schöne in the 87th minute.[8] On 17 August 2014, El Ghazi scored his first Eredivisie goal in the 3–1 away win against AZ, scoring in the 90th minute.[9] He scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on 22 October 2014 at Camp Nou against Barcelona in the 88th minute of a 3–1 loss. In so doing, he became the first player to score at Camp Nou since the beginning of the 2014–15 season, when Barcelona went five matches at home without conceding a goal.[10]

Lille

On 31 January 2017, it was announced El Ghazi had been sold to French Ligue 1 side Lille for a €8 million transfer fee.[11] On 18 February, he scored his first goal for Lille against Caen, which also became the winner (0–1).[12]

On 6 August 2017, on the first matchday of the 2017–18 season, El Ghazi scored Lille's third goal against Nantes. To celebrate, he took off his shirt to reveal a shirt paying tribute to Abdelhak Nouri, his former Ajax teammate who the month before had collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack, which had left him with severe and permanent brain damage and unable to continue as a footballer.[13] During the 2017–18 season, El Ghazi scored four goals and delivered two assists in 27 appearances. The Dutch striker distinguished himself in particular during the match against RC Strasbourg, on 28 January 2018 at home at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where he scored the first goal; a header, after an assist by Nicolas Pépé. He then delivered an assist for the Edgar Ié, sealing the win for Lille.[14]

On 18 February 2018, El Ghazi suffered a hamstring injury against Lyon, sidelining him for several weeks.[15] Due to complications, he did not return until the end of the season, where he struggled to establish himself in head coach Christophe Galtier's starting lineup.[16]

Aston Villa

On 22 August 2018, El Ghazi signed for Championship club Aston Villa on a season-long loan, with a clause to buy included.[17] He made his debut on 25 August 2018 in a 1–1 draw with Reading, providing an assist by crossing the ball to Ahmed Elmohamady, who scored a header.[18]

On 28 April 2019, in a heated contest between Aston Villa and Championship playoff rivals Leeds United at Elland Road, El Ghazi was mistakenly shown a red card by referee Stuart Attwell. This occurred after El Ghazi allegedly struck Leeds forward Patrick Bamford during an on pitch brawl following Mateusz Klich's controversial 72nd opening goal for Leeds United following Tyler Roberts' refusal to put the ball out of touch for an injury.[19] The decision was met with controversy from fans and pundits alike, with Aston Villa head coach Dean Smith claiming that after reviewing the footage of the incident reported that he'd be 'amazed' if the red card and subsequent three-game ban weren't overturned after appeal.[20] The red card and ban were later rescinded and on 2 May, Bamford was banned for two games for "successful deception of a match official".[21]

On 27 May 2019, El Ghazi scored Aston Villa's first goal in their 2–1 EFL Championship Play-off final victory over Derby County. In the 44th minute he met an Ahmed Elmohamady cross from the right with an attempted diving header which diverted in off his back. In the second half an El Ghazi shot from just outside the penalty area was blocked by Richard Keogh, looping up for John McGinn to steal in and score with a header, putting Aston Villa 2–0 up in the tie on 59 minutes.[22]

El Ghazi signed for Villa permanently on 10 June 2019 on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[23]

International career

Having dual citizenship, El Ghazi was eligible to represent either the Netherlands or Morocco at senior level. He made his international debut playing for the Netherlands under-18 side in a friendly match against Austria on 15 October 2012, a 2–0 loss.[24]

El Ghazi met Cristiano Ronaldo during the summer break, a player who he looks up to, and asked him whether he should represent the Netherlands or Morocco. Ronaldo advised him to choose the Netherlands because he would have a higher chance to participate in an international tournament, based on their history. Consequently, El Ghazi said he would choose to represent the Netherlands and was subsequently called up for the Netherlands' two final UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches, against Kazakhstan on 10 October 2015 and the Czech Republic on 13 October.[25] He was named in the Oranje's starting line-up for both matches as the Dutch defeated Kazakhstan 2–1 but lost to the Czechs 3–2. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament proper after finishing fourth in their qualifying group.

Career statistics
As of match played 26 December 2020[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Other4 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax 2014–15 Eredivisie 31920—91104310
2015–16 271110—90—3711
2016–17 12021—61—202
Total 702051002421010023
Lille 2016–17 Ligue 1 1211100——132
2017–18 2742020——314
Total 39531200000446
Aston Villa (loan) 2018–19 Championship 3151010—31366
Aston Villa 2019–20 Premier League 3441151——406
2020–21 850021——96
Total 7213105200318017
Career total 1813892722424122446

    Honours

    Aston Villa

    Individual

    References
    1. "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
    2. "A. El Ghazi: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
    3. "Anwar El Ghazi: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
    4. Connor, Dan (9 August 2019). "Aston Villa squad numbers 2019/20 announced". [{Aston Villa F.C.]].
    5. Voormalig Sparta-talent El-Ghazi mikt op Ajax 1, Rijnmond.nl, 6 May 2014
    6. "Ajax contracteert Anwar El-Ghazi". AFC Ajax. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
    7. "PEC Zwolle vs. Ajax". Soccerway. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
    8. Ajax vs. Vitesse 4–1, Soccerway.co, 10 August 2014
    9. "AZ vs. Ajax". Soccerway. 17 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
    10. "El Ghazi zorgt voor opmerkelijke statistiek". Soccernews.nl. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
    11. "Ajax verkoopt El Ghazi aan Lille". NRC Handelsblad. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
    12. "Ligue 1. Lille enfonce un peu plus Caen à domicile". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Ouest-France. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    13. "Lille : Anwar El Ghazi rend hommage à Abdelhak Nouri après son but contre Nantes" (in French). L'Équipe. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2020. The scorer of Lille's third goal against Nantes on Sunday, Dutch striker Anwar El Ghazi paid tribute to his former teammate Abdelhak Nouri, in serious condition after a heart attack on July 8 during a friendly match.
    14. "Invaller El Ghazi tilt Lille met heldenrol over degradatiestreep". VI.nl (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2020. Anwar El Ghazi and his Lille OSC team have taken important points in the fight against relegation. At home against Strasbourg, the team won in the absolute final phase thanks to an assist from the ex-Ajax player (2-1), who had already made it 1-0.
    15. "Lille : El Ghazi touché aux ischio-jambiers" (in French). L'Equipe. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    16. Farrell, Dom (22 August 2018). "Aston Villa sign Lille winger El Ghazi on loan". GOAL. Retrieved 14 September 2020. El Ghazi scored five times in 39 Ligue 1 appearances, but was not part of Lille boss Christophe Galtier's plans for the current campaign.
    17. "El Ghazi prêté à Aston Villa | Lille LOSC". www.losc.fr (in French). Retrieved 22 August 2018.
    18. "Aston Villa 1–1 Reading". BBC Sport. 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
    19. "Leeds United 1–1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
    20. "Aston Villa to appeal Anwar El Ghazi red card shown during Leeds draw". Sky Sports. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
    21. Taylor, Louise (2 May 2019). "Leeds striker Patrick Bamford banned for two games for deceiving referee". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
    22. Woodcock, Ian (27 May 2019). "Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
    23. "Anwar El Ghazi joins Aston Villa on permanent deal". Aston Villa F.C. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
    24. "Speler: Anwar El-Ghazi". OnsOranje. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
    25. "El Ghazi in line for Netherlands debut". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
    26. Woodcock, Ian (27 May 2019). "Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
    27. McNulty, Phil (1 March 2020). "Aston Villa 1–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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