Etzaz Muzafar Hussain (; born 27 January 1993) is a Norwegian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

OBOS-ligaen The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon are promo ...

club Odd which competes in the Norwegian 2nd tier. With 295 total appearances, four

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

league and three

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

titles with

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

, he is one of the most successful footballers for Molde, where he is the joint most decorated player with seven trophies along with

Daniel Berg Hestad Daniel Berg Hestad (born 30 July 1975) is a Norwegian football manager and a former player, who played as a central midfielder, most notably for Molde. He is the manager of Molde 2 and the Under-19 squad of Molde. With 666 official appearances, ...

. He is also considered one of the most successful Pakistani descent footballers, being the first Pakistani descent footballer to play in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Born in Oslo, he played for nearby

Langhus Langhus is a suburban area in the municipality of Ski, Norway, Nordre Follo in Akershus, Norway. With a population of about 13,000, Langhus includes the local areas of Bøleråsen, Vevelstad and Langhus. Transport The village is stretched alon ...

as a youth player, before moving to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 2009. After two years in England, he returned to Norway with

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for i ...

, but shortly after moved to

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

, where he made his professional debut. Hussain transferred to

in mid-2012 and won the

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

in his first season at the club. After winning four league titles and three Norwegian Cups with Molde across two spells, he moved to

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

as a free agent in January 2023, before returning to Odd a year later.

Club career

Early years

Hussain played for

in his early days, before he transferred to

on 21 February 2009, and signed a professional contract with United on his 17th birthday. Even though Hussain only stayed in England for two years, and did not get any chances for the first team, he said to the Norwegian newspaper VG in February 2012 that "it was an experience for life" and would advice other Norwegian youngster to grab the opportunity if they had the chance. In January 2011 he returned home to Norway, and signed for the

club

Fredrikstad

Less than three months later, Hussain signed for

, also a Tippeligaen club, after some disagreements between Vålerenga and Hussain on the way forward. On 14 August 2011, Hussain sent Fredrikstad to the semi-final of 2011 Norwegian Football Cup with the match-winning goal with only a couple of minutes left of the

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

, at the expense of

now managed by his former boss at the Manchester United reserves,

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appea ...

. On 31 October 2011, Hussain scored his second goal in two matches, with the match winning goal against Vålerenga, the club that believed he was not good enough for Tippeligaen.

Molde

On 27 July 2012, Hussain moved to

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...

, reuniting with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He won the league with Molde in 2012 and 2014 and the

in 2013 and 2014.

Sivasspor

On 7 January 2016, Hussain signed a 2.5-year contract with Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

. With Sivasspor, Hussein was unable to avoid relegation to the second Turkish division. Following relegation, his contract at Sivasspor was terminated in mutual agreement on 4 July 2016.

Rudeš Zagreb

Hussain signed for the second-tier Croatian side

NK Rudeš Nogometni Klub Rudeš (), commonly referred to as NK Rudeš, is a Croatian football club founded in 1957 in Zagreb's neighbourhood of Rudeš. The club competes in Prva NL. History Being a lower league club through most of its history, Rudeš ...

, coached by the former

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

player

Igor Bišćan Igor Bišćan (; born 4 May 1978) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the currently head coach of Qatar Stars League club Al-Ahli. In his playing career, he was a versatile player and could play almost every posi ...

, in October 2016.

Return to Molde

On 28 February 2017,

announced that Hussain had returned to the club after the signing of

Erling Haaland Erling Braut Haaland (, ; born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and the Norway national football te ...

few days earlier. On 16 August 2017, Hussain was temporarily loaned to fellow Eliteserien club Odd for the rest of the year. On 11 July 2019, Hussain scored Molde's sixth goal in the club's

UEFA competitions UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. Th ...

record 7–1 win over KR in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

first qualifying round. On 20 October 2019, he scored a brace in an Eliteserien game Molde won 3–1 over

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

. The club ended being champions in the

2019 Eliteserien The 2019 Eliteserien was the 75th season of top-tier Association football, football in Norway. This was third season of Eliteserien as rebranding from Tippeligaen. The season began on 30 March and was scheduled to end 30 November 2019, not includ ...

. On 31 January 2020, Hussain signed a new contract with

that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2022 season. He subsequently won the 2021–22 Norwegian Cup. On 16 October 2022, his goal in the 96th minute against

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

in a 1–0 away win led Molde to win the

2022 Eliteserien The 2022 Eliteserien was the 78th season of top-tier football in Norway. This was the sixth season of Eliteserien after rebranding from Tippeligaen. Molde were crowned the champions at the end of the season, winning their 5th Norwegian league titl ...

title with four games left. After ending champions in the league, Hussain became the joint most decorated player for Molde with seven trophies along with former player

Apollon Limassol

Following Hussain's release from Molde after winning the

, Cypriot club

announced on 20 January 2023 that the midfielder had reached an agreement to sign with the defending Cypriot league champions till May 2025. On 24 January 2023, Etzaz Hussain formally signed with the Limassol club and chose to play with the number 18. He made his league debut for the club on 9 February, coming on as a late substitute in the 4–3 home defeat to Karmiotissa. On 8 January 2024, barely a full year since joining Apollon, the club announced the termination of Hussain's contract by mutual consent.

Return to Odd

On 25 February 2024, Hussain returned to Odd this time on a contract basis. He was presented as player of the club the next day.

International career

Hussain played on youth level for Norway. As he has never appeared for Norway in a competitive match, he remains potentially eligible to represent

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. In October 2021, he had declared his intention to play for Pakistan. Around two years later on 2 January 2024, Hussain received his

Pakistani passport Pakistani passports are issued to citizens of Pakistan for the purpose of international travel. The Directorate General of Immigration & Passports holds the responsibility for passport issuance, under the regulation of the Ministry of Interior ...

. However in March 2024, after receiving the documentation, Hussain along with

Adil Nabi Adil Nabi (born 28 February 1994) is an English professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Cypriot Second Division club Doxa Katokopias. He was an academy product at West Bromwich Albion, but never made a first-team appearanc ...

reportedly declined to play under the then management staff of the Pakistan Football Federation for the

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada men's national soccer team, Canada, Mexico national football team, Mexico, and the United States men's national soccer team, United States at the 2026 FIFA ...

against

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Personal life

Born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Hussain has discussed his

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

heritage in interviews. His both parents originate from the city of

Kharian Kharian ( Punjabi, ), is a city in Gujrat District, as well as the Gujrat Division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil (sub-district). As of 2023 Kharian is the second largest Tehsil in the Gujrat Div ...

in the

Gujrat district Gujrat ( Punjabi, ) is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219 ...

of Pakistan. He was also honoured by the Pakistani government at its embassy in Oslo during the country’s

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebrations on 14 August 2021.

Career statistics

Honours

Molde *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, 2021–22 Records * Molde player to have won seven domestic trophies along with

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Etzaz 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Ski, Norway Footballers from Akershus Norwegian people of Pakistani descent Norwegian men's footballers 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen Pakistani men's footballers Eliteserien players Süper Lig players First Football League (Croatia) players Cypriot First Division players Men's association football midfielders Manchester United F.C. players Vålerenga Fotball players Fredrikstad FK players Molde FK players Sivasspor footballers NK Rudeš players Odds BK players Apollon Limassol FC players Pakistani expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Pakistani expatriates in England Norway men's youth international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen