Tarik Elyounoussi (, ', ; born 23 February 1988) is a former 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 played as a forward or a winger. Born in Morocco, he represented the Norway national team.

Club career

Born in

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima () is a city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It is the capital city of the Al Hoceima Province. The city is a known tourist destination despite its small size. It has ...

, Morocco, Elyounoussi moved to Norway with his family when he was 11 years old. He started playing football in the club Nylende in

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 ...

, and then joined Trosvik, in which many of the young players in the Fredrikstad youth team have their roots. He was considered to be the greatest talent Fredrikstad has produced in decades. As such he was awarded the Norwegian Young Player of the Year trophy in 2006 and 2007, after two great seasons in the league, and a

Norwegian football 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 ...

trophy.

SC Heerenveen

Elyounoussi was sought after by various

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

clubs in the summer of 2008. However Fredrikstad accepted a bid on around €4 million from French club

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

on 8 July. But Elyounoussi had no interest in joining Le Mans. A few weeks later Elyounoussi signed a five-year contract with

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

worth €3.5 million, on 22 July. He joined Heerenveen in August 2008. He scored in his debut match against

FC Volendam Football Club Volendam () is a professional association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of the Dutch football league system, following promotion from the Eerste Divisie in the 2024 ...

. He also netted an important equalizer for Heerenveen in their first round UEFA Cup match away against

Vitória F.C. Vitória Futebol Clube (), popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal, is a Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Setúbal that used to compete in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system ...

, and his second league goal came against

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion ...

Return to Norway

On 19 February 2010,

Lillestrøm SK Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club based in the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founde ...

loaned the 21-year-old talented forward until the end of season from SC Heerenveen. On 7 January 2011, Elyounoussi returned to

Fredrikstad FK Fredrikstad Fotballklubb (also known as Fredrikstad or FFK) is a Norwegian professional association football, football club from the town of Fredrikstad. With nine league championships and twelve Norwegian Football Cup, Norwegian Cup wins, FFK ...

and

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 ...

. Elyounoussi signed for Rosenborg on 9 August 2012, binding him to the club to the end of the 2015 season. Elyounoussi and Mikkel Diskerud's transfers was announced at half time during 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 ...

qualifier against Servette.

1899 Hoffenheim

Rosenborg announced on 18 June 2013 that they had sold Elyounoussi to Hoffenheim, and bought

Alexander Søderlund Alexander Toft Søderlund (born 3 August 1987) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Vard Haugesund. He has represented the Norway national team. Club career After playing for Stegaberg IL in his youth, Søderlund ...

from

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 ...

as his replacement. Elyounoussi joined the German side after Rosenborg's match against

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county) in Norway which is today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). ...

on 22 June.

Olympiacos

Olympiacos announced that this club had agreement with

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

for signing Tarik Elyounoussi on 26 August with the transfer fee estimated to €1 million. On 11 September 2016, he scored his first goal with the club in a hammering 6-1 home win against Veria F.C. He played a vital role in the club, in acquiring the 7th consecutive

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

title.

Qarabağ

On 31 August 2017, Azerbaijani champions

Qarabağ FK Qarabağ Futbol Klubu () is an Azerbaijani professional football club that competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top flight of Azerbaijani football. The club originates from Aghdam in the Karabakh ( Azerbaijani: ''Qarabağ'') region, ...

signed Elyounoussi on loan until the end of 2017–18 season. The 30-year-old Moroccan-born Norwegian international was a member of Qarabağ during the first half of 2017–18 season, on loan from the Reds, but made only seven official performances in all competitions and failed to impress.

AIK

On 30 January 2018, Swedish outfit AIK announced the transfer of Elyounoussi from Olympiacos on a two-year deal; details of the fees involved have not been disclosed. In 2018, he won the Swedish league, Allsvenskan, together with AIK.

Shonan Bellmare

On 12 January 2020,

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

side

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuk ...

announced the transfer of Elyounoussi from AIK on a two-year deal; details of the fees involved were not disclosed. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat to

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium i ...

on 26 July 2020. He left Shonan at the end of the 2023 season, having scored five goals in 103 appearances for the Japanese club.

International career

Elyounoussi scored on his debut for the national team against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

on 28 May 2008 after only four minutes on the pitch; this was one of the fastest ever debut goal on the national team. He scored his second national team goal on 15 January 2012, in the opening match of 2012 King's Cup against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, which was his fifth cap for Norway. Elyounoussi was chosen as captain for the international friendlies against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

in January 2013, and scored the winning goal in the 1–0 victory against South Africa.

Personal life

Elyounoussi was born in

, Morocco and he chose to represents the Norway national team. Elyounoussi is the cousin of Mohamed Elyounoussi, who is also a Norwegian international footballer.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elyounoussi goal.''

Honours

Fredrikstad *

Norwegian Football 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 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

SC Heerenveen *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2008–09 Olympiacos *

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 2016–17 AIK *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Individual *Norwegian Young Player of the Year: 2006, 2007

References

External links

* mattis {{DEFAULTSORT:Elyounoussi, Tarik 1988 births Living people People from Al Hoceima Footballers from Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Footballers from Fredrikstad Moroccan emigrants to Norway Naturalised citizens of Norway Norwegian men's footballers 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen Norway men's international footballers Norway men's under-21 international footballers Fredrikstad FK players SC Heerenveen players Lillestrøm SK players Rosenborg BK players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Olympiacos F.C. players Qarabağ FK players AIK Fotboll players Shonan Bellmare players Eliteserien players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Super League Greece players Azerbaijan Premier League players Allsvenskan players J1 League players Norwegian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Norwegian people of Moroccan descent Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Riffian people