Aras Özbiliz

Özbiliz was among those players, but he appeared only as a substitute in the 89th minute after the winning goal by Miralem Sulejmani.

Aras Özbiliz (Արաս Օզբիլիզ; born 9 March 1990) is a former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Born in Turkey, he represented the Armenia national team.

Özbiliz was born on 9 March 1990 in the Bakırköy district of Istanbul, Turkey to Armenian parents.

He was named after the Aras River, a body of water in Armenia.

His ancestors adopted the surname "Özbiliz", literally meaning "one, who preserves his identity."

In the early 1990s, his family emigrated from Turkey to the Netherlands.

Five years later, he started playing football for the youth team of HVV Hollandia.

When he was eight years old, he joined the youth team of Ajax.

While playing for the youth team, Özbiliz received two serious injuries, first tearing a cruciate knee ligament, after which he needed an operation, and then a shoulder injury.

Özbiliz is a product of the Ajax youth academy.

Prior to moving to Ajax as a youth, he played for HVV Hollandia in his home town of Hoorn where he grew up.

On 24 July 2007, in a friendly match against Argentinean club Independiente, he managed to score three goals within 7 minutes, which turned out to be a personal record.

In February 2009, Özbiliz agreed a contract for two and a half years with Ajax.

In the same year, on 9 June 2009, the attacking midfielder was named Talent van de Toekomst, which is an award signifying the most talented young player in the team to emerge from De Toekomst (Ajax training ground).

At the age of 8, he participated in tryouts for the Amsterdam side, and was chosen to play for Ajax, having represented Ajax on every stage of the youth academy, before making his debut for the A selection in 2010 under then coach Martin Jol.

His performances in the junior team saw him included in the first team for the upcoming 2010–11 season.

In November 2010, Özbiliz twice found himself as a candidate for a match, first in the championship game against PSV Eindhoven, and then in the UEFA Champions League match against the Real Madrid, but he remained on the bench.

The anticipated player's Eredivisie debut took place on 28 November 2010 in a game against the guest VVV-Venlo.

On the field, the 20-year-old appeared immediately after the break, replacing the Finnish midfielder Teemu Tainio.

Özbiliz seriously enhanced the game on the left side of midfield, adding to the first in the rate of.

Ajax won with a score of 2–0, and Özbiliz was praised by Martin Jol.

Already in the next league match, on 4 December, Özbiliz left in the starting lineup.

A few days before the UEFA Champions League match with the Italian club A.C. Milan, Özbiliz had a flu, and so he could not make his debut in the main European Cup tournament.

By this time, the new acting head coach Frank de Boer was appointed, as Martin Jol resigned before the match with Milan.

He returned to the field for the next game of Ajax, which took place on 12 December against the Vitesse Arnhem.

It is noteworthy that Özbiliz was out on the field instead of the debutant teammate Lorenzo Ebecilio.

On 22 December, Frank de Boer announced the list of 18 players registered for the upcoming KNVB Cup match with AZ.

In January 2011, Özbiliz and the team set off for Turkey, where they played two friendly matches – against the German club Hamburger SV and the Turkish club Galatasaray.

In both matches, Ozbiliz went in on a second-half substitute.

Özbiliz scored his first league goal on 3 April 2011 in the 80th minute in a 3–0 home win against Heracles Almelo.

On 24 February 2012, in a Europa League match against Manchester United, Özbiliz became the first Ajax player to ever score a goal against Manchester United in a European cup match at Old Trafford.

On 4 May 2012, Kuban Krasnodar announced that they were in talks to acquire Özbiliz.

However, only on 8 August this transfer was officially announced.

He was transferred for a sum of €1 million.

Özbiliz debuted for Kuban on 20 August 2012 in a match against Alania Vladikavkaz.

He left in the field for 81 minutes instead of David Tsorayev.

On 2 September 2012, he scored his first goal for the Kuban in the 93rd minute in an away game against Dynamo Moscow.

On 14 April, he extended his contract for three more seasons to expire in the summer until 30 June 2014.

The contract was signed for four years until 2016.