Eljero Elia

Eljero George Rinaldo Elia (born 13 February 1987) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger.

He turned professional at ADO Den Haag and then played for Twente before moving abroad to represent Hamburger SV, Juventus and Werder Bremen.

In 1996, at age nine, Elia moved to the youth system of ADO Den Haag.

Born in Leidschendam-Voorburg, Elia played as a youth for local side SV Voorburg, before it merged to become Forum Sport in 1998.

He later moved to cross-city rivals TONEGIDO and played in their youth department.

He then moved to Ajax in 2000.

Elia reflected on his time at the club, saying: "Already as a kid I loved playing for that club. Walking across the street wearing a big Ajax bag, I thought that was great. That Amsterdam bluff also suits me, I think. Challenging, fooling around, just like on the streets. Making an opponent crazy, that's the best thing there is."

At under-13 level, he was sent away: "Together with Nordin Amrabat and Jeremain Lens. They thought I wasn't making a difference often enough. No, I never actually played as a winger for Ajax. Usually I was right mid, sometimes right back and sometimes central in the defence. Henny de Regt told me at the time that I was not allowed to stay. I felt so awful."

He then rejoined the youth system of ADO Den Haag two years later.

Then youth coach Carlos Roeleveld said: "I soon saw that he was special. But I also got a disappointed boy with whom I had to work. That was in the under-15. He was disappointed because he had been sent away from Ajax. He was thinking a lot."

Elia made his professional debut for ADO Den Haag on 23 January 2005 against FC Groningen at age 17, coming on as 81st-minute substitute in a 3–0 loss.

In his fourth appearance for ADO Den Haag, he scored his first goal in a match against AZ on 8 May, which turned out to be the winning goal, in a 2–1 win.

In his first season at the club, Elia played four matches and scored one goal.

In his second season at ADO Den Haag, Elia soon established himself in the starting line-up, playing in midfield.

He scored his first goal of the 2005–06 season in a 2–2 draw against Ajax on 21 September.

By the end of the 2005–06 season, he had made 30 appearances and scored 2 goals in all competitions.

Elia continued to establish himself in the team in the 2006–07 season, playing in midfield.

He scored his first goal of the season on 28 October 2006 in a 2–0 win against Heracles Almelo.

He scored two goals in two matches between 16 December and 23 December 2006 against Willem II and NAC Breda.

Along the way, Elia was dealing with injuries throughout the 2006–07 season.

He finished the 2006–07 season with 37 appearances and 3 goals in all competitions.

However, ADO Den Haag's relegation, along with his some conflicts new coach Lex Schoenmaker and his lack of desire to want to play in the Eerste Divisie, contributed to Elia leaving the club at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Following the end of the 2006–07 season, Elia was linked with a move to either Twente and Ajax, as they were interested in signing him.

It was reported that Ajax's interest in signing the player was to immediately him out to ADO Den Haag for the 2007–08 season.

But he opted to agree to join FC Twente.

The move was confirmed the next day on 29 May 2007, with Elia signing a three–year contract with the club.

He made his debut for Twente, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 2–2 draw against FC Utrecht on 26 August 2007.

Since joining the club, Elia became involved in the first team, having found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench before he soon won his place in the starting eleven.

It wasn't until on 8 February 2008 when Elia scored his first goal for FC Twente in a 2–1 win over Heracles Almelo on 8 February 2008.

A month later on 23 March 2008, he scored his second goal for the club, in a 2–1 win over Ajax.

Elia played all four matches in the league's play–off for the UEFA Champions League spot and helped FC Twente earn a place in the tournament after beating Ajax 2–1 on aggregate.

In his first season at the club, Elia made thirty–six appearances and scored two times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2008–09 season, Elia made his UEFA Champions League debut in the third qualifying round of the Champions League against English club Arsenal in the first leg, as FC Twente lost 2–0.

In the return leg, the club were eliminated from the tournament after they lost 4–0, losing 6–0 on aggregate.

He then scored three goals in the first three league matches of the season against Roda JC, NEC Nijmegen and FC Volendam.

This was followed up by scoring twice, in a 5–0 win against FC Emmen in the second round of the KNVB Cup.

Since the start of the 2008–09 season, Elia improved under the new management of Steve McClaren, and continued to be a first team regular, playing in the midfield position.

Despite the club's elimination from the tournament, he played in both legs of the first round of the UEFA Cup against Stade Rennais and set up goal in the first leg, which proved to be vital, as FC Twente won 1–0 through away goal to advance to the UEFA Cup's group stage.

Elia scored on his debut for Netherlands in September 2009 and was part of the Netherlands squad which reached the final at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

In 2015, he came back to his home country to play for Feyenoord before moving to İstanbul Başakşehir, in 2017.