Karim El Ahmadi

Karim El-Ahmadi Aroussi (Arabic: كريم الأحمدي; born 27 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

On 21 March 2004, El Ahmadi made his official debut in Twente's first team in the away match against FC Utrecht (2–0), where he played 90 minutes.

El Ahmadi able to play 2 more games against Groningen and RBC Roosendaal but with the return of On the last match of the season in a match against RKC Waalwijk on 9 May 2004, El Ahmadi provided as assist for Kim Christensen to make it 3–2 but RKC Waalwijk scored in the late minutes to make 3–3.

The following season 2004–05, El Ahmadi began coming on as a substitute for the next two games against Ajax and RKC Waalwijk at the start of the season.

In a match against Heerenveen on 28 August 2004, El Ahmadi played for 90 minutes and setting up a goal for Blaise Nkufo in a 4–1 victory.

On 13 November 2004, El Ahmadi scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over N.E.C. At the end of the season, El Ahmadi played 16 league games, playing mostly on the wing positions.

He then quickly became a first team regular.

The following 2005–06 season, El Ahmadi found himself out of the first team and made 8 appearances following the arrival of Kennedy Bakırcıoğlu and Patrick Gerritsen.

In the following 2006–07 season, El Ahmadi suffered a knee injury in a UEFA Cup match against Estonian side Levadia Tallinn in a 1–1 draw.

After recovering, El Ahmadi returned to the reserve and by mid-November, El Ahmadi played his first match of the season, coming on as a substitute for Wout Brama in a 7–1 win over Groningen.

After the match, El Ahmadi began establishing himself in the starting eleven, playing in the right side of the support.

El Ahmadi played a single game for the club from 13 November 2006 to 29 April 2007.

At the end of season 2006–07, the club finished fourth which resulted in entering the UEFA Cup.

On 3 February 2007, El Ahmadi scored the first goal in a match with Twente won 2–1 over Excelsior.

On 8 April 2007, El Ahmadi scored Twente's only goal in the game in a 1–1 draw against Heracles.

The following 2007–08 season, Twente began suffering after the club sold Bakırcıoğlu to Ajax and Sharbel Touma sold to German side Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Even worse, Patrick Gerritsen suffered a leg injury, leading El Ahmadi to get more playing time in the starting line-up.

At the end of 2007–08 season, El Ahmadi made 33 appearances, primarily playing as a defender.

At the end of the season FC Twente qualified for the UEFA Champions League, all thanks to the rapid development from the defensive midfielder.

On 16 April 2008, it was announced that El Ahmadi signed a five-year deal with Dutch club Feyenoord for a transfer fee of €5 million (£4.3 million).

After a groin injury had initially kept him from playing he made his debut on 2 October 2008, coming on as a substitute for Luigi Bruins in the UEFA Cup-match against Kalmar FF, which Feyenoord won 2–1.

He made his debut in the starting line-up against NEC before coming off after 58 minutes, and the game ended in a 0–2 home defeat on 5 October 2008.

On 9 November 2008, El Ahmadi scored his first goal for the club in a 5–2 win over Utrecht.

In late-October, El Ahmadi signed a contract with the club, until 2009, with an options to extend until 2011.

On 22 February 2009, El Ahmadi scored his second goal for the club in a 2–0 win over De Graafschap.

Since making his debut, he played regularly in the starting line-up which led to interest from a German team Hamburger SV.

In early April El Ahmadi, suffered an ankle injury before making his return in the last game of the season, a 3–2 loss against Roda JC.

At the end of the season, he was linked to league rivals PSV Eindhoven, however, no offer was made from the club.

In the following 2009–10 season under manager Mario Been, El Ahmadi was deployed in central midfield with the rise of youngsters Leroy Fer and Jonathan de Guzmán.

Playing in this position, he played 26 league games.

In the quarter-final of the KNVB Cup, he scored a brace and set up a goal for captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst in a 3–0 win over PSV Eindhoven on 27 January 2010.

Feyenoord would later on reach the final of the KNVB Cup, which they lost 6–1 on aggregate to Ajax.

In late July, El Ahmadi signed a contract extension which will keep him until 2011.

Manager Fred Rutten said on a new contract: "For the club it's fantastic that we can keep players of this kind,".

El-Ahmadi was born in the Netherlands and played for FC Twente and Feyenoord before moving to the Premier League with Aston Villa in 2012 and subsequently returning to Feyenoord in September 2014 and before moving to the Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Professional League in 2018.

Born in the Netherlands, he represented Morocco internationally.

El Ahmadi was born and raised in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands.

His parents are both Moroccan, making him eligible to acquire the Moroccan citizenship and represent the Morocco national football team.

At the age of 9, El Ahmadi started playing football at local Enschede club UDI.

He got noticed quickly by scouts from Twente and was invited to join their academy.