Ayoub Aleesami (born 9 February 1996) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defender for KFUM.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 February 1996 | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | KFUM | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Holmlia | |||
| –2013 | Lyn | ||
| 2014–2015 | Skeid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2019 | Skeid | 67 | (3) |
| 2020–2022 | Fredrikstad | 49 | (3) |
| 2022– | KFUM | 45 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 November 2024 | |||
Personal life
editAyoub Aleesami is the younger brother of Haitam Aleesami, both being of Moroccan descent. While Ayoub and Haitam have similar appearances, the latter is vastly more known due to him playing internationally, thus Ayoub is often confused for Haitam in the street.[1]
Career
editAleesami started his career in Holmlia SK.[2] He also played youth football for Lyn, leaving after the 2013 season for Skeid, for whom he made his senior debut in the 2015 2. divisjon.[3] In the winter of 2015–16 he trained with Halmstads BK among others, but decided to pen a two-year contract with Skeid.[4]
Being a defender, Aleesami scored very seldomly, but managed to get a goal in the 2018 Norwegian Football Cup where Skeid eliminated first-tier club Sandefjord.[5] In October 2018, he scored the only goal against Arendal, which put Skeid in a promising position in the hunt for promotion.[6] Winning promotion, Skeid experienced a good start to their 2019 1. divisjon campaign.[7]
After Skeid was relegated, Aleesami started the 2020 2. divisjon campaign with them, before moving to rivals Fredrikstad FK in July. His brother played there many years prior.[8] Fredrikstad won promotion in 2020 and Skeid in 2021; when the teams met in 2022, Aleesami scored the decisive goal of the match.[9] However, Aleesami was mostly benched by Fredrikstad in 2022, and in the summer he moved back to Oslo and KFUM.[10]
In the 2023 1. divisjon, Aleesami helped KFUM win promotion. As the team prepared for the 2024 Eliteserien, they made a surprise signing when Ayoub's brother Haitam decided to return to Norway. It was the first time the brothers had played on the same team.[11] Ayoub Aleesami made his Eliteserien debut in May 2024 against Fredrikstad,[12] and scored his first Eliteserien goal against Molde, converting a corner with a header.[13] He also scored against Stabæk in the cup.[14]
Honours
editSkeid
Fredrikstad
- 2. divisjon: 2020
References
edit- ^ Henriksen, Vidar (24 September 2020). "– Jeg blir gjerne forvekslet med min bror!". Fredriksstad Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Karstensen, Pål (5 August 2022). "Kåffa forsterker med midtstopper: – Prøvd å hente han mange ganger". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Ayoub Aleesami at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
- ^ Synstad, Alexander (5 April 2016). "Klar for to nye år". Nordre Aker Budstikke (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Lie, Stine Løvmo; et al. (2 May 2018). "Sandefjord-krisen fortsetter: Ute av cupen etter skrekkforestilling" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Skeid har opprykket i baklomma". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 13 October 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Skeid og KFUM har tatt nivået". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 11 April 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Berg, Jacob (21 July 2020). "Ayoub (24) om FFK-valget: – Samtalen med trenerne overbeviste meg". Fredriksstad Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Sollie, Reidar (16 May 2022). "Aleesami sørget for FFK-fest og senket gamle lagkamerater". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Henriksen, Vidar (22 August 2022). "To uker etter klubbskiftet – nå snakker Ayoub Aleesami ut om det å bli benket i FFK". Fredriksstad Blad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Hansson, Mikkel (12 January 2024). "Sjokkerte broren: – Så ikke den komme" (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Ayoub Aleesami at Soccerway
- ^ Pettersen, Per Møller (20 July 2024). "Nuñez og KFUM tok ny storskalp med seier i Molde". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "Kontroversielle KFUM til historisk semifinale etter målshow" (in Norwegian). NRK. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.