Ismaïl Aissati

Football player infobox
playername= Ismaïl Aissati


fullname = Ismaïl Aissati
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1988|8|16
cityofbirth = Utrecht
countryofbirth = Netherlands
height = height|m=1.74
currentclub = AFC Ajax
clubnumber = 11
position = Attacking Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = "DOS" "Elinkwijk"
years = 2005–2008
2007
2008–
clubs = PSV Eindhoven
→ FC Twente (loan)
AFC Ajax
caps(goals) = 38 (3)
14 (1)
0 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = Netherlands U21
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 28 November 2007
ntupdate =

Ismaïl Aissati (Arabic: إسماعيل العيساتي) (born August 16, 1988 in Utrecht) is a football player for AFC Ajax. He plays as an attacking midfielder who possesses flair and vision. Being born to Moroccan parents in the Netherlands, he is still allowed to play for either national team, should they want him, until he is 22 years old. He also played on loan for FC Twente during the second half of the 2006/07 season.

On October 19, 2005 he made his first UEFA Champions League appearance for PSV Eindhoven. In doing so, he became the youngest Dutch player ever to play in the UEFA Champions League, taking over from Ryan Babel, who debuted also at age 17, but eight months older. In the match against A.C. Milan he came off the bench in the 63rd minute. However, on November 1, 2005 PSV Eindhoven played the return match against A.C. Milan where he played the whole match, with Andrea Pirlo as opponent, playing with confidence.

Aissati is seen as a great talent and he is one of the most promising Dutch players for the future. At the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship, Aissati reached the tournament all star squad, mostly playing against 5 or 6 year older opponents, Aissati himself being 17. Aissati was linked to European giants A.C. Milan, Inter Milan, Valencia CF, Sevilla FC as well as Arsenal. In September 2006 A.C. Milan made a bid of around 11 million, but PSV rejected the offer and said he won't leave for less than 15 Million.

In January 2007, Aissati was loaned out to FC Twente. On January 20, 2007, he played his first Eredivisie game for FC Twente against RKC Waalwijk. [ cite web|title=Tactical Formation|work=Football-Lineups.com
url=http://www.football-lineups.com/wiki/_match3245.php | accessdate=January 22 | accessyear=2007]

On 19 July 2008 Aissati agreed to sign a contract with AFC Ajax after passing his medical. Aissati will be only the fourth player in history to move from PSV to Ajax. Gert Bals, Peter Hoekstra and Kenneth Perez were the others.

International career

He was part of the team winning 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. In 2007 he was also part of the team that defended their title for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. Aissati played in the first match against Israel (1-0 win), but was substituted in the first half by Otman Bakkal due to an injury. After the Dutch win over Portugal (2-1) they secured a semi final spot and a qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as reaching the finals after beating England (1-1, 13-12) after penalties. The Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beating Serbia 4-1 in the final. He is an up and coming star.

On October 20, 2007 a Moroccan website stated that Ismaïl chose to represent Morocco internationally instead of Netherlands, and that Henri Michel the coach of the Morocco national football team will include him in the selection that will face Francein 17 November in a friendly match in Paris. This, however, turned out to be a false statement.

Career Stats

References

External links

* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=6545 FootballDatabase.com Profile]