Yassine Elghanassy
Encyclopedia
Yassine El Ghanassy is a Belgian
footballer of Moroccan
parentage who plays as a Forward or as a left (preferred) or right Winger for Belgian Pro League side AA Gent.
, where he got quite quickly the attention of many people. At the age of sixteen, he went to the English team Birmingham City FC
. He did some tests successfully, but a transfer didn't follow. La Louvière wanted a transfer price which was too high for such a young dribbler.
, who left in the summer of 2009 for FC Twente
. Because of his style of playing, he was compared many times with his predecessor.
El Ghanassy was most of all spotted as a passer, who gave the assists, but never scored himself. Only in the playoffs of 2009/10 in the match against Zulte Waregem, he scored his first goal. Since that goal he has been making many more. He made, for example, a goal in the European game of AA Gent against the White-Russian team FC Naftan Novopolotsk
. It was the only goal in that game, which meant that Gent was qualified for the third qualifying round.
Meanwhile, El Ghanassy is being followed by several European top teams, such as Manchester City F.C.
, AC Milan, Everton FC
, Sunderland A.F.C.
and Olympique Lyonnais
.
El Ghanassy debuted for Belgium in a friendly match against Finland, so he would still be eligible to play for Morocco.
El Ghanassy was called up by the national coach Georges Leekens to play in the national team on 8 October 2010 and to finish his first game as international. He approved and chose, by this, for the Belgian national team (Rode Duivelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_national_football_team)
On 25 October 2010, it was revealed scouts from Celtic F.C.
had watched El Ghanassy in action. His agent described him as a "magician" in an interview with STV, saying he would encourage the player to move to the Glasgow club.
Reports in Scotland in May suggested that El Ghanassy has agreed a five year contract with Glasgow Celtic.
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
footballer of Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
parentage who plays as a Forward or as a left (preferred) or right Winger for Belgian Pro League side AA Gent.
Youth career
Yassine El Ghanassy was born on 12 July 1990 as the only son of the former football player Hajjaj El Ghanassy. He started playing when he was fifteen at the team Fayt-Manage in Hainaut. In his leisure time, he improved his technics as a street football player. After some years El Ghanassy made it to the youth series of La LouvièreR.A.A. Louviéroise
R.A.A. Louviéroise, sometimes referred to as La Louvière or RAAL, was a Belgian football club located in the city of La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. It had been playing its latest run in the Belgian First Division from 2000-01 to 2005-06 included...
, where he got quite quickly the attention of many people. At the age of sixteen, he went to the English team Birmingham City FC
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
. He did some tests successfully, but a transfer didn't follow. La Louvière wanted a transfer price which was too high for such a young dribbler.
La Louvière
In 2008 El Ghanassy made his debut in the first team of La Louvière. The team had just sacked to the third division degraded to the Third Division and was about to merge with RACS Couillet. The Marocan Belgian youth player got some playing minutes, but nevertheless left for AA Gent not long afterwards.AA Gent
Although he was initially added to the youth team, he could play a few times in the Jupiler Pro League. Thanks to his creativity and drive he was being named as the successor of Bryan RuizBryan Ruiz
Bryan Ruiz González , commonly known as Bryan Ruiz is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. He is an attacking all-rounder, with good ball control, heading and passing....
, who left in the summer of 2009 for FC Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
. Because of his style of playing, he was compared many times with his predecessor.
El Ghanassy was most of all spotted as a passer, who gave the assists, but never scored himself. Only in the playoffs of 2009/10 in the match against Zulte Waregem, he scored his first goal. Since that goal he has been making many more. He made, for example, a goal in the European game of AA Gent against the White-Russian team FC Naftan Novopolotsk
FC Naftan Novopolotsk
FC Naftan Novopolotsk is an Belarusian football club based in Navapolatsk. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the top division in Belarusian football...
. It was the only goal in that game, which meant that Gent was qualified for the third qualifying round.
Meanwhile, El Ghanassy is being followed by several European top teams, such as Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
, AC Milan, Everton FC
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
and Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...
.
International career
Because of the fact that El Ghanassy has the double Belgian-Moroccan nationality, he could choose to play for both countries. He already played international youth games for both teams.El Ghanassy debuted for Belgium in a friendly match against Finland, so he would still be eligible to play for Morocco.
El Ghanassy was called up by the national coach Georges Leekens to play in the national team on 8 October 2010 and to finish his first game as international. He approved and chose, by this, for the Belgian national team (Rode Duivelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_national_football_team)
On 25 October 2010, it was revealed scouts from Celtic F.C.
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
had watched El Ghanassy in action. His agent described him as a "magician" in an interview with STV, saying he would encourage the player to move to the Glasgow club.
Reports in Scotland in May suggested that El Ghanassy has agreed a five year contract with Glasgow Celtic.
Player career
| season | team | country | division | games | goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | RAA Louviéroise | Belgium | Derde Klasse | 6 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | AA Gent | Belgium | Jupiler Pro League | 11 | 0 |
| 2009/10 | AA Gent | Belgium | Jupiler Pro League | 19 | 2 |
| 2010/11 | AA Gent | Belgium | Jupiler Pro League | 13 | 4 |
| Belgium | 49 | 6 |