Yksel Osmanovski

Yksel Osmanovski
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-02-24) 24 February 1977
Place of birth Malmö, Sweden
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Playing position Winger
Striker
Club information
Current team
 Malmö FF (U21 coach)
Youth career
1982–1984 Malmö BI
1985–1986 IFK Malmö
1987–1995 Malmö FF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1998 Malmö FF 58 (16)
1998–2001 Bari 85 (14)
2001–2002 Torino 9 (1)
2002 → Bordeaux (loan) 7 (0)
2002–2003 Torino 13 (0)
2004–2007 Malmö FF 45 (5)
Total 217 (36)
National team
1998–2006 Sweden 14 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Yksel Osmanovski (Turkish: Yüksel Osmanoğlu) (born 24 February 1977) is a Swedish former footballer of Turkish origin who played as a striker. His ethnic Turkish parents originate from the Prespa Lake region of Macedonia and is the first Muslim as well as the first ethnic Swedish Turk (second-generation and local-born) to represent Sweden in football (excluding Erol Bekir who was a migrant from Macedonia and Emin Nouri, who was born in Bulgaria and immigrated to Sweden as a child).[2]

Early life

Born in Skrävlinge, Malmö, Osmanovski grew up in Rosengård, where fellow Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović also grew up. In an early interview, Zlatan said that "within a few years, I will play in Italy, and eventually the national team. I want to follow in Yksel's footsteps. We know each other, even if he is four years older than me. I got his autograph when he started playing for Malmö FF, when I played in Malmö BI. When he came to Rosengård and played and dribbled with us kids, we were all shouting "Yksel, Yksel, Yksel!" - Ibrahimović, in 2000.

Career

Club career

He played for Malmö BI and IFK Malmö as a child, but joined Malmö FF in 1987 where he eventually made his debut in 1995. He gradually became a star in the Swedish league, and was bought by Italian Serie A outfit Bari. After three seasons he moved on to Torino, but struggled to capture a first team place. He therefore returned to Malmö FF in 2004 after a stint at Bordeaux.[3][4] There he was part of the team that won the Allsvenskan league title, although Osmanovski himself did not receive a winner's medal, because he took part in too few matches. Still he played the crucial role, in stopping a ball on the goal line against title rivals Halmstad BK. Had it gone in, Malmö would certainly not won the league title, but thanks to a 2–2 draw, they kept themselves within a shot.

In February 2008, Osmanovski announced his retirement from professional football, having not had his contract with Malmö renewed.

International career

He has played 14 international matches for the Sweden national team,[5] and was a squad player for the Euro 2000.

Coaching career

On 14 January 2013 it was announced that Osmanovski would return to football, working as U21 coach for his previous club Malmö FF.

References

  1. ↑ "Yksel Osmanovski profile". Malmö FF official website. Archived from the original on 4 September 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  2. ↑ http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/sport/0005/20/yksel.html
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  4. ↑ Yksel Osmanovski – French league stats at LFP
  5. ↑ http://www.sr.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2835&artikel=1908238
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