| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdisalam Abdulkadir Ibrahim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 May 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Mogadishu, Somalia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | NEC (football club) | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Øyer-Tretten | |||
| 2002–2005 | Lørenskog | ||
| 2005–2007 | Fjellhamar | ||
| 2007–2010 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2007 | Fjellhamar | ||
| 2010– | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 2011 | → Scunthorpe United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2011- | → NEC (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006 | Norway U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007 | Norway U16 | 5 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Norway U17 | 6 | (1) |
| 2009 | Norway U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2009– | Norway U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2010– | Norway U21 | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Abdisalam Abdulkadir Ibrahim (born 1 May 1991) is a Somali-Norwegian footballer who plays for Dutch Eredivisie side NEC on loan from Manchester City.
He plays as a midfielder and at the age of 18 he had already been compared to teammate Patrick Vieira by some at the club.[2] He is the first player of Somali and East African origin to play in the Premier League.[3]
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Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Ibrahim moved to Norway in 1998.[4] He began his football career as a youth in Norway with Øyer-Tretten before eventually moving to Lørenskog, where he played for Fjellhamar. He got his debut for Fjellhamar's senior team in 2006.[5]
In early 2007, Ibrahim signed a three-year deal with Manchester City's youth academy effective from 1 July 2007.[6] In the spring of 2008, he was on the winning team in the FA Youth Cup final as Manchester City beat Chelsea 4–2 on aggregate.[7]
Ibrahim made his senior debut starting on 24 January 2010, in the FA Cup game against Scunthorpe United.[8] He was on the bench in the 3–1 defeat to Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final at Old Trafford, as well as the match against Portsmouth at Eastlands on 31 January. On 21 February 2010, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute for Manchester City in a 0–0 draw against Liverpool. Abdisalam Ibrahim has been rewarded with a new contract on 7 April 2010, tying him to the club until 2014.[9] Abdisalam Ibrahim made his Carling Cup debut and first starting appearance at West Brom on Wednesday, 22 September 2010.[10]
On 14 January 2011, it was announced that he would join Scunthorpe United on loan for one month,[11] this loan period subsequently being extended in mid-February to the end of the season.[12]
On 31 July 2011, it was announced that he would join Dutch Eredivisie side NEC on a season-long loan deal.[13]
At international level, Ibrahim has represented Norway at every age group from Under 15 to Under 21. He is still eligible for both his native country Somalia as well as his adopted country, but has stated a desire to represent the Norwegian national team if called up.[14]
Abdisalam has an older brother, Abdirashid Ibrahim, a semi-professional footballer formerly of FC United of Manchester and Rossendale United.[15] He also has a little brother, Abdijabar Ibrahim, who attends ESSA Academy.. Abdisalam was an Arsenal fan when growing up and his favourite footballer of all time was the Arsenal legend and former team mate Patrick Vieira.[16] Abdisalam's Nickname is Abdi. Abdisalam's cousin Ayub Ibrahim is also an up and coming youth prospect from of Australia who is attracting interest from a number of European clubs [17]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Manchester City | 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Scunthorpe United | 2010–11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Career total | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
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