| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 16, 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Utrecht, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Ajax | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| DSO Utrecht | |||
| 1995–2000 | USV Elinkwijk | ||
| 2000–2005 | PSV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2008 | PSV | 43 | (3) |
| 2007 | → Twente (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2008– | Ajax | 26 | (4) |
| 2010–2011 | → Vitesse (loan) | 29 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2007 | Netherlands U21 | 8 | (4) |
| 2011– | Morocco | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 July 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ismaïl Aissati (born 16 August 1988 in Utrecht) is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer who currently plays for Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Moroccan national team.
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Being born to Moroccan parents in the Netherlands, he was eligible to represent either nation. He represented the Netherlands at U21 level, before opting to represent Morocco in 2007 instead. His first call up for the Moroccan national team didn't come until 2009. Sidelined by an injury however, his debut for Morocco wasn't until October 9, 2011. He also played on loan for FC Twente during the second half of the 2006/07 season, and Vitesse during the 2010/11 season, the year Ajax would clinch their 30th league title.
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.
At the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship, Aissati reached the tournament all star squad, mostly playing against 3 or 4 year older opponents, Aissati himself being 17.
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.[1]
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.
On 24 August 2010, he was loaned out once more to Vitesse for the whole 2010/11 season, scoring 4 goals in 29 league matches for the side from Arnhem. He returned to Ajax after his loan spell playing for Jong Ajax for the first three months of the 2011/12 season, before finding his place back in the first team on 27 November 2011 after the away match against N.E.C. in Nijmegen, coming on as a substitute for Lorenzo Ebecilio in the 65th minute.[2]
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.
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 will include him in the selection that will face France in 17 November in a friendly match in Paris. This, however, turned out to be a false statement. On December 30, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation revealed that Ismaïl Aissati would represent Morocco. It was thought that he would most likely make his debut on February 11, 2009 against the Czech Republic in Casablanca, but he was later ruled out of this match with injury. He made is debut for Morocco on October 9, 2011 as a part of the preliminary squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification in the 3-1 home victory against Tanzania in Marrakech, Morocco.[3]
| Season | Club | Country | Competition | Matches | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005/06 | PSV | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 18 | 2 |
| 2006/07 | PSV | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 10 | 1 |
| 2006/07 | FC Twente | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 14 | 1 |
| 2007/08 | PSV | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 16 | 0 |
| 2008/09 | Ajax | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 9 | 1 |
| 2009/10 | Ajax | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 14 | 3 |
| 2010/11 | Vitesse | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 29 | 4 |
| 2011/12 | Ajax | Netherlands | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 93 | 5 |
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