Omar El Kaddouri


Omar El Kaddouri is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or a winger for Greek club PAOK and the Morocco national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in Belgium to Moroccan parents, he began his early career at K. Diegem Sport. He subsequently moved to Anderlecht after being scouted by their youth system. During the Torneo di Viareggio in 2007, he was scouted by Italian football club Brescia who signed him in 2008.
He played two seasons with the Brescia youth team, managing a first team appearance when he came on as a substitute against Livorno on 30 March 2009, aged just 18. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he was sent out to Lega Pro side Südtirol, where he managed 32 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting a further 10.

Brescia

During 2011–12, he returned to Brescia, who decided to establish him in the centre midfield. On 3 October 2011, he scored the second goal in a defeat of Cittadella. On 5 March 2012 he scored his fifth goal of the season for le Rondinelle against Gubbio, on an assist of Jonathas. He concluded the season with 38 appearances and 7 goals.

Napoli

On 24 August 2012 he officially signed with Napoli under a co-ownership agreement for €2 million.
He officially debuted with the Neapolitans on 20 September as a starter in a Europa League match against Swedish side AIK Fotboll; his Serie A debut was on 2 December, in a home game against Pescara. He collected 7 appearances in Serie A, with 14 in total throughout the season.
On 20 June 2013 Napoli acquired the second half of his contract from Brescia.

Torino

On 11 July 2013 he was loaned to Torino with the right to redeem half of his contract in co-ownership. He made his debut on 17 August in the third round of Coppa Italia, a 1–2 defeat against Pescara, substituting Alexander Farnerud at halftime. On 24 November he scored his first two goals for Torino during a 4–1 win against Catania. On 17 February 2014 he scored the final goal in a 3–1 win away at Verona, after providing two assists on the earlier goals.
In the league he collected 29 appearances and 5 goals. At the end of the season Torino opted to acquire 50% of his contract, however, Napoli exercised the right redeem his contract in full as stipulated. On 1 July 2014 he was reloaned to Torino with a buyout clause. On 7 February 2015 he scored his first goal of the season during an away fixture against Verona; the game ended 3–1 in favour of the Granata.

Return to Napoli

On 25 June 2015 his contract was not redeemed by Torino and he returned to Naples.

Empoli

On 31 January 2017, during the winter transfer window, Omar El Kaddouri has officially joined Empoli, moving from Napoli on a three-and-a-half-year contract, until 30 June 2021.

PAOK

On 24 August 2017, PAOK announced the signing of the Moroccan middlefielder who penned a four-year contract with the club. On 14 April 2018, he scored his first goal with the club in Superleague in a 3–1 home win game against Panionios.

International career

El Kaddouri was part of the Belgium U21 team. He scored his first goal for them on 14 November 2011 against England in a match part of the European Under-21 qualifiers in 2013. In July 2012, he participated in the Olympic Games in London with Morocco, making two appearances.
El Kaddouri then played for the Moroccan national team, making his debut 14 August 2013 in a friendly against Burkina Faso. He scored his first goal on 23 May 2014 in a 4–0 friendly win over Mozambique.

Honours

PAOK

Club

As of match played 20 July 2020.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef
1.23 May 2014Estádio de São Luís, Faro1–04–0Friendly
2.9 October 2014Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech3–04–0Friendly
3.13 November 2014Stade Adrar, Agadir3–06–1Friendly
4.12 June 2015Stade Adrar, Agadir1–01–02017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5.12 October 2015Stade Adrar, Agadir1–11–1Friendly