Youssouf Hersi


Youssouf Hersi is a retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Career

Club

Hersi has played in the Netherlands for Ajax, NAC Breda, NEC, Heerenveen, Vitesse Arnhem, Twente and De Graafschap. He has also played for the Greek side AEK Athens.
On 11 September 2012, Hersi signed with A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. He scored his first goal for the club in the Sydney Derby on 15 December 2012. In February 2013, Hersi re-signed with the Wanderers for another season. On 10 March 2013 against Wellington Phoenix Hersi broke the Australian football record for most consecutive wins for a player beating Matt Horsley's 13 wins for the Wollongong Wolves from April to December 2001. Hersi was sent off with a second yellow card in the Wanderers' Grand Final qualifier against Brisbane Roar FC and subsequently missed the 2013 A-League Grand Final in which the Wanderers lost 2–0 to Central Coast Mariners FC.
In May 2014 Hersi signed with Perth Glory. He requested a release from the club in May 2015, which was granted despite having another year to run on his contract.
Hersi was set to sign for the Central Coast Mariners in February 2016 but the deal was scuppered at the last minute after he travelled to Australia on the wrong type of visa.

International

Hersi played with the Dutch under-21 team at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship. He scored two goals in the tournament, against Costa Rica and his birth country, Ethiopia.
He was never capped for the Dutch full national side, and although he had expressed an interest in representing the nation of his birth Ethiopia at the international level, so far he has never been called to the Ethiopian senior team either.