.jpg) Dembélé with Belgium in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mousa Sidi Yaya Dembélé[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 July 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Wilrijk, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Germinal Beerschot | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2005 | Germinal Beerschot | 20 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Willem II | 33 | (9) |
| 2006–2010 | AZ | 118 | (24) |
| 2010–2012 | Fulham | 62 | (5) |
| 2012– | Tottenham Hotspur | 45 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2003 | Belgium U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Belgium U17 | 6 | (1) |
| 2004 | Belgium U18 | 1 | (1) |
| 2004–2006 | Belgium U19 | 12 | (3) |
| 2006– | Belgium | 55 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:08, 1 December 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2013 | |||
Mousa Sidi Yaya Dembélé (born 16 July 1987), also spelled Moussa Dembélé, is a Belgian footballerwho plays as a central midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and the Belgium national football team, where he has achieved 40 caps. Dembélé started his career at Belgian Pro League teamGerminal Beerschot before spells at Dutch Eredivisie sides Willem II and AZ. Dembélé transferred toPremier League side Fulham in 2010 before joining current club Tottenham in August 2012. In a poll of currently playing footballers, he was listed 91st in The 100 best footballers in the world by The Guardianin 2012.[2]
Early life
Dembélé was born in Wilrijk, Belgium, to a Malian father who emigrated to Belgium and a Belgianmother.[3]
Club career
Early career
Dembélé played for K. Berchem Sport as a youth. He started his professional career for Germinal Beerschot, a team in the Belgian Pro League. He made his debut on 24 April 2004 against Charleroi. In 2005, he signed for the youth section of Willem II, despite apparent interest from Eredivisie giants AFC Ajax.
Willem II
Dembélé spent the 2005–06 season in the Eredivisie with Willem II. The team had a very poor season that year, but Dembélé nonetheless scored nine times. After the season, he attracted further interest from the bigger Eredivisie teams and was subsequently transferred to AZ in the summer of 2006.
AZ
In 2006–07, Dembélé was one of the most important players of Louis van Gaal's team. They were poised to win the championship but on the last day lost the title to PSV and only finished third after losing 3–2 to Excelsior. AZ also lost the final of the KNVB Beker against AFC Ajax. Dembélé scored after two minutes played, but AZ lost 8–7 after a penalty shootout, with Dembélé scoring AZ's fifth penalty attempt. AZ further lost the play-off final for qualification to the Champions League, again to Ajax. Dembélé scored six times that season.
The season of 2007–08 was a very disappointing season for AZ. They finished 12th, with Dembélé scoring four times for them. The 2008–09 season started disappointingly as well for Dembélé's team after two defeats, but then AZ started to win more games and eventually won the championship. Dembélé was out injured from October until December with a knee injury, but on his return, he was hailed as being one of the players of the season in the Eredivisie.[4]
Fulham
Dembélé was said to be "edging closer" to join English Premier League club Birmingham City,[5] but on 12 August 2010, Dembélé declined a move to Birmingham in favour of London club Fulham. On 18 August 2010, Fulham announced that Dembélé had joined from AZ on a three-year deal for a fee of £5 million and will see the player at the club until the summer of 2013.[6]
Dembélé made an excellent start to his career at Fulham. He made his debut on 22 August 2010, coming on as a substitute against Manchester United. He capped his first start for the club with a goal, scoring the second of six goals against Port Vale in the League Cup on 25 August. The same week, Dembélé made his first league start against Blackpool in which he provided two assists. The first of the two was a cross to Bobby Zamora following a good run in the box, while the second gave Fulham a draw and a point; he dodged past a couple of Blackpool players before playing a good ball for an on-rushing Dickson Etuhu to make the score (and final result) 2–2. Dembélé scored two league goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 11 September in a 2–1 win, his first league goals for Fulham.[7] He then scored a great solo goal against Tottenham Hotspur, running from the halfway line before powerfully placing his shot beyond goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. This was voted the Fulham "Goal of the Season" by the Fulham fans.[8]
It took until 9 May in Fulham's home game against Liverpool for Dembélé to score his third Premier League goal, but the Cottagers were soundly beaten 5–2.[9]
Under manager Martin Jol, Dembélé played in a more creative position in central midfield, either next to club captain Danny Murphy or new signingMahamadou Diarra. After some very good performances, Martin Jol confirmed the club have opened contract talks with Dembélé in order to fend off interest from other clubs.[10] Dembélé scored two goals in 2011–12 in his new more central role, the first coming as an 86th minute goal against Wigan Athletic to seal Fulham's 0–2 win at the DW Stadium in late October.[11] His second came right at the business end of the season against Sunderland; his goal was the winner to make the result 2–1, scoring only 30 seconds after Phil Bardsley had equalized to make it 1–1 at Craven Cottage.[12]
Tottenham Hotspur
Dembélé transferred to Tottenham Hotspur on 29 August 2012 after Spurs triggered a £15 million release clause in his Fulham contract.[13][14] He scored on his debut against Norwich City on 1 September in a 1–1 draw.[15] On 21 February 2013, he scored a 90th minute goal to help Spurs put Olympique Lyonnaisout of the UEFA Europa League and qualify for the last 16 of the competition.[16]
International career
Dembélé made his first international appearance on 20 May 2006 against Slovakia, coming on as a substitute for Luigi Pieroni.[17] He scored his first international goal in October 2006 against Azerbaijan. Dembélé participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he put on a remarkable show, being instrumental in Belgium's 3–2 win to Italy in the quarter-finals, scoring two goals, including the defining goal of the match. Belgium then progressed, losing toNigeria in the semi-finals and Brazil in the third place play-offs. Dembélé played in all six of Belgium's games at the Olympics
