Urby Emanuelson is a vibrant Dutch footballer born in 1986. One of the pupils of the legendary school of Amsterdam "Ajax", achieved the greatest success in the Italian series "A", managed to prove himself in the composition of his national team.
The pupil of "Ajax"
The Dutch Ajax is one of the main suppliers of young stars to the European football market. Among the legendary players of this sports school are Johan Cruyff,
Marco van Bastin, Frank de Boer,
Dennis Bergkamp. Urby Emanuelson, whom we are talking about today, you can say, began his career also in this club. The footballer played at the age of 5 in the little-known Vorland team, and already at the age of 8 he moved to the main grand of the Dutch championship. It has been a good left midfielder since childhood. In total, Urby spent 10 years at the Ajax Academy.
Since 2002, football player Urby Emanuelson has played in the youth team (under 17 years old). In 2006, at the European Youth Championship, he was included in the symbolic team of the tournament. The Netherlands national football team then won the European Youth Championship for the first time in history, beating Ukraine in the final - 3-0.
Success at home
As part of the adult “Ajax”, Urby Emanuelson first appeared on the field in the 2004-2005 season. True, he played very rarely that year - in only 3 matches in the championship.
The main player of the club Urbi became the next year, having spent 41 matches in the “Ajax” and scoring 2 goals. Although then, the Amsterdamites were left without medals, taking only 4th place.
The next season was one of the most dramatic for “Ajax”, and for Urby Emanuelson. Throughout the season, his team fought with dignity for the victory in the championship with PSV and AZ. As a result, the team from Alkmaar at the very end lagged behind, and with the team from Eindhoven, “Ajax” completed the season on neighboring lines, gaining 75 points. And only for additional indicators, the Emanuelson team lost.
Best in Holland
The most successful season for Emanuelson in Holland was the 2010-2011 season. “Ajax” finally managed to interrupt the protracted series of defeats and become the first in the top division of the Netherlands. Urby Emanuelson in the championship played in only half of the matches, but he was the main player in European competitions.
“Ajax” began the fight from the 3rd qualification round, having twice drawn a draw with the Greek PAOK - 1: 1 and 3: 3. And only thanks to the larger number of goals scored away, I went further. In the struggle for the right to play in the main tournament, the Dutch went around Dynamo Kyiv and got into a group with Real Madrid, Italian Milan and Auxerre.
“Real” that year was unstoppable, winning 5 matches out of 6 (1 - in a draw). The Dutch could seriously compete for second place with “Milan”, but the defeat in the 4th round of “Auxerre” 1: 2 confused all the cards. And before the last game at San Siro, the Italians guaranteed a second place. “Ajax” did not play after the sleeves - won 2-0. Emanuelson seems to be well remembered by the bosses of “Milan”, because the next season he moved to series “A”.
If to summarize the performance of Urbi in his homeland, then for 7 years he won the Dutch championship once, 3 times the cup and the Dutch Super Cup.
Italian business trip
In January 2011, Urby Emanuelson signed a three-year contract with Milan. And three days later he made his debut in a cup match against Sampdoria, which ended in a victory for his team 2: 1.
In April, in the home Cup semi-final against Palermo, Emanuelson scored a goal in the 76th minute, preventing the team to lose - 2: 2. In the second leg, Emanuelson didn’t have enough goal - “Milan” lost and dropped out of the rally.
Having spent the second part of the championship in the team, he helped not to lose the gained advantage and to arrange the champion title. So, in the first year on the Apennine Peninsula, Urbi became the best in Italy.
Things have gone into decline
In “Milan”, he spent another three seasons, however, the mentors were not always happy with him. In 2012, things went so bad that Emanuelson was leased to Fulham for six months.
“Fulham” that year fought in the Premier League, managing to not only keep a residence permit for the next season, but also take a decent place for this team 12th place. Urby spent 13 matches on Foggy Albion, scoring one goal.
In 2014, finally parting with “Milan”, first played in “Roma”, then in “Atalanta”, but could not gain a foothold in any of the clubs in the main team.
In 2016, Emanuelson signed a contract with the Ellas Verona team, which failed to maintain residence in Serie A, taking last place. In 38 matches, they managed to win only 5 victories, so the Veronians lost their chances to keep a residence permit in the elite long before the end of the season.
In the national team
The Netherlands national football team first called Emanuelson to their ranks in August 2006. He made his debut in a friendly match with the Irish, replacing 61 minutes in place of defender Tim de Claire. That match ended with a landslide victory of the Netherlands - 4: 0.
Emanuelson participated in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 and 2012 World Championships and the 2014 European Championship. He played most actively on the eve of Euro 98, having participated in 7 matches. The Dutch successfully entered the tournament, but Urby did not qualify.
But in 2008, Emanuelson went to the Olympic Games in Beijing, playing there in the starting lineup. The first match with the traditionally strong Nigerians at the Olympics, the Dutch drew 0-0. Then they played 2: 2 with the US team, and in the decisive match for the right to get into the playoffs, they met with the Japanese. Goal Herald Sibona from the penalty spot brought the victory 1-0.
The Dutch squad was stopped in the 1/4 finals by the Argentine national team, who won 2-1. One of the goals was scored by Leonel Messi.
For Emanuelson, his career in the national team ended in 2012. In the qualifying match at the 2014 World Cup, he came on as a substitute against Andorra.