Balal Arezou
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 December 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Kabul, Afghanistan | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
Asker | ||
| Number | 90 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Senja | |||
| –2006 | Grane | ||
| 2007 | FK Arendal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007 | FK Arendal | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Fredrikstad | 0 | (0) |
| 2009–2015 | Asker | 118 | (24) |
| 2013–2014 | → Churchill Brothers (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Moss | 20 | (9) |
| 2016– | Asker | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010 | Afghanistan U-23 | 5 | (6) |
| 2011–2015 | Afghanistan | 27 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 November 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 June 2014 |
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Balal Arezou (also Belal or Bilal; born 28 December 1988) is an Afghan footballer who plays as a forward and is currently playing for Norwegian club Asker FK. He is currently the topscorer with 9 goals for the Afghanistan national football team.
Arezou grew up in Afghanistan and moved to Norway as a refugee. In Norway, he played football for Senja, Grane, Arendal and Fredrikstad's youth team before he joined Asker in 2009.
In February 2013 he joined Churchill Brothers S.C. on a four-month loan from Asker. His move completed with the return of Indian striker Sunil Chhetri from Sporting Clube de Portugal.
On 7 March 2015 he joined Moss FK on a 2-year contract. He will wear shirt number 90.
Balal Arezou made his debut for his native country Afghanistan on 2010 when he was called up for 2010 South Asian Games. Afghanistan took everyone by surprise to top the group stage with wins over India (1–0), Pakistan (2–1), and Sri Lanka (2–0). Nepal was again the opponent in the semi final (similar to the recent South Asian Football Federation Cup ) to once again win marginally 1–0. Arezou scored all six goals of Afghanistan and eventually went on to become the top scorer of the tournament with six goals in his name. Unfortunately Afghanistan lost the final to host nation but earned Balal Arezou the title of the best player in the tournament. It was amazing to produce such an excellent display for his native country and it was a treat to watch and a sign of things to come.
His scoring foot did not stop for the national team, becoming the second Afghanistan player in history to score in a World Cup Qualifying match. Obaidullah Karimi scored Afghanistan's first ever World Cup goal in a 1–2 (1–5 on aggregate) loss to Syria in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, and Arezou scored Afghanistan's second in a 1–1 (1–3 on aggregate) draw to Palestine in their 2014 World Cup Qualifying match. Later in the year in SAFF Championship 2011 he scored the opening goal of Afghanistan against India which ended to 1–1 draw. He scored 4 amazing goals against Bhutan which ended 8–1 and earned Arezou the man of the match award and was the only hat trick of the tournament in which he was the captain of the team also. With amazing goals against Bhutan Afghanistan moved to top the group ahead of India. Balal Arezou was the hero against Nepal in semi Finals when he scored the only goal of the match at extra time and took his team to the Finals of the tournament. Afghanistan lost the finals in a controversial moments when skipper was sent out 20 minutes before the match ends but brilliant display from Arezou never stopped in the game. Arezou once again showed his brilliance by sending the national team to AFC Challenge Cup 2014 after winning the group stage of 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification. He scored two winning goals each vs Sri Lanka and Mongolia to ensure victory for Afghanistan. Afghanistan draw with hosts Laos but still qualified as a group winner.
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