Macedonian footballer (born 1999)
Elif Elmas (Macedonian: Елиф Елмас; born 24 September 1999) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the North Macedonia national team. A versatile player, Elmas can be deployed as a central midfielder, right midfielder, winger or forward.
Club career
Early career
Elmas started his career at FK Rabotnički in his native Macedonia. After a stand-out season in which he scored six league goals and led Rabotnički to a third-place finish in the Macedonian First Football League in 2016–17, he joined Turkish giants Fenerbahçe on a deal until 2022, with Fenerbahçe paying the former €300,000 for his services.[1] The attacking midfielder went on to score four goals in over 40 appearances for the Yellow Canaries in all competitions before moving to Italy in July 2019.[1]
Napoli
On 24 July 2019, Serie A side S.S.C. Napoli announced the signing of Elmas from Fenerbahçe.[2] The deal was worth a reported €16 million, which could rise to €19 million in total with bonuses – including a €1.5 million sell-on fee clause.[1] He was disciplined by his new club after speaking to reporters while away on international duty in November 2019 for breaching a club media blackout.[3]
Elmas scored his first Napoli goal on 3 February 2020 to help the club to a 4–2 victory over Sampdoria, and secure their third win in a row in all competitions.[4]
On 19 December 2021, Elmas scored the winner for Napoli in a narrow away win against AC Milan, taking over second place in Serie A.[5]
Elmas went on to win the Scudetto with Napoli in 2023, the club's third title, and the first claimed outside of the Diego Maradona era.[6]
RB Leipzig
On 27 December 2023, Bundesliga club RB Leipzig announced that Elmas would join the club on 1 January 2024, upon the opening of the winter transfer window, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.[7] The transfer fee paid by the Germans was reported as €23 million by German sports magazine Kicker.[8]
International career
Elmas was born in Macedonia (now North Macedonia) to a family of Turkish descent.[9][10][11] In July 2017, it was reported that then-coach of the Turkey national football team, Fatih Terim, had tried to call him up, but Elmas decided to represent his birth country.[12]
Elmas was also included in the Macedonia U21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland, being the youngest footballer in the 23-man squad.[13] On 11 June 2017, at the age of 17, Elmas debuted for the Macedonian senior squad in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Spain as a half-time substitute for Ostoja Stjepanović.[14]
On 31 March 2021, Elmas scored the winning goal for North Macedonia in a 2–1 away win over Germany during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[15] The same year in November 2021, Elmas scored a brace in a 3–1 victory against Iceland, helping team secure a runners-up spot in Group J, leading North Macedonia to a World Cup play-off.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 May 2024.[17]
International
- As of match played 10 September 2024.[18]
- As of match played 10 September 2024.
- Scores and results list North Macedonia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elmas goal.[18]
Honours
Napoli
References
- ^ a b c "Fenerbahce Confirm €16m Eljif Elmas Transfer To Napoli, Fee Could Reach €19m – Financial Details Revealed". Turkish Football. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Napoli, ufficializzato l'acquisto di Elmas a titolo definitivo". S.S.C. Napoli (in Italian). 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ "Napoli ready to punish Elmas for speaking to the media". Goal. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Demme and Elmas help resurgent Napoli beat Sampdoria". France24. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- ^ "Elmas grabs win for Napoli in Milan after VAR drama as Cádiz hold Real Madrid". The Guardian. 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Napoli seal first Italian football league title in 33 years". Al Jazeera English. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Eljif Elmas to join RB Leipzig in January 2024!". RB Leipzig. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Perfekt: Napolis Elmas wechselt zu RB Leipzig" [Perfect: Napoli's Elmas joins RB Leipzig]. kicker (in German). 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Eljif Elmas kimdir? Eljif Elmas, Türkiye Milli Takımı'nda oynayabiliyor mu?". Sporx (in Turkish). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Muriç ve Eljif neden Türk Milli Takımı'nı tercih etmedi?". fenerkolik.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Şekip Mosturoğlu: Fatih Terim, Eljif Elmas'ı milli takıma çok istedi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 30 June 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "Eljif Elmas kimdir? Eljif Elmas, Türkiye Milli Takımı'nda oynayabiliyor mu?". sporx.com (in Turkish). 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Благоја Милевски ги избра седуммината од генерацијата 1996/97 за ЕП во Полска". Football Federation of Macedonia (in Macedonian).
- ^ Bulatović, Vladimir (11 June 2017). "Елмас дебитира за Македонија со 17 години... (Фото + видео)" [Elmas debuted for Macedonia at 17 years old... (Photo + Video)]. Ekipa Macedonia (in Macedonian).
- ^ Popovski, Zoran (1 January 2022). "Македонскиот маратонец Елиф Елмас | Одигра 70 натпревари во 2021 година, само тројца во Европа се пред него (Фото)" [Macedonian marathoner Elif Elmas | He played 70 games in 2021, only three in Europe are ahead of him (Photo)]. Sport Manija (in Macedonian).
- ^ "Елиф, Елиф, Елиф... Македонија повторно води! (видео)" [Elif, Elif, Elif... Macedonia leads again! (video)]. Sport Sport (in Macedonian). 14 November 2021.
- ^ "E. Elmas". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Elif Elmas". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Napoli win Serie A for first time in 33 years". BBC Sport. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ "Coppa: Napoli beat Juventus on penalties". Football Italia. 17 June 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elif Elmas.
- Profile at the RB Leipzig website
- Profile at Macedonian Football (in English)
- sport.de
- Elif Elmas at Soccerway
- Elif Elmas – UEFA competition record (archive)