Amro Tarek

Amro Tarek
Tarek with the New York Red Bulls in 2019
Personal information
Full name Amr Tarek Abdel-Aziz
Date of birth (1992-05-17) May 17, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Los Angeles, California, United States
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1999–2009 Asyut Cement
2009–2010 ENPPI
2010–2011 1. FC Magdeburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 SC Freiburg II 15 (0)
2012–2013 VfL Wolfsburg II 20 (1)
2013–2015 El Gouna 45 (0)
2015–2016 Betis 0 (0)
2016Columbus Crew (loan) 1 (0)
2016–2017 ENPPI 23 (0)
2017–2018 Wadi Degla 11 (0)
2018Orlando City (loan) 20 (1)
2019–2021 New York Red Bulls 46 (1)
2019 New York Red Bulls II 1 (0)
2021–2022 El Gouna 24 (1)
2022–2023 Al Masry 7 (0)
2023 Austin FC 0 (0)
International career
2011 Egypt U20 2 (0)
2017– Egypt 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 September 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2018

Amr Tarek Abdel-Aziz (Arabic: عمرو طارق; born May 17, 1992) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a defender. Tarek has also been capped for the Egyptian national team.

Club career

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Early career

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Born in Los Angeles, California, Tarek moved to Egypt at early age, settling in Asyut. After being coached by a German manager at Asyut Cement, he joined ENPPI Club in 2009, aged 17; at that time he was mainly used as a striker.[1]

In May 2010 Tarek moved to Europe, joining German side FC Magdeburg. Initially on a trial basis, he was subsequently offered a contract and was assigned to the under-19 squad.

In the 2011 summer Tarek joined SC Freiburg, being assigned to the reserves in Regionalliga.[2] He scored the first in a 6–0 victory over Serbian side OFK Beograd in the 2011 Lev Yashin Cup final, also featuring regularly during the campaign; he was also converted initially to a left winger and later to a left back in the process.[citation needed]

On 3 May 2012 Tarek signed for another reserve team, VfL Wolfsburg II.[3] Despite extending his contract with the club roughly a year later,[4] he moved to Hajduk Split in August on a trial basis,[5] and after nothing came of it, he returned to the United States in September and played 82 minutes in a 4–1 MLS Reserve League win for Chivas USA Reserves against Portland Timbers Reserves.

El Gouna

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After an unsuccessful trial with German side Bayern Munich, Tarek signed with El Gouna in January 2014. He made his debut for the club on 9 January, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 home loss against Smouha.

Tarek played 15 games in his first season, as his side finished fifth. He was also an undisputed starter in his second, before the league was put on hiatus due to political issues. In November 2014, Tarek underwent a trial with Swiss Super League side FC Luzern.[6] He was also linked to fellow league team Al Ahly SC,[7] but nothing came of it.

Betis

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On 6 July 2015, Tarek signed a four-year deal with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga, for an undisclosed fee.[8]

On 13 June 2016, Real Betis announced the termination of Amro Tarek's contract by mutual consent.[9]

Columbus Crew

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On 2 February 2016, Betis announced that Tarek had joined Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer on loan until June 2016 with the option to extend the loan until December 2016.[10] Tarek struggled for playing time with Columbus, and was released by the club on May 5, 2016, after just a single substitute appearance.[11]

ENPPI

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On 15 June 2016, just two days after his contract termination with Real Betis, Tarek returned to Egypt and signed a four-year deal with Ismaily.[12][13] However, the deal was terminated a month later before his registration was submitted, with Tarek joined fellow Egyptian Premier League side ENPPI.[14] After one season with ENPPI, Tarek terminated his deal.

Wadi Delga

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In August 2017, after originally reaching an agreement to join Smouha SC, he signed with Wadi Degla SC for free instead.[15]

Orlando City

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In February 2018 Tarek made his second loan move to Major League Soccer, this time joining Orlando City.[16] He made his first start in the season opener versus D.C. United and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw against New England Revolution.

New York Red Bulls

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Tarek with the New York Red Bulls in 2019

On 11 December 2018, it was announced that Tarek had been traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.[17] On 2 March 2019, Tarek made his official debut with the club, appearing as a starter in a 1–1 draw with Columbus Crew on the opening day of the season.[18] On 4 May 2019, Tarek opened the scoring for New York in a 3–2 victory over LA Galaxy. At the conclusion of the 2019 season he was named as the team's Newcomer of the Year.[19]

El Gouna

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On 9 September 2021, Tarek moved to Egyptian Premier League side El Gouna on a 500k transfer + fees. [20]

Al Masry SC

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On 27 September 2022, Tarek moved to Al Masry SC on a free transfer.

Austin FC

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On 27 January 2023, Tarek returned to the United States, joining MLS side Austin FC on a one-year deal.[21] After only appearing in one game for 66 minutes in the first half of the season. In this single game against Violette AC in the Dominican republic, Tarek was responsible for two of the 3 goals with a disastrous own goal to the corner of the net on a failed clearance. Austin FC executed their buyout option to waive Tarek on 26 July 2023.[22]

International career

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Tarek was eligible for both the United States and Egypt. Having earned one cap for Egypt's Under-20 team, he was later monitored by the United States under-23s ahead of potential qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[23]

On March 28, 2017, he made his Egypt debut, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo. In May 2018, he was named in Egypt's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia but didn't make the final 23-man roster.[24] It took 19 months for Tarek to gain his second cap and first international start, lining up against Eswatini in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 8 March 2023.[25]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup International Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SC Freiburg II 2011–12 Regionalliga Süd 15 0 15 0
Wolfsburg II 2012–13 Regionalliga 20 1 20 1
Total 35 1 0 0 35 1
El Gouna 2013–14 Egyptian Premier League 15 0 1[a] 0 16 0
2014–15 30 0 1[a] 0 31 0
Total 45 0 2 0 47 0
Columbus Crew (loan) 2016 MLS 1 0 1 0
ENPPI 2016–17 Egyptian Premier League 23 0 2[a] 0 25 0
Wadi Degla 2017–18 11 0 11 0
Orlando City (loan) 2018 MLS 20 1 2[b] 0 22 1
New York Red Bulls 2019 20 1 1[b] 0 21 1
2020 12 0 12 0
2021 13 0 13 0
Total 100 2 5 0 105 2
New York Red Bulls II (loan) 2019 USL Championship 1 0 1 0
El Gouna FC 2021–22 Egyptian Premier League 24 0 24 0
Al Masry SC 2022–23 Egyptian Premier League 7 0 7 0
Total 32 0 32 0
Austin FC 2023 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 1 0
Career total 212 3 7 0 0 0 1 0 220 3
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Egypt Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearance(s) in U.S. Open Cup
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League

Honours

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SC Freiburg
  • Lev Yashin Cup: 2011

References

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  1. ^ "Egyptian Youngster in German Youth Bundesliga". Egyptian Players. 5 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 December 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Talentförderung weiter im Fokus" [Continuous focus in the development of talents] (in German). Badische Zeitung. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Der VfL II testet US-Ägypter und Österreich-Ukrainer" [VfL II tests American-Egyptian and Austrian-Ukrainian] (in German). Wolfsburger Allgemeine. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Exclusive: Amro Tarek extends stay with Wolfsburg". King Fut. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Hajduk prvo izbacio Turnovo, sad im želi uzeti napadača..." [Hajduk knocks out Turnovo, now they want an attacker...] (in Croatian). 24 Sata. 4 August 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Gouna's Amro Tarek to undergo trial with FC Luzern". King Fut. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Exclusive: Al Ahly interested in Gouna's Amro Tarek". King Fut. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Amro Tarek, tercer fichaje del Real Betis Balompié" [Amro Tarek, third signing of Real Betis Balompié] (in Spanish). Betis' official website. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  9. ^ "Amro Tarek leaves Real Betis by mutual consent". King Fut. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Amro Tarek, cedido al Columbus Crew SC" (in Spanish). Real Betis. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Crew SC waives defender Amro Tarek". Columbus Crew. 5 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Official: Ismaily announce signing of Amro Tarek". King Fut. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  13. ^ "رسمياً … الإسماعيلى يتعاقد مع عمرو طارق مدافع ريال بيتيس الإسباني" [Official: Former Real Betis' defender Amro Tarek signs for Ismaily] (in Arabic). Ismaily. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  14. ^ "Amro Tarek Terminates Ismaily Contract – KingFut". www.kingfut.com. 18 July 2016.
  15. ^ "OFFICIAL: Amro Tarek completes move to Wadi Degla". kingfut.com. 7 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Orlando City SC Acquires Center Back Amro Tarek On Loan". February 2, 2018.
  17. ^ Culver, Jordan (December 11, 2018). "Orlando City sends centerback Amro Tarek to New York Red Bulls for fourth-round SuperDraft pick". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on January 3, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  18. ^ "New York Red Bulls Grab Point in Columbus". March 2, 2019.
  19. ^ "New York Red Bulls Announce 2019 Team Awards". November 8, 2019.
  20. ^ "New York Red Bulls Transfer Amro Tarek to El Gouna FC | New York Red Bulls".
  21. ^ Austin FC Signs Defender Amro Tarek
  22. ^ "Austin FC waive defender Amro Tarek". www.AustinFC.com. Austin FC. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Amro Tarek – A Pharaoh among Wolves". King Fut. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  24. ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – Final 23-man lists". goal.com. Goal. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Amro Tarek". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
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