Omar El Kaddouri

Omar El Kaddouri (عمر القادوري; Riffian-Berber: ⵄⵎⴰⵔ ⵍⵇⴰⴷⵓⵔⵉ; born 21 August 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or a winger. Born in Belgium, he represented Morocco at international level.

Early career
Born in Belgium to Riffian-Moroccan parents, El Kaddouri began his early career at K. Diegem Sport. He subsequently moved to Anderlecht after being scouted by their youth system. During the Torneo di Viareggio in 2007, he was scouted by Italian football club Brescia who signed him in 2008.

He played two seasons with the Brescia youth team, managing a first team appearance when he came on as a substitute against Livorno on 30 March 2009, aged just 18. Due to a lack of first team opportunities, he was sent out to Lega Pro side Südtirol, where he managed 32 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting a further 10.

Brescia
During 2011–12, El Kaddouri returned to Brescia, who decided to establish him in the centre midfield. On 3 October 2011, he scored the second goal in a defeat of Cittadella. On 5 March 2012 he scored his fifth goal of the season for le Rondinelle against Gubbio, on an assist of Jonathas. He concluded the season with 38 appearances and 7 goals.

Napoli
On 24 August 2012 El Kaddouri officially signed with Napoli under a co-ownership agreement for €2 million.

He officially debuted with the Neapolitans on 20 September as a starter in a Europa League match against Swedish side AIK Fotboll; his Serie A debut was on 2 December, in a home game against Pescara. He collected 7 appearances in Serie A, with 14 in total throughout the season.

On 20 June 2013 Napoli acquired the second half of his contract from Brescia.

Loan to Torino
On 11 July 2013 El Kaddouri was loaned to Torino with the right to redeem half of his contract in co-ownership. He made his debut on 17 August in the third round of Coppa Italia, a 1–2 defeat against Pescara, substituting Alexander Farnerud at halftime. On 24 November he scored his first two goals for Torino during a 4–1 win against Catania. On 17 February 2014 he scored the final goal in a 3–1 win away at Verona, after providing two assists on the earlier goals.

In the league El Kaddouri collected 29 appearances and 5 goals. At the end of the season Torino opted to acquire 50% of his contract, however, Napoli exercised the right redeem his contract in full as stipulated. On 1 July 2014 he was reloaned to Torino with a buyout clause. On 7 February 2015 he scored his first goal of the season during an away fixture against Verona; the game ended 3–1 in favour of the Granata.

On 25 June 2015 El Kaddouri's contract was not redeemed by Torino and he returned to Naples.

On 31 January 2017, during the winter transfer window, El Kaddouri officially joined Empoli, moving from Napoli on a three-and-a-half-year contract, until 30 June 2021.

PAOK
On August 24, 2017, PAOK announced the signing of the Moroccan midfielder, who signed a four-year contract with the team. On 14 April 2018, he scored his first goal in the Super League, in a 3–1 home victory over Panionios. In his first year in the team of Thessaloniki, he reached the conquest of the Greek Cup. The final between PAOK and AEK was held at the OAKA stadium, with "Dikefalos tou Vorras" prevailing with a score of 2–0. The following season he clearly had a more active role in the team and took many opportunities from Răzvan Lucescu, the coach of PAOK. However, during the winter transfer window, there were strong rumors of a possible transfer to Parma, Italy, but after a suggestion from Lucescu and Ivan Savvidis, he eventually stayed at the club, and in the season finale celebrated the double, in addition to the championship, also won the cup.

In the 2019-2020 season, he was one of the main selections for the starting lineup, while 2020-2021 was his most productive year with the Thessaloniki team, participating in 39 games and offering 3 goals and 6 assists. In the final he celebrated the conquest of the Greek cup with PAOK. PAOK in the final prevailed with a score of 2-1 over OSFP. This was the fourth overall title of El Kantouri with the team of PAOK. He did not play in the final.

On June 16, 2021, PAOK and El Kaddouri agreed to extend their contract for another two years, with the prospect of an extension for another year. El Kaddouri entered the season with a muscle injury, after the first matches in Europe with Bohemian F.C. and Rijeka in which he was present. This left him out of the first two matches of the Conference League groups with Lincoln City F.C. and Slovan Bratislava as well as the first five matches of the Championship with PAS at home, Asteras away, Panetolikos away, AEK inside and OFI away. El Kaddouri returned at the beginning of April at the disposal of Răzvan Lucescu. He played 63 minutes in the playoff with Panathinaikos and in the second half of the match against Marseille, scoring PAOK's goal against the french team.

CFR Cluj
On January 5, 2024, CFR Cluj announced the signing of the midfielder, who signed a contract with the team.

International career
El Kaddouri was part of the Belgium U21 team. He scored his first goal for them on 14 November 2011 against England in a match part of the European Under-21 qualifiers in 2013. In July 2012, he participated in the Olympic Games in London with Morocco, making two appearances.

El Kaddouri then played for the Moroccan national team, making his debut 14 August 2013 in a friendly against Burkina Faso. He scored his first goal on 23 May 2014 in a 4–0 friendly win over Mozambique.

International

 * Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.

Honours
PAOK
 * Super League Greece: 2018–19
 * Greek Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21;