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Yksel Osmanovski (Turkish: Yüksel Osmanoğlu; born 24 February 1977) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Starting off his career with Malmö FF in the mid-1990s, he went on to represent Bari, Torino, and Bordeaux before retiring at Malmö FF in 2007. A full international between 1998 and 2006, he won 15 caps for the Sweden national team and represented them at UEFA Euro 2000.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 February 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | Malmö, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Malmö FF (U21 coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Malmö BI | ||
| 1985–1986 | IFK Malmö | ||
| 1987–1995 | Malmö FF | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1998 | Malmö FF | 58 | (16) |
| 1998–2001 | Bari | 85 | (14) |
| 2001–2003 | Torino | 29 | (1) |
| 2002 | → Bordeaux (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2004–2007 | Malmö FF | 45 | (5) |
| Total | 217 | (36) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–1999 | Sweden U21 | 18 | (6) |
| 1998–2006 | Sweden | 15 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Skrävlinge, Malmö, Osmanovski grew up in Rosengård, where fellow Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović also grew up. In an early interview, Zlatan said that "within a few years, I will play in Italy, and eventually the national team. I want to follow in Yksel's footsteps. We know each other, even if he is four years older than me. I got his autograph when he started playing for Malmö FF, when I played in Malmö BI. When he came to Rosengård and played and dribbled with us kids, we were all shouting "Yksel, Yksel, Yksel!" - Ibrahimović, in 2000.
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Osmanovski played for Malmö BI and IFK Malmö as a child, but joined Malmö FF in 1987 where he eventually made his debut in 1995. He gradually became a star in the Swedish league, and was bought by Italian Serie A outfit Bari. After three seasons he moved on to Torino, but struggled to capture a first team place. He had a loan spell at Bordeaux, where he was on the bench when they won the 2002 Coupe de la Ligue Final,[2] before returning to Malmö FF in 2004. There he was part of the team that won the Allsvenskan league title, although Osmanovski himself did not receive a winner's medal, because he took part in too few matches. Still he played the crucial role, in stopping a ball on the goal line against title rivals Halmstad BK. Had it gone in, Malmö would certainly not won the league title, but thanks to a 2–2 draw, they kept themselves within a shot.
In February 2008, Osmanovski announced his retirement from professional football, having not had his contract with Malmö renewed.[3]
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Osmanovski was the first Muslim to represent Sweden.[4] He played 15 international matches.[5] and was a squad player for the Euro 2000.
On 14 January 2013, it was announced that Osmanovski would return to football, working as U21 coach for his previous club Malmö FF.
International
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Osmanovski goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 May 1999 | Råsunda stadion, Solna, Sweden |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 2–0 |
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Malmö FF
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