Eljero George Rinaldo Elia (born 13 February 1987) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger.
He turned professional at ADO Den Haag and then played for Twente before moving abroad to represent Hamburger SV, Juventus and Werder Bremen. In 2015, he came back to his home country to play for Feyenoord before moving to İstanbul Başakşehir in 2017. After three seasons in Turkey he returned to the Netherlands to play a season at Utrecht and another at his boyhood club ADO Den Haag, where he retired in 2022.
Elia scored on his debut for Netherlands in September 2009 and was part of the Netherlands squad which reached the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Club career Early career Born in Voorburg, Elia played as a youth for local side SV Voorburg, before it merged to become Forum Sport in 1998. He later moved to cross-city rivals TONEGIDO and played in their youth department. In 1996, at age nine, Elia moved to the youth system of ADO Den Haag. He then moved to Ajax in 2000. Elia reflected on his time at the club, saying: "Already as a kid I loved playing for that club. Walking across the street wearing a big Ajax bag, I thought that was great. That Amsterdam bluff also suits me, I think. Challenging, fooling around, just like on the streets. Making an opponent crazy, that's the best thing there is." At under-13 level, he was sent away: "Together with Nordin Amrabat and Jeremain Lens. They thought I wasn't making a difference often enough. No, I never actually played as a winger for Ajax. Usually I was right mid, sometimes right back and sometimes central in the defence. Henny de Regt told me at the time that I was not allowed to stay. I felt so awful." He then rejoined the youth system of ADO Den Haag two years later. Then youth coach Carlos Roeleveld said: "I soon saw that he was special. But I also got a disappointed boy with whom I had to work. That was in the under-15. He was disappointed because he had been sent away from Ajax. He was thinking a lot."
ADO Den Haag Elia made his professional debut for ADO Den Haag on 23 January 2005 against FC Groningen at age 17, coming on as 81st-minute substitute in a 3–0 loss. In his fourth appearance for ADO Den Haag, he scored his first goal in a match against AZ on 8 May, which turned out to be the winning goal, in a 2–1 win. In his first season at the club, Elia played four matches and scored one goal. In his second season at ADO Den Haag, Elia soon established himself in the starting line-up, playing in midfield. He scored his first goal of the 2005–06 season in a 2–2 draw against Ajax on 21 September. By the end of the 2005–06 season, he had made 30 appearances and scored 2 goals in all competitions.
Elia continued to establish himself in the team in the 2006–07 season, playing in midfield. He scored his first goal of the season on 28 October 2006 in a 2–0 win against Heracles Almelo. He scored two goals in two matches between 16 and 23 December 2006 against Willem II and NAC Breda. Along the way, Elia was dealing with injuries throughout the 2006–07 season. He finished the 2006–07 season with 37 appearances and 3 goals in all competitions. However, ADO Den Haag's relegation, along with his some conflicts new coach Lex Schoenmaker and his lack of desire to want to play in the Eerste Divisie, contributed to Elia leaving the club at the end of the 2006–07 season.
Twente
Following the end of the 2006–07 season, Elia was linked with a move to either Twente and Ajax, as they were interested in signing him. It was reported that Ajax's interest in signing the player was to immediately loan him out to ADO Den Haag for the 2007–08 season. But he opted to agree to join FC Twente. The move was confirmed the next day on 29 May 2007, with Elia signing a three-year contract with the club.
He made his debut for Twente, coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute, in a 2–2 draw against FC Utrecht on 26 August 2007. Since joining the club, Elia became involved in the first team, having found his playing time, coming from the substitute bench before he soon won his place in the starting eleven. It wasn't until on 8 February 2008 when Elia scored his first goal for FC Twente in a 2–1 win over Heracles Almelo on 8 February 2008. A month later on 23 March 2008, he scored his second goal for the club, in a 2–1 win over Ajax. Elia played all four matches in the league's play–off for the UEFA Champions League spot and helped FC Twente earn a place in the tournament after beating Ajax 2–1 on aggregate. In his first season at the club, Elia made 36 appearances and scored twice in all competitions.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, Elia made his UEFA Champions League debut in the third qualifying round of the Champions League against English club Arsenal in the first leg, as FC Twente lost 2–0. In the return leg, the club were eliminated from the tournament after they lost 4–0, losing 6–0 on aggregate. He then scored three goals in the first three league matches of the season against Roda JC, NEC Nijmegen and FC Volendam. This was followed up by scoring twice, in a 5–0 win against FC Emmen in the second round of the KNVB Cup. Since the start of the 2008–09 season, Elia improved under the new management of Steve McClaren, and continued to be a first team regular, playing in the midfield position. Despite the club's elimination from the tournament, he played in both legs of the first round of the UEFA Cup against Stade Rennais and set up goal in the first leg, which proved to be vital, as FC Twente won 1–0 through away goal to advance to the UEFA Cup's group stage. His performance led the club began open talks with Elia over a new contract. He then scored four more goals by the end of the year, including his first European goal in a 3–2 loss a to Manchester City on 6 November 2008.
In the January transfer window, Arsenal, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven were linked with a move to sign Elia after his break-out season for Twente. Ajax had their bid rejected twice by the club in their efforts to sign the player. It was reported on 15 January 2009 that he ended the transfer speculation by signing a five-year contract extension with FC Twente, keeping him until 2013. Following this, Elia scored his tenth goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against NAC Breda on 4 February 2009. He later added three more goals in the league, coming against FC Groningen, Roda JC and AZ Alkmaar. In the Dutch Cup, the club progressed to the final against Heerenveen, where Elia scored the opener, which would not be enough as Twente lost on penalties after Youssouf Hersi missed the decisive kick. Despite missing three matches during the 2008–09 season, he went on to make forty–seven appearances and scoring fourteen appearances in all competitions. For his performance, Elia was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for 2009, adding to his burgeoning reputation as an emerging talent in Europe and Voetbal International's Team of the Season.
However, two months after signing a new contract, Elia announced his intention to leave the club at the end of the 2008–09 season. He said about leaving FC Twente: "It will be a club that suits me again. A club where I can grow again, as I have grown here." Among interested were PSV, Schalke 04, Hamburger SV and Bayern Munich.
Hamburger SV
On 5 July 2009, Elia joined Bundesliga club Hamburger SV on a five-year contract, for a transfer fee of €8.5 million. Upon joining the club, he said: "I am very happy that there is now clarity. HSV is a wonderful club and is part of the top of Germany. I hope that I can take another step in my development at HSV and that I will succeed in staying with the selection of the Dutch national team towards the World Cup. South Africa is my dream." However, Elia suffered a setback when he suffered a patella problems while training and was sidelined for a week. But Elia recovered and made his debut for the club, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute, in the first match of the season against SC Freiburg, in a 1–1 draw. In a follow–up match against Borussia Dortmund, he set up a goal during a 4–1 win. Seven days later on 23 August 2009, Elia scored his first goal for Hamburger SV, in a 4–2 win over VfL Wolfsburg. He helped the club beat Guingamp 8–2 on aggregate in the UEFA Europa League's play–offs round to reach the group stage and contributed with an assist in the first leg.
Since joining Hamburger SV, Elia quickly established himself in the first team, where he rotated in playing either the midfield or striker positions. But Elia found his role unsatisfying to play under the management of manager Labbadia. Three weeks later on 12 September 2009, Elia scored his second goal for the club, and set up another, in a 3–1 win against Stuttgart. He then scored his first Europa League goal in a 4–2 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv on 1 October 2009. A month later on 8 November 2009, Elia scored his fourth goal of the season and set up the opening goal of the game, in a 2–2 draw against Hannover 96. However, he suffered an ankle injury in the 15th minute and was substituted as a result, as Hamburger SV drew 1–1 draw at Mainz 05 on 28 November 2009. After missing one match, Elia returned to the first team from injury against 1899 Hoffenheim on 5 December 2009, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, as the club drew 0–0. In a follow–up match against 1. FC Nürnberg, he scored twice and set up a goal, in a 4–0 win (one of the goals was named Bundesliga Goal of the Month).
However, Elia suffered another ankle injury that saw him miss two matches. He made his return to the first team from injury against Bayern Munich on 28 February 2010 and started the whole game, as Hamburger SV lost 1–0. However, his return was short–lived when Elia suffered ankle injury once again and was sidelined for four weeks following surgery, which manager Labbadia described as a "bitter blow". But he made his return in the last game of the season against Werder Bremen, coming on in the 73rd minute as the club drew 1–1. Despite missing sidelined with minor setbacks during the 2009–10 season, Elia made 35 appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Elia was linked with several clubs such as Juventus, Bayern Munich and Valencia. But he knew nothing about a move and wanted to stay at Hamburg for another season despite expressing his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League. Elia started the season well when he set up the opening goal of the game for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who went on to score twice in the match, in a 2–1 win against Schalke 04. In his second season at the club, Elia was rotated in and out of the starting line–up and played less frequently, due to being on the substitute bench. However, he suffered a heel bone injury while on international duty and was sidelined for a month. Although Elia made a recovery, his return was delayed for the rest of November when he suffered a flu that saw him miss one match. Elia made his return from a two-month absence, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against SC Freiburg on 4 December 2010. This was followed up by scoring two goals in the next two matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach between 11 December 2010 and 18 December 2010.