Ahmad Elrich

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ahmad Elrich
Elrich playing for the Central Coast Mariners in 2009
Personal information
Full name Ahmad Elrich
Date of birth (1981-05-30) 30 May 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)
Right winger
Team information
Current team
 Parramatta FC
Youth career
Bass Hill
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999
Parramatta Eagles
 9 (0)
1999–2004
Parramatta Power
 119 (19)
2004
Busan I'Cons
 10 (1)
2005–2007 Fulham 6 (0)
2006 →
Lyn Oslo
(loan)		 6 (1)
2007–2008 Wellington Phoenix 13 (1)
2008–2010 Central Coast Mariners 15 (1)
2017–2018 Rydalmere Lions 37 (15)
2018– Parramatta FC 30 (4)
Total 178 (23)
International career
2001
Australia U20
 17 (2)
2004 Australia U23 9 (6)
2004–2006 Australia 17 (5)
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Men's Association football
OFC Nations Cup
Winner 2004 Australia
OFC U-19 Men's Championship
Winner 2001 Cook Islands/New Caledonia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 September 2019

Ahmad Elrich (

right winger for Australian club Parramatta FC. Born in Australia to Lebanese parents, Elrich represented his native country internationally, both at youth and senior level.[1]

Elrich played seventeen games for the Australia national soccer team and played for Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League.[2] He is the older brother of professional football player Tarek Elrich.

Club career

Australia

Elrich began his professional career at the

Parramatta Eagles
, his home club, being born just west of the club's home ground.

At the end of his first season with the Eagles, he toured Lebanon with a team of Lebanese-Australians. He was offered a contract with Nejmeh SC in Beirut, but declined in favour of returning to Australia.[1]

Returning to Australia he signed with new

Parramatta Power was cut short, as the club and NSL
met its demise.

South Korea and Fulham

Elrich then moved to South Korean side

Busan I'cons. After a protracted contract dispute that saw him on the sidelines for five months, he made his move to the English Premier League.[3][4]

Elrich signed a 3-year deal with

FC Lyn Oslo from April to May 2006.[4][6]

After signing for Fulham and making his debut against

2007–08 season and Fulham confirmed Elrich's departure on 4 September 2007.[7]

Return to Australia

Elrich playing for the Central Coast Mariners

Elrich signed a contract with the

Parramatta Power teammates. After limited appearances and poor form, he was released by the Central Coast Mariners at the end of the 2009–10 A-League season.[9]

Comeback

Elrich returned to soccer to play for semi-professional team Rydalmere Lions FC in

National Premier Leagues NSW 3 in 2017 after playing regional league soccer with Auburn District in 2016.[10][11]

International career

Elrich represented Australia at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His inactivity for Fulham FC was seen as the key factor in him not being selected for the Australian World Cup squad. On 6 September 2006, Elrich suffered a serious knee injury whilst playing for Australia in an Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait.

Personal life

Elrich was born on 30 May 1981 to Lebanese parents Mahmoud and Ahmad. He also has a younger brother, Tarek, who also plays professional football.[12][13]

In May 2011, Elrich was charged with a number of gun offences and possession of a drug after being pulled over on his motorcycle because of a faulty tail light.[14] He was sentenced to four years and released on 12 October 2015.[10]

Career statistics

International

Australia national team[15]
Year Apps Goals
2004 10 3
2005 5 1
2006 2 1
Total 17 5

International goals

Results list Australia's goal tally first.
Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
2 June 2004 Adelaide, Australia  Fiji 1 goal 6–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 October 2004 Honiara, Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands 1 goal 5–1 2004 OFC Nations Cup
12 October 2004 Sydney, Australia  Solomon Islands 1 goal 6–0 2004 OFC Nations Cup
26 March 2005 Sydney, Australia  Iraq 1 goal 2–1
Friendly match
22 February 2006 Manama, Bahrain  Bahrain 1 goal 3–1 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours and achievements

Player

Australia

Australia U-20

Individual

Awards

  • Parramatta Power

References

  1. ^ a b Cockerill, Michael (23 January 2004). "Elrich fills in the gaps". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2011. I'm a Lebanese Muslim and I've achieved things.
  2. ^ "Australian Player Database – EA". OzFootball. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. ^ Cockerill, Michael (27 March 2004). "Elrich helps Socceroos get one up on friendly foes". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Elrich races his way to the big time". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 June 2011. 11 June 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Ahmad Elrich joins". Fulham Official Website. 9 June 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Elrich joins FC Lyn". Fulham Official Website. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Transfer Round-Up". FulhamFC.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Ex-Socceroo Elrich signs with Phoenix". ESPN FC. ESPN. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Elrich on Gun Charges". FourFourTwo. nextmedia Pty Ltd. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  10. ^ a b Gatt, Ray (18 March 2017). "Ahmad Elrich sees light through football after prison". The Australian. Sydney. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  11. ^ Galea, Matt (March 2017). "Ahmad Elrich back on track with Rydalmere". Football NSW. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  12. ^ Cheng, Kevin (25 May 2011). "Former Socceroo and A-League star Ahmad Elrich to face 11 gun charges". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Meet the Families – Ahmad Elrich". The Ultimate Goal: Football, migration & the 2010 World Cup. Sydney, Australia: Migration Heritage Centre NSW. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  14. ^ Gatt, Ray; Kogoy, Peeter (25 May 2011). "Ahmad Elrich has fallen from a leading footballer to Silverwater prison inmate". The Australian. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  15. ^ Ahmad Elrich at National-Football-Teams.com
  16. ^ "Oceania Nations Cup 2004". Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Oceania U-20 World Cup 2001 Qualifiers". Retrieved 13 March 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ahmad_Elrich&oldid=1280302498"