Etzaz Hussain
Etzaz Muzafar Hussain (; born 27 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eliteserien club Odd. With 295 total appearances, four Eliteserien league and three Norwegian Cup titles with Molde, he is one of the most successful footballers for Molde, where he is the joint most decorated player with 7 trophies along with Daniel Berg Hestad. He is also considered one of the most successful Pakistani footballers, being the first Pakistani footballer to play in the Europa League.

Born in Oslo, he played for nearby Langhus as a youth player, before moving to Manchester United in 2009. After two years in England, he returned to Norway with Vålerenga, but shortly after moved to Fredrikstad, where he made his professional debut. Hussain transferred to Molde in mid-2012 and won the Tippeligaen in his first season at the club. After winning four league titles and three Norwegian Cups with Molde across two spells, he moved to Apollon Limassol as a free agent in January 2023.

Club career

Early years 
Hussain played for Langhus in his early days, before he transferred to Manchester United on 21 February 2009, and signed a professional contract with United on his 17th birthday. Even though Hussain only stayed in England for two years, and did not get any chances for the first team, he said to the Norwegian newspaper VG in February 2012 that "it was an experience for life" and would advice other Norwegian youngster to grab the opportunity if they had the chance. In January 2011 he returned home to Norway, and signed for the Tippeligaen club Vålerenga.

Fredrikstad 
Less than three months later, Hussain signed for Fredrikstad, also a Tippeligaen club, after some disagreements between Vålerenga and Hussain on the way forward. On 14 August 2011, Hussain sent Fredrikstad to the semi-final of 2011 Norwegian Football Cup with the match-winning goal with only a couple of minutes left of the overtime, at the expense of Molde now managed by his former boss at the Manchester United reserves, Ole Gunnar Solskjær. On 31 October 2011, Hussain scored his second goal in two matches, with the match winning goal against Vålerenga, the club that believed he was not good enough for Tippeligaen.

Molde
On 27 July 2012, Hussain moved to Molde FK, reuniting with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He won the league with Molde in 2012 and 2014 and the Norwegian Cup in 2013 and 2014.

Sivasspor
On 7 January 2016, Hussain signed a 2.5-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig side Sivasspor. With Sivasspor, Hussein was unable to avoid relegation to the second Turkish division. Following relegation, his contract at Sivasspor was terminated in mutual agreement on 4 July 2016.

Rudeš Zagreb
Hussain signed for the second-tier Croatian side NK Rudeš, coached by the former Liverpool player Igor Bišćan, in October 2016.

Return to Molde

On 28 February 2017, Molde announced that Hussain had returned to the club after the signing of Erling Haaland few days earlier. On 16 August 2017, Hussain was temporarily loaned to fellow Eliteserien club Odd for the rest of the year.

On 11 July 2019, Hussain scored Molde's sixth goal in the club's UEFA competitions record 7–1 win over KR in the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. On 20 October 2019, he scored a brace in an Eliteserien game Molde won 3–1 over Haugesund. The club ended being champions in the 2019 Eliteserien. On 31 January 2020, Hussain signed a new contract with Molde that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2022 season. He subsequently won the 2021–22 Norwegian Cup. On 16 October 2022, his goal in the 96th minute against Lillestrøm in a 1–0 away win led Molde to win the 2022 Eliteserien title with four games left. After ending champions in the league, Hussain became the joint most decorated player for Molde with 7 trophies along with former player Daniel Berg Hestad.

Apollon Limassol
Following Hussain's release from Molde after winning the 2022 Eliteserien, Cypriot club Apollon Limassol announced on 20 January 2023 that the midfielder had reached an agreement to sign with the defending Cypriot league champions till May 2025. On 24 January 2023, Etzaz Hussain formally signed with the Limassol club and chose to play with the number 18. He made his league debut for the club on 9 February, coming on as a late substitute in the 4–3 home defeat to Karmiotissa. On 8 January 2024, barely a full year since joining Apollon, the club announced the termination of Hussain's contract by mutual consent.

Return to Odd 
On 25 February 2024, Hussain returned to Odd this time on a contract basis. He was presented as player of the club the next day.

International career 
Hussain played on youth level for Norway. As he has never appeared for Norway in a competitive match, he remains potentially eligible to represent Pakistan. In October 2021, he had declared his intention to play for Pakistan. Around 2 years later on 2 January 2024, Hussain received his Pakistani passport.

Personal life 
Born in Oslo, Hussain has discussed his Pakistani heritage in interviews. His both parents originate from the city of Kharian in the Gujrat district of Pakistan. He was also honoured by the Pakistani government at its embassy in Oslo during the country’s Independence Day celebrations on 14 August 2021.

Career statistics

Honours
Molde
 Eliteserien: 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022
 Norwegian Cup: 2013, 2014, 2021–22
Records

 Molde player to have won seven domestic trophies along with Daniel Berg Hestad

References

External links

1993 births
Living people
People from Ski, Norway
Footballers from Akershus
Norwegian people of Pakistani descent
Norwegian men's footballers
Pakistani men's footballers
Eliteserien players
Süper Lig players
First Football League (Croatia) players
Cypriot First Division players
Men's association football midfielders
Manchester United F.C. players
Vålerenga Fotball players
Fredrikstad FK players
Molde FK players
Sivasspor footballers
NK Rudeš players
Odds BK players
Apollon Limassol FC players
Pakistani expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia
Norwegian expatriate men's footballers
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England
Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Pakistani expatriates in England
Norway men's youth international footballers
Norway men's under-21 international footballers