Eljero Elia, born in Voorburg, began his youth career with 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 turned professional at ADO Den Haag and then played for Twente before moving abroad to represent Hamburger SV, Juventus and Werder Bremen.
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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.
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.
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 for Paolo Guerrero, who scored fourth goal of the game, in 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.
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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 one of the goals, 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.
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.
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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.
His performance continued to attract interests from European clubs in the January transfer window, but he ended up staying at Hamburger SV. Following the end of the January transfer window, he spoke about his struggles in the first team, with only nine starts made so far this season and was considering leaving the club if he did not regain his starting position.
However, Elia was absent for the next three matches after being dropped from the squad by manager Armin Veh. But he made his return to the starting line-up against Bayern Munich on 12 March 2011, as Hamburger SV lost 6-0. In a follow-up match against 1.
On 9 July 2012, Werder Bremen confirmed the signing of Elia from Juventus on a four-year contract for a fee of €5.5 million. Upon joining the club, he said: "I know all about this league, which is one of the best in the world with its full stadia and a very strong competition at a high level.
Ahead of the 2013-14 season, Elia returned to the first team from suspension and was featured in Werder Bremen's pre-season tour. Amid to the start of the season, he was linked a move away from the club, as clubs, such as, Liverpool, CSKA Moscow and Ajax were interested in signing him, but the player ended up staying at Werder Bremen.
Elia made his first appearance for the club since being suspended in the opening game of the season against Eintracht Braunschweig and started the whole game to help Werder Bremen win 1-0. Since then, he continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the midfield position or striker position.
Elia also earned redemption from the club's supporters, who didn't want him in the first team. It wasn't until on 30 September 2013 when he scored his first goals for Werder Bremen, in a 3-3 draw against 1. FC Nürnberg on 29 September 2013.
Elia then scored two goals in two matches between 24 November 2013 and 30 November 2013, coming against 1.
In the opening game of the 2014-15 season, Elia made a good start when he provided an assist for Franco Di Santo in a 2-2 draw against Hertha BSC. Elia then appeared in a number of matches in the first team, playing in the left-wing position.
However, he was dropped from the squad for two matches after his poor performance in Werder Bremen's match, in a lost 6-0 against Bayern Munich on 18 October 2014. But Elia made his return to the starting line-up against Stuttgart on 8 November 2014 and played 56 minutes before being substituted, in a 2-0 win.
However, his return to the first team was short-lived when manager Viktor Skrypnyk decided to drop the player from the first team matchday squad the following month. Halfway through the 2014-15 season, he was sidelined on three occasions, due to injuries.
By the time Elia left the club in the January transfer window, he made ten appearances in all competitions. Having hinted about leaving Werder Bremen in the January transfer window, Southampton announced on 23 December 2014, that Elia would join them on loan from 3 January 2015 for the remainder of the season, with an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season.
Upon joining the club, he said: "It's a dream that I can play at Southampton. The club wanted me and the coach has played an important role in that.
"I think Elia covers twenty meters in a second, so I need more help. Once he gets going, he’s unstoppable. You can bring him down, but at some point, you’ve got enough cards and can’t do that anymore. As soon as he starts coming after you, it gets difficult.
On 6 August 2015, Elia signed a two-year deal with Dutch side Feyenoord under the management of former Arsenal player Giovanni van Bronckhorst instead of joining Southampton. Upon joining the club, he said: "I do have a click with Rotterdam, the mentality of the people appeals to me. I also have many Rotterdam friends, who are all for Feyenoord. I think that a lot is possible at Feyenoord. The team has a lot of quality, there is a lot of potential.
On 19 August 2020, Elia signed a two-year contract with Utrecht, after coming over from İstanbul Başakşehir on a free transfer. He was previously linked with a move to clubs in Italy and Argentina before deciding to return to his homeland.
Upon joining the club, Elia said: "It is really a lie, Utrecht has already gone very far for me. I received a very nice proposal and I am very happy with it. I wanted to return to the Netherlands and they have a very nice plan, express ambition. That fits with me. Every player wants to play at such a club. You can also see that in the transfers.
On 7 February 2007, Elia made his debut for Netherlands U20, coming on as a second half substitute, in a 3-1 loss against Denmark U20. A month later on 23 March 2007, he scored his first goals for the U20 national team, in a 3-2 win against Ukraine U20.
Elia went on to make five appearances and scoring two times for Netherlands U20. In September 2008, Elia was fined €200 for assaulting a scooter rider three months earlier.
In addition to speaking Dutch, he speaks German and English. On 7 March 2016, Elia was brought in for questioning and arrested for his alleged involvement in a brawl in Rotterdam city centre the week before.
After spending a night in jail, he was released and Feyenoord's manager Van Bronckhorst was said to be disappointed with his action and the club fined Elia as a result. Although Elia maintained that he did not make contact in the brawl, he, nevertheless, was fined three months by the Rotterdam court.
Throughout his football career, Elia developed a reputation as a bad boy by the Dutch media. Responding to the claims, he denied having such reputation, saying: "I don't know why something like this is being said. Or why I'm being labeled a problem professional. I didn't cause any trouble. I'm a quiet guy, I'm with my family the whole time and I don't do nothing - I don't go out. What else can you do? It can be hard to come up. Only what you can [do] is let your feet speak. You cannot fight against the media. The media can make you and they can break you. I can tell you from my heart, I swear on my children, the things they were saying in the newspaper was not the truth. It's not the truth.
Eljero Elia survived when his Lamborghini Urus collided with 3 other cars along the A4 motorway near Leiden in the Netherlands on 4 October 2025 around 9:45 pm when his Lamborghini Urus collided with three other vehicles.
Here's a summary of Elia's club career:
| Club | Years |
|---|---|
| ADO Den Haag | 2004-2007 |
| FC Twente | 2007-2009 |
| Hamburger SV | 2009-2011 |
| Juventus | 2011-2012 |
| Werder Bremen | 2012-2015 |
| Southampton (loan) | 2015 |
| Feyenoord | 2015-2017 |
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 2017-2020 |
| Utrecht | 2020-Present |
Eljero Elia | Highlights at Feyenoord Rotterdam
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