Karim Bellarabi
German winger who scored the fastest goal in Bundesliga history.
Karim Bellarabi (born 8 April 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a winger.
Quick Facts
- Role
- Right Winger; Attacking Midfielder
- Affiliation
- Bayer Leverkusen (Youth & Senior)
- Status
- Retired
- Key attribute
- Versatility and Leadership
- Nickname
- Der König
Lore & Background
Bellarabi was born in West Berlin, to a Moroccan father and a German mother. He grew up in Bremen, where he played youth football for local clubs FC Huchting, Werder Bremen, and FC Oberneuland. In 2008, he joined the under-19 side of Eintracht Braunschweig. He made his senior debut for them during the 2008–09 season, followed by two more appearances during the 2009–10 league campaign. He became a regular starter during the 2010–11 3. Liga season. After the season, he left Braunschweig for Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Due to injury, he missed most of the 2012–13 Bundesliga season. In 2013, he returned to Eintracht Braunschweig on a one-year loan deal. He returned to Leverkusen at the start of the 2014–15 season. On 23 August 2014, he scored the fastest goal in Bundesliga history, just in 9 seconds, on the opening match of the 2014–15 season, away to Borussia Dortmund, leading to a 0–2 win. In July 2018 he collapsed in a pre-season friendly. On 13 August 2020, he extended his stay at the BayArena until 2023 amid interest from other clubs. By the end of his career he had scored 37 goals in 241 German top-flight matches.
Reader's Guide
Bellarabi played youth international football for the German under-20 and under-21 teams. He was called up by the senior team in October 2014. He made his senior international debut for Germany on 11 October 2014 in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying defeat away to Poland, playing the full 90 minutes. On 13 June 2015, he scored his first international goal in a 7–0 win against Gibraltar. He won 11 caps in total.
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