Amro Tarek

BIOGRAPHY

Amr Tarek Abdel-Aziz was born May 17, 1992 in Los Angeles, California. He is a defender in Major League Soccer.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Tarek moved to Egypt at early age, settling in Asyut. After being coached by a German manager at Asyut Cement, he joined ENPPI Club in 2009, aged 17; at that time he was mainly used as a striker. In May 2010 Tarek moved to Europe, joining German side FC Magdeburg. Initially on a trial basis, he was subsequently offered a contract and was assigned to the under-19 squad. In the 2011 summer Tarek joined SC Freiburg, being assigned to the reserves in Regionalliga. He scored the first in a 6–0 victory over Serbian side OFK Beograd in the 2011 Lev Yashin Cup final, also featuring regularly during the campaign; he was also converted initially to a left winger and later to a left back in the process. On 3 May 2012 Tarek signed for another reserve team, VfL Wolfsburg II. Despite extending his contract with the club roughly a year later, he moved to Hajduk Split in August on a trial basis, and after nothing came of it, he returned to the United States in September and played 82 minutes in a 4–1 MLS Reserve League win for Chivas USA Reserves against Portland Timbers Reserves. After an unsuccessful trial with German side Bayern Munich, Tarek signed with El Gouna in January 2014. On 6 July 2015, Tarek signed a four-year deal with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga, for an undisclosed fee. On 2 February 2016, Betis announced that Tarek had joined Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer on loan until June 2016 with the option to extend the loan until December 2016. On 15 June 2016, just two days after his contract termination with Real Betis, Tarek returned to Egypt and signed a four-year deal with Ismaily. In August 2017, after originally reaching an agreement to join Smouha SC, he signed with Wadi Degla SC for free instead. In February 2018 Tarek made his second loan move to Major League Soccer, this time joining Orlando City. On 11 December 2018, it was announced that Tarek had been traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. On 2 March 2019, Tarek made his official debut with the club, appearing as a starter in a 1–1 draw with Columbus Crew on the opening day of the season. On 4 May 2019, Tarek opened the scoring for New York in a 3–2 victory over LA Galaxy. At the conclusion of the 2019 season he was named as the team's Newcomer of the Year. Tarek was eligible for both the United States and Egypt. Having earned one cap for Egypt's Under-20 team, he was later monitored by the United States under-23s ahead of potential qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics. On March 28, 2017, he made his Egypt debut, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly win over Togo.