Balal Arezou (also Belal or Bilal; born 28 December 1988) is an Afghan footballer who plays as a forward and is currently playing for Norwegian club IF Trauma. He is currently the all-time top scorer of the Afghanistan national football team with nine goals.
Club career
Asker
Arezou grew up in Afghanistan and moved to Norway as a refugee. In Norway, he played football for Senja, Grane, Arendal and Fredrikstad's youth team before he joined Asker in 2009.
Churchill Brothers
In February 2013 he joined Churchill Brothers S.C. on a four-month loan from Asker. His move completed with the return of Indian striker Sunil Chhetri from Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Moss FK
On 7 March 2015 he joined Moss FK on a 2-year contract. He will wear shirt number 90.
IF Trauma
Arezou signed with IF Trauma on 26 January 2019, and was reunited with his former coach, Gaute Haugenes.
International career
Arezou was included in Afghanistan's squad for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives. In the group stages of the tournament Afghanistan claimed their first ever win at the AFC Challenge Cup with a 3–1 victory over Turkmenistan. After Afghanistan's 0–0 draw with Laos that confirmed their progression out of the group stage, an accident occurred while the Afghan players were being driven back to their hotel. Arezou sustained minor injuries in the accident along with his teammates Faisal Sakhizada, Ahmad Hatifi, Zohib Islam Amiri, and Mustafa Azadzoy. All five players were set to miss the semi-finals against Palestine. Former coach Mohammad Yousef Kargar and current coach Erich Rutemöller also suffered minor injuries.
International goals
Scores and results list Afghanistan's goal tally first.