Divock Origi

Divock Okoth Origi (Kenyan English: [diˈvɔk ɔˈkɔθ oˈrigiː] (listen); born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the Belgium national team.

Divock Origi
Origi with the victory parade after Liverpool won the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final
Personal information
Full name Divock Okoth Origi[1]
Date of birth (1995-04-18) 18 April 1995[2]
Place of birth Ostend, Belgium
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward / Winger[4][5]
Club information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 27
Youth career
2001–2010 Genk
2010–2012 Lille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Lille B 11 (2)
2012–2014 Lille 40 (6)
2014– Liverpool 98 (19)
2014–2015 → Lille (loan) 33 (8)
2017–2018 → VfL Wolfsburg (loan) 31 (6)
National team‡
2010 Belgium U15 2 (0)
2010–2011 Belgium U16 9 (1)
2011 Belgium U17 1 (0)
2012–2013 Belgium U19 19 (10)
2014–2015 Belgium U21 2 (0)
2014– Belgium 29 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:45, 30 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 October 2020

Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A year and a half later, he was signed for £10 million by Liverpool, who loaned him back to Lille for the 2014–15 Ligue 1 season.

After struggling at Liverpool due to injuries, and spending a year on loan at VfL Wolfsburg, Origi made a crucial contribution to the club during the 2018–19 season. He scored the second goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final as Liverpool won 2–0.[6][7] He was a part of the squad that won the 2019–20 Premier League the following season, Liverpool's first league title for 30 years.

Origi made his international debut for Belgium in 2014, and was part of their team which reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, during which he became the youngest goalscorer in Belgian World Cup history.

Club career

Early career

Origi began his career playing football at Genk's youth academy where he spent nine years before signing for Lille in May 2010, aged 15, after turning down an approach by Manchester United.[8]

Lille
Origi with Lille in 2014

On 24 January 2013, Origi was an unused substitute in Lille's 3–1 away win over Plabennec in a 2012–13 Coupe de France match.[9] Nine days later, he scored on his competitive debut for the senior Lille side, coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute for Ronny Rodelin and scoring to bring his side from 1–0 down against Troyes.[10][11]

Liverpool

On 29 July 2014, Premier League club Liverpool announced that they had completed a £10 million transfer for Origi, who signed a five-year contract but was immediately loaned back to Lille for the 2014–15 season.[12][13]

Loan to Lille

In his first match back in Lille, Origi scored his first goal of the new Ligue 1 season through a penalty against Caen to secure a 1–0 win for his side. This was after he had been brought down in the box by defender Dennis Appiah, who was sent off by the referee towards the 70th minute.[14]

On 11 December 2014, as Lille lost 0–3 at home to VfL Wolfsburg to be eliminated from the UEFA Europa League group stage, Origi had a penalty saved by Diego Benaglio.[15] On 15 March 2015, Origi scored a hat-trick for Lille in a 3–0 league win against Rennes.[16][17]

Return to Liverpool
Origi with Liverpool F.C. in 2016

On 11 July 2015, Origi was named in Liverpool's 30-man squad for their pre-season tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia. In his non-competitive debut for Liverpool, a pre-season friendly against Thai All-Stars on 14 July, Origi scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 win.[18]

His first competitive game for the team was on 12 September, replacing Danny Ings for the final sixteen minutes of a 3–1 loss at rivals Manchester United.[19] Origi scored his first competitive Liverpool goals on 2 December, a hat-trick in a 6–1 away win over Southampton in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.[20] Eleven days later, he scored his first Premier League goal, replacing the injured Dejan Lovren in the 79th minute and scoring an added-time equaliser from outside the penalty area for a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield.[21] On 14 February, he scored his second league goal against Aston Villa in a 6–0 victory, only 27 seconds after replacing Daniel Sturridge in the second half; this was the fastest goal scored by a substitute that season.[22]

On 7 April 2016, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp surprisingly started Origi ahead of Sturridge (the team's first-choice striker) during Liverpool's Europa League quarter-final match against Borussia Dortmund, Klopp's former side. Origi scored a vital away goal in a 1–1 draw. Three days later, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Stoke City after coming on as a substitute to replace Sheyi Ojo at half-time.

Origi was used predominantly as a substitute and cup player at the start of the 2016–17 campaign. He scored his first goal of the season on 23 August 2016 in a 5–0 EFL Cup win over Burton Albion. He scored his first 2016–17 Premier League goal on 26 November, coming off the bench for the injured Philippe Coutinho to score the opener in a 2–0 win over Sunderland.[23] On 1 April 2017, he scored Liverpool's third in a 3–1 win against rivals Everton.[24] On 14 May, he scored Liverpool's fourth in a 4–0 win against West Ham United, edging the team closer to Champions League qualification.[25]

Loan to VfL Wolfsburg

On 31 August 2017, Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg signed Origi on a season-long loan.[26][27] He scored his first goal for the club against Werder Bremen, on 19 September.[28] He scored six goals in total for the club during his loan spell.[29]

Return to Liverpool
Origi playing for Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup

On 2 December, Origi scored his first goal of the season in a Merseyside derby match against city rivals Everton, which Liverpool won 1–0. Origi came on as a substitute for Roberto Firmino in the 84th minute and scored with a header in the 96th minute, capitalising on an error from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.[30] On 4 May, he scored a last-minute goal against Newcastle in a 3–2 victory, keeping Liverpool's hunt for their first Premier League title.[31]

On 7 May, Origi scored for the first time in the Champions League, netting a brace in the semi-final second leg against Barcelona, vitally scoring the final goal to complete Liverpool's comeback from a three-goal first leg deficit.[32] On 1 June, he scored Liverpool's second goal in a 2–0 win over Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, as he won his first honour with the club.[33] In doing so, he became only the second Belgian player to score in a Champions League final after Yannick Carrasco in 2016.[34]

On 10 July 2019, Origi signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool.[35] On 30 October, Origi scored twice, including a last minute bicycle kick in an EFL Cup match against Arsenal which Liverpool eventually won on penalties following a 5–5 regular time finish.[36] On 4 December, he scored two goals as Liverpool beat Everton 5–2 in the Merseyside derby to extend their unbeaten run in league football to 32 matches, which was a new club record.[37]

International career

Origi has represented Belgium at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. He scored ten goals while in the under-19 team, the first in a 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification match against Belarus on 12 October 2012.

The Football Kenya Federation expressed an interest in persuading Origi to play for the Kenya senior national team in the future.[38] However, on 13 May 2014, Belgium senior national team manager Marc Wilmots announced Origi would be part of the 23-man squad representing Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[39]

Origi came on as a substitute for Romelu Lukaku in the 58th minute of the opening Group H game against Algeria in Belo Horizonte on 17 June. In Belgium's second match, again after coming on as a substitute for Lukaku, he scored his first senior international goal in the 88th minute of a 1–0 win over Russia to qualify the Red Devils for the knockout stage.[40] In so doing, at 19 years, 2 months and 4 days, he became the youngest goalscorer of the tournament (until American winger Julian Green scored against Belgium during their round of 16 match), the youngest goalscorer in Belgian World Cup history, and the first player of Kenyan origin to score at a World Cup finals.[41] For his performances, he was named the Young Talent of the 2014 Belgian Sportsman of the year awards.[42]

Origi scored once in Belgium's successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, in a 6–0 home win over Andorra on 10 October 2014.[43] He was included in the squad for the final tournament, but missed out on the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[44]

Personal life

Origi was born in Ostend and grew up in Houthalen-Oost.[45] He was named after Serbian basketball player Vlade Divac.[46] He was born into a family of footballers: his father, Mike Origi, played for KV Oostende (at the time Divock was born) and Genk, among other Belgian clubs, as well as the Kenya national team. His uncle, Austin Oduor, played for Gor Mahia in the Kenyan Premier League while his other uncles, Gerald and Anthony, played for Tusker.[47] His cousin, Arnold Origi, is also a professional player who has been capped for the Kenyan national team as a goalkeeper. The Origi family is of Kenyan Luo ethnicity.[48] Origi speaks four languages fluently: Swahili, English, Flemish and French.[49]

On 25 June 2014, a baby dolphin at the Boudewijn Seapark in Bruges was baptised "Origi" in Origi's honour after having scored the winning goal against Russia during Belgium's group stage match at the 2014 World Cup.[50][51]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 31 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lille B 2012–13[29] CFA 112————112
Lille 2012–13[29] Ligue 1 101000000—101
2013–14[29] Ligue 1 3054110——356
2014–15[29] Ligue 1 33810208[lower-alpha 3]1—449
Total 7314513081—8916
Liverpool 2015–16[52] Premier League 165104312[lower-alpha 4]2—3310
2016–17[53] Premier League 3473163——4311
2017–18[54] Premier League 10——00—10
2018–19[55] Premier League 12311008[lower-alpha 5]3—217
2019–20[56] Premier League 28430126[lower-alpha 5]04[lower-alpha 6]0426
2020–21[57] Premier League 7020213[lower-alpha 5]000141
Total 98191021392954015435
VfL Wolfsburg (loan) 2017–18[29] Bundesliga 31630——2[lower-alpha 7]1367
Career total 213411831693766129060
  1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. Includes League/EFL Cup
  3. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. One appearance in FA Community Shield, one in UEFA Super Cup, two in FIFA Club World Cup
  7. Appearances in Bundesliga relegation play-offs

International
As of match played 8 October 2020[58]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 2014133
201540
201660
201720
201810
201930
Total293
    As of match played 19 November 2019. Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Origi goal.[58]
    List of international goals scored by Divock Origi
    No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
    122 June 2014Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil5 Russia1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup[59]
    210 October 2014King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium10 Andorra4–06–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification[60]
    312 November 2014King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium12 Iceland2–13–1Friendly[61]

    Honours

    Liverpool

    Individual

    References
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