Former York United Attacker Alou Cracks Bulgarian Top Flight

Former York United attacker Oussama Alou has just signed with SFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo of the Bulgarian top flight.

The Dutch attacker felt quite homesick at York United and was granted a mutual termination of contract, with the CPL side forgoing the club option years it had all the way through to 2025.

While Bulgaria isn’t quite ‘home’ to the player, living and playing in Europe probably makes travel back to his native Netherlands an easier process.

His short spell on Canadian soil saw him make eighteen appearances, with Alou adding four goal contributions along the way. Prior to that, he had progressed through the youth ranks of FC Utrecht to make 37 appearances for its U-21 side in the competitive Dutch second division.

York United has gone zero-for-two on its Dutch acquisition this year, but not because they didn’t succeed on the pitch: both Lassana Faye and Oussama Alou looked strong at the CPL level, but both sought mutual terminations to return home which the club accepted.

The human-first mentality saw York United do well by its players, though the club endured a rollercoaster season that saw them inches away from missing playoffs, though Pacific FC knocked them out in the first round.

Alou’s new team sits dead last in the Bulgarian First League. The club has only managed nine goals in its first 13 matches, with 26 goals conceded – making it quite a mission to avoid returning to the second division they had secured promotion from last year.