Michael Olise is a football player born in England to a Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother. The attacking midfielder plays in the English Premier League for Crystal Palace and has been a mainstay in his club’s first team ever since he joined them in 2021. He is regarded as one of the league’s brightest young talents and holds the record for being Palace’s youngest Premier League goalscorer.
As a result of Olise’s exploits with his club, he has garnered comparisons to legendary Nigerian football player Sunday Oliseh whom he shares a similar last name. There has also been somewhat of a tussle for which national team he would be representing. The football player can play for England as well as Nigeria, France, and Algeria. Michael Olise has so far played for the French U-18 and U-21 sides but there is a chance that he would still switch allegiance when the time comes for him to play for a senior national team.
Biography Summary of Michael Olise
- Full Name: Michael Akpovie Olise
- Date of Birth: 12 December 2001
- Michael Olise Age: 20 years old (as of 2022)
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Place of Birth: Hammersmith, England
- Ethnicity: Nigerian, French-Algerian
- Nationality: Britain and France
- Height: 189 cm (6 feet 2 inches)
- Weight: 73 kg
- Playing Position(s): Attacking Midfielder, Winger
- Parents: Vincent Olise (father)
- Siblings: Richard Olise
- Instagram: m.olisa
Michael Olise’s Father is Nigerian While His Mother is French-Algerian
Michael Olise is the son of a Nigerian man named Vincent Olise. While the name of his mother is not known, we do know that she is French-Algerian. The duo are believed to have met somewhere in Europe where they fell in love. They would subsequently settle in London, England where they started a family.
Olise was Born in 2001 and Began Playing Football Very Early in Life
Olise was born on December 12, 2001, in the West London district of Hammersmith. He began playing football from a very young age when his father enrolled him at Hayes Youth Team at the age of six. According to records, the young lad was miles ahead of his peers and this got the attention of several scouts. Olise would later join the Chelsea academy before enrolling at Manchester City.
In 2016, when he was about 15 years old, Michael Olise joined Reading Football Club’s academy program on a scholarship. He showed excellent talent with the team and so in 2019 he was promoted to the senior team at just 18 years of age.
Michael Olise played for 2 years with the Reading senior team in the EFL Championship before he made a big-money move to the Premier League to join Crystal Palace. He has shown he deserves to be playing among the very best players in the best league in the world with the series of outstanding performances he has had.
On October 3rd, 2021 in a game against Leicester City, Olise scored his first Premier League goal to become Palace’s youngest Premier League scorer since Clinton Morrison in 1998.
What National Team will Michael Olise Play For?
Michael Olise is eligible to play for four different national teams; his country of birth England, his father’s home country of Nigeria, and his mother’s home nations of France and Algeria. Algeria does not seem to have much interest in the star playing for the team, unlike Nigeria who in March 2021 named him as a standby for the Super Eagles squad taking part in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Olise is yet to make a decision on his national allegiance, however, he has played for the youth teams of France. Time will tell what team the athlete would end up playing for.
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Is Michael Olise Related to Sunday Oliseh?
Sunday Oliseh is a former Nigerian football player who is widely regarded as one of the best African midfielders of all time. The former Super Eagles captain was known for his physical and technical abilities. This allowed him to play for world-famous clubs across Europe like Ajax, Juventus, and Borussia Dortmund. During his time with these teams, he won different honors that ensured that his name would be written in history.
Sunday is not the only member of his family to play football at a professional level. Three of his brothers;
Azubuike, Egutu, and Churchill have all played or are currently playing the game at a pro-level. His nephew Sekou Oliseh is also a professional football player.
Due to the similarity in Michael and Sunday’s last names, many believe that the duo are related. They also play the same position (midfield), which further strengthens the argument. Despite all of this, Michael and Sunday are not related. The only thing they have in common is that their names are similar although with a slight variation, and Michael’s dad and Sunday originate from the same region in Nigeria; Delta State.
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