Eljero George Rinaldo Elia (born 13 February 1987 in Voorburg) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. He scored on his debut for the Dutch national team in September 2009 and participated at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

ADO Den Haag
Before excelling in the ADO Den Haag youth team at age of nine, Elia played for many amateur clubs. He made his professional debut in 2004 against Groningen when he was just 17 years old. In that season, he played four matches and scored one goal (which is his first professional goal) for Den Haag in a match against AZ. From that on at ADO Den Haag, Elia would established himself in the first team.
But things went wrong when Den Haag picked their new coach, Lex Schoenmaker. After some conflicts with Elia, FC Twente moved in to sign the exciting young player.

Twente
Not only FC Twente were interested in Elia's signature but also Ajax were keen to sign him but if he chose Ajax, he would first be loaned back to ADO Den Haag, and Elia did not have a chance of playing there. ADO Den Haag were also relegated, and he did not want to play in the Eerste Divisie. Elia made his FC Twente debut in a 2–2 draw against Utrecht on 26 August 2007. Elia scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Heracles Almelo on 8 February 2008 and scored another in a 2–1 win over Ajax the following month. In his first season at the club, Elia made 30 appearance and scored twice as the club was fourth place, resulting FC Twente qualified for the Champions League qualifying round. Elia ended speculation by signing a new contract at Twente, keeping him until 2013. Two months after signing a new contract, Elia announces his intention to leave the club at the end of the season.

Hamburger SV
On 5 July 2009, after media speculation Elia joined Hamburger SV on a five-year contract and cost 8.5 million pound. On 8 August 2009, Elia made his debut as a substitute in the first match of the season against Freiburg and scored his first league goal in a 4–2 win over Wolfsburg on 23 August 2009. In his debut season, Elia made 24 appearance and scored five. At the end of the season, Elia once was linked with several clubs like Juventus, but Elia insists he knows nothing with a move and want to stay Hamburg for another season. In his second season, Elia was part of the squad rotation. His second season was difficult as he played less frequently, which led Elia to consider leaving the club if he didn't manage to regain his starting position In his third season, Elia made 4 appearances before his move to Juventus.

Juventus
On 31 August 2011, Juventus confirmed the signing of Eljero Elia from Hamburg on a four-year contract for a fee of €9 million. Elia made his Juventus debut on 25 September 2011 in a 1–1 draw against Catania. However he found it hard to make an impact in the black and white shirt and only featured four times all season. Elia was barely used in the substitute and had yet made his first start. Despite Juventus win the League title without losing a single game, Elia announces he wants to leave Juventus in order to revive his career elsewhere. The following month on 11 June 2012, Elia handed in a transfer request which was granted by Juventus.

Werder Bremen
On 9 July 2012, Werder Bremen confirmed the signing of Eljero Elia from Juventus on a four-year contract for a fee of €5.5 million and the transfer could increase by another €2 million, depending on what Werder and Elia achieve in his first season. After moving to Werder Bremen, Elia says hopes he will resurrect his forms and aim to earn a international call-up. Elia made his first game in Germany (and debut for Werder Bremen) in a 2–1 loss in a opening game of the season against Borussia Dortmund. After just making seven appearance but no goals, Elia admits he find it difficult over the club's playing style.