- Oussama Assaidi
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Oussama Assaidi Personal information Full name Oussama Assaidi Date of birth August 15, 1988 Place of birth Beni-Boughafar, Morocco Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Heerenveen Number 22 Youth career Fortius AFC DWS Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2006–2008 Omniworld 36 (3) 2008–2009 De Graafschap 17 (6) 2009– Heerenveen 63 (17) National team‡ 2011– Morocco 6 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 August 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 November 2011Oussama Assaidi (born August 15, 1988 in Beni-Boughafer) is a Moroccan footballer. He currently plays for Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen and for the Morocco national football team. He previously played for FC Omniworld and De Graafschap.[1][2]
Contents
Early career
Oussama came as a youth player from the youth academy in AZ. He began his professional career in the 06/07 season at FC Omniworld in the first division. After two seasons with the club from Almere, where he 36 games (three goals) played, he went in the summer of 2008 to De Graafschap.
On the last day of the transfer period Oussama made the move to SC Heerenveen. The move was striking because Heerenveen wasn't planning on buying new players. But thanks to the good start of the season of Oussama (5 games, 5 goals) and the poor start of Heerenveen, an exception was made to bring Assaidi to the club.
SC Heerenveen
2009-2010 season
Assaidi made his debut in a home game in a losing effort against arch-rivals FC Groningen (0-1), where he came on in the 71st minute as a substitute for Paulo Henrique. He also scored his first official goal for Heerenveen in the 2nd round of the 2009–10 KNVB Cup, in a 7-0 away win against SDC Putten. After coming off the bench in the next 3 league games, Assaidi was given a place in the starting line-up for the first time in an away match against Willem II. It was however not a success, as Heerenveen suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat, while Assaidi was substituted after 56 minutes.
Oussama was given another chance in the starting line-up in the next game, at home against ADO Den Haag. At that point, Heerenveen had won only 2 out of 11 games and was standing on the 17th place in the 18-team league. Assaidi made full use of this opportunity to shine, he played for 84 minutes and delivered an assist on Michel Papadopulos. The game was won with a score of 3-0. Assaidi started again against in an away game against FC Utrecht. He played for 77 minutes in an impressive 3-2 away win. The next game against AFC Ajax was lost at the Amsterdam ArenA in a 5-1 defeat, but Heerenveen bounced back, winning their 3rd game in 4 matches with a 3-1 home win against RKC Waalwijk. Assaidi's presence in the starting line-up seemed to help Heerenveen find their form back.
Oussama's first league goal for Heerenveen came against Heracles Almelo. It was also the first game where he played all 90 minutes for the club, without getting substituted. It didn't prove to be helpful, as Heerenveen already went 2-0 behind early in the game and they eventually left Almelo with a 3-1 defeat, with Assaidi scoring the only goal for the Frisians. It was the start of a bad period in Heerenveen's season, where 5 games out of 6 were lost. Assaidi lost his starting place towards the end of the season, with only 2 starts in the last 14 games of the season. Oussama received the first red card of his career in an away match against Roda JC Kerkrade. Assaidi came in with a strong tackle on Ruud Vormer and was sent off after just 9 minutes into the game in his final start of the season.
In his first season at the Frisian club, Oussama played in 20 league games, with 11 as a starter, in which he scored 1 goals and delivered 3 assists. He also made his debut on the European stage, playing in all 6 games and starting in 4 in the group stage of the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League. Assaidi scored his first European goal against Sporting Portugal at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. The goal gave the Frisians the lead, but an injury-time equaliser spoiled Heerenveen's hope of progressing to the next round.
2010-11 season
The 2010-11 season of the Eredivisie saw Assaidi playing his games under a new coach. Ron Jans made the switch from rivals FC Groningen. The season began with a place in the starting line-up of Heerenveen. However, the first match, a home game against PSV Eindhoven, was lost with a 3-1 scoreline.
Under Jans, Assaidi started to become a key figure in the side. With 2 goals against De Graafschap and Vitesse, combined with 2 assists against De Graafschap and NAC Breda, Oussama was responsible for 4 goals in the first 6 games, the same amount of goals that he created in his whole previous season. Assaidi had his best month so far in November. After scoring in a 2-0 win against Excelsior, Assaidi delivered 2 assists against Heracles Almelo (3-2), 1 against Feyenoord (2-2) and 2 against Willem II (5-0). His best match was yet to come.
On December 12, 2010, Assaidi displayed a Man of the Match-performance in a home match against the defending champions FC Twente. Despite having to deal with the effects of an ankle injury being aggravated earlier on the day,[3] Assaidi led Heerenveen to a crushing 6-2 win over the champions by scoring the first hattrick of his career, while delivering 2 more assists and a penalty after he was fouled. After the match, he was applauded for his performance by his trainer Ron Jans, saying that Oussama deserved a 10 out of 10 for his play.[4]
His performances were rewarded with an invitation by national team coach Erik Gerets for the national team of Morocco, who were in preparations for a friendly game on February 9, 2011, against Niger.[5] Assaidi made his debut for Morocco, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute for Adel Taarabt.[6]
The 2009-10 season turned out to be a successful one for Assaidi. With 9 goals and 13 assists in 31 league games, starting in 30, Assaidi became one of the most important players at the club. His good season didn't remain unnoticed, as the winger was linked with PSV Eindhoven, after the departure of their high profile-winger Balázs Dzsudzsák to Anzhi Makhachkala. Assaidi made his intention that he wouldn't say no to a move to PSV, being quoted as saying that "it would be the right move for my career", whilst saying at the same time that he "is having a good time at Heerenveen and has a good working relationship with trainer Ron Jans."[7]
International career
Assaidi was eligible to play for both The Netherlands as Morocco. His first invitation for a senior team came in February 2011, when the national team coach of Morocco, Erik Gerets, called him up for Morocco's friendly match against Niger.[5] Assaidi made his debut in Morocco's 4-0 win over Niger, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute for Adel Taarabt.[6] However, since it was a friendly, Assaidi was still eligible to play for the Netherlands. Any doubt about his allegiance were quickly taken away though, when Oussama announced on February 14, 2011, that his choice for Morocco was definite.[8] Oussama was called up against for Morocco's qualification match for the 2012 African Cup of Nations against Algeria. The match was played on March 27, 2011. Assaidi came on as a substitute in the 89th minute of the match, meaning that his services on international level became exclusive to Morocco, however he could not prevent his home nation losing 1-0 against the Algerians. Assaidi seemed to have found his place in the squad, as he received another call-up for the 4th group match on June 4, again facing Algeria, but this time in Marrakech. In a 4-3-3 formation, Assaidi was given a place in the starting line-up on the right wing. Morocco cruised to a 4-0 win, with Assaidi scoring his first international goal as well.[9] The result meant that Morocco would take the lead in the group, giving them a good chance to qualify for the Africa Cup.
Statistics
Season Club Country League Apps Goals 2006/07 FC Omniworld 
NetherlandsEerste Divisie 7 0 2007/08 FC Omniworld NetherlandsEerste Divisie 29 3 2008/09 De Graafschap NetherlandsEredivisie 12 3 2009/10 De Graafschap NetherlandsEerste Divisie 5 5 2009/10 sc Heerenveen NetherlandsEredivisie 20 1 2010/11 sc Heerenveen NetherlandsEredivisie 31 9 2011/12 sc Heerenveen NetherlandsEredivisie 12 7 Total 104 26 Last update: December 19, 2010
References
- ^ "Oussama Assaidi" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler/Oussama-Assaidi.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
- ^ "Oussama Assaidi". Transfermarkt.co.uk. http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/oussama-assaidi/profil/spieler_57275.html. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
- ^ Home - sc Heerenveen
- ^ Voetbalzone - Jans: 'Assaidi heeft wat mij betreft vandaag een '10' verdiend'
- ^ a b gerets roept assaidi op voor marokko | nusport.nl/eredivisie | Voor het laatste nieuws van elke sport
- ^ a b Match report - Match report Morocco - Niger, 09.02.2011 - Freundschaftsspiele - transfermarkt.co.uk
- ^ Voetbal International - Assaidi: 'Transfer naar topclub PSV is de juiste stap'
- ^ Assaidi kiest voor Marokko - Eredivisie - AD
- ^ Match report - Match report Morocco - Algeria, 04.06.2011 - Afrika Cup Quali - transfermarkt.co.uk
SC Heerenveen – current squad 1 Steppe · 2 Kopic · 3 Gouweleeuw · 4 Breuer · 5 El Akchaoui · 6 Roorda · 7 Elm · 8 Kruiswijk · 10 Kums · 11 Đuričić · 12 Dost · 15 Švec · 17 Rešek · 18 Martinus · 19 Janmaat · 20 van La Parra · 22 Assaidi · 23 Zomer · 24 Narsingh · 25 Vandenbussche · 26 Oosterhof · 29 Jónsson · 32 Kainz · 35 Sibon · 37 Koning · 39 Fazli · 46 van Anholt · Manager: Jans
Categories:- 1988 births
- Living people
- Moroccan footballers
- Berber Moroccans
- FC Omniworld players
- De Graafschap players
- Eredivisie players
- Eerste Divisie players
- Dutch people of Moroccan descent
- Moroccan emigrants to the Netherlands
- Morocco international footballers
- People from Beni Boughafer
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