Mounir El Hamdaoui

Mounir El Hamdaoui

Personal information
Full name	Mounir El Hamdaoui
Date of birth	14 July 1984 (1984-07-14) (age 27)
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Ajax
Number	24
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2005	Excelsior	74	(32)
2005–2006	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
2005–2006	→ Derby County (loan)	9	(3)
2006–2007	Willem II	7	(3)
2007–2010	AZ	80	(50)
2010–	Ajax	57	(30)
National team‡
2004–2005	Netherlands U-21	3	(1)
2009–	Morocco	5	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 October 2010

Mounir El Hamdaoui (Arabic: منير الحمداوي‎) (born 14 July 1984 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch-Moroccan footballer. He currently plays as a forward for Ajax in the Netherlands. He previously played for Excelsior, Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County, Willem II, and AZ, before joining Ajax in 2010.

Although being born in the Netherlands and having played for their Under-21 side El Hamdaoui decided to represent Morocco, for whom he made his debut in February 2009 in a match against the Czech Republic.

In the 2008–09 Eredivisie, El Hamdaoui was named Dutch Footballer of the Year and became the Eredivisie Top Scorer as AZ won their second league title in their history.

Club career

Excelsior

El Hamdaoui went through the youth academy of SBV Excelsior, where he played together with his youth friends Robin van Persie and Saïd Boutahar.^[1] In the 2001–02 season the player made his debut for the Rotterdam side under manager Adrie Koster, scoring two goals in six appearances. El Hamdaoui played a total of 74 league matches for Excelsior, scoring 32 goals. Excelsior big brother Feyenoord was also interested in signing the player, and El Hamdaoui trained a number of times with Feyenoord's first squad, but a transfer was never realised.^[1]

El Hamdaoui with AZ

Tottenham Hotspur

In 2005, English club Tottenham Hotspur (managed by fellow Dutchman Martin Jol) signed the player from Excelsior. He signed a three and a half year contract with Tottenham Hotspur and moved from Excelsior Rotterdam in January 2005.^[2] He never made an appearance in the Premier League but featured in the Peace Cup in July 2005 in which Tottenham lifted the trophy following a 3–1 win against Olympique Lyonnais. He also scored 2 goals on his debut in a friendly against Northampton Town and scored against Aldershot Town on his first team debut in another friendly.

Derby County

In September 2005 El Hamdaoui joined Derby County on loan appearing 6 times, scoring 2 goals before a dislocated shoulder forced the loan to be cut short and he returned to Spurs.^[3] Derby continued to monitor his progress and in January 2006 he returned to Pride Park for another loan spell. Unfortunately, this too was to be disrupted due to injury, a groin problem forcing him to return to Tottenham in early March. This second loan deal was not cancelled, but after returning to duty with Derby in April, a further injury problem prematurely ended his season.

Willem II

In June 2006, El-Hamdaoui moved back to his native Netherlands to play for Willem II, due to a lack of opportunities at Spurs. On 19 August 2006, he marked his league debut for Willem II by scoring in their 2-1 victory against FC Utrecht.^[4] After an impressive start, scoring three goals in four matches he again suffered an injury, which prevented him playing for nine months.^[1][5] El Hamdaoui only played seven competitive matches for the Tilburg side, scoring three goals. In his second season at the Willem II, he left the club after two league matches to join AZ.

AZ

Top scorer & Footballer of the Year

On 31 August 2007, El Hamdaoui signed with AZ Alkmaar until 2011.^[6] On 16 September 2007, he made his debut for AZ in a league match against Sparta Rotterdam, scoring one goal.^[7] By the end of his first season at AZ, he had scored 7 goals in 23 league matches.

The 2008–09 season proved to be an excellent one for El Hamdaoui and AZ. He scored in the first game of the season against NAC Breda, although AZ lost 1-2.^[8] By the winter break, he had scored 16 goals in 17 league matches, including a hattrick against his old club Willem II.^[9][10] At the winter break, AZ was leading the league table, and El Hamdaoui was leading the goal-scoring charts.^[11] By the end of the season, AZ had won the second championship in their history, and El Hamdaoui was the top scorer in the Eredivisie, with 23 goals in 31 matches, one more than Ajax's Luis Suárez.^[12][13] He was also named the Dutch Footballer of the Year.^[14]

El Hamdaoui (second from top left) with Ajax teammates in 2010

Changes at AZ

At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, there were a lot of changes at AZ. Manager Louis van Gaal had departed the club to go to FC Bayern Munich, and was replaced by Ronald Koeman.^[15] AZ had a bad start to the season, although the player had still scored 9 goals in 11 matches by the winter break.^[16] However, defending champions AZ found themselves in eighth place with 28 points in 20 matches, 24 points behind leaders PSV. Just before the winter break, Koeman was fired and veteran manager Dick Advocaat was brought in to take over.^[17] Russia manager Advocaat stated that he expected at least 15/16 goals from the player, El Hamdaoui stated "Advocaat knows what he's talking about, I think. It gives me confidence, I know what I can do."^[18]

El Hamdaoui with Ajax teammate Eyong Enoh.

There was definite improvement in the second part of the season as AZ finished the league in fifth place, with El Hamdaoui scoring 20 goals in 26 league matches. However, due to the financial issues AZ was having because of the bankruptcy of sponsor DSB Bank, it was clear that the striker would have to be sold to reduce the burden of his wages on the budget balance.

Ajax

Promising start

On 30 July 2010, El Hamdaoui signed a four-year deal with Ajax, rejoining his former Spurs manager Martin Jol.^[19][20] El Hamdaoui marked his league début for Ajax with two goals against Groningen on 8 August 2010. He scored a goal in the play-off round second leg of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League against Dynamo Kyiv, helping Ajax win 2–1 on aggregate and ending a five-year drought from this competition.^[21] He scored his first Champions League goal with his new club, netting the opener against Milan, with the game ending 1–1.^[22]

Breakdown of relationship with De Boer

At the start of the 2011-12 season El Hamdaoui fell out of favor with manager Frank de Boer. On 23 August 2011 the Daily Mail reported that El Hamdaoui was in talks with English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. As the season has gone on, El Hamdaoui has seen more European clubs express their interest in him, including Blackburn Rovers, Atlético Madrid, Espanyol, Galatasaray, Genoa, Fulham, and Anzhi Makhachkala.^[23]

At the end of the transfer window El Hamdaoui stayed at Ajax but has not played any part in the 2011-12 season due to his troubled relationship with De Boer. He has played matches with Jong Ajax and was not in the squad registered for the Champions League group stages.

International career

El Hamdaoui battles for the ball with Gabonese player Ernest Akouassaga in a match for Morocco

Although being born in the Netherlands and having played for their Under-21 side El Hamdaoui has pledged his international future to Morocco. El Hamdaoui played his only game with Morocco B in 2005 against Saudi Arabia.

On 6 November 2006, El Hamdaoui stated in an interview to Dutch football magazine Voetbal International that he, at one point, wanted to play senior international football for the Moroccan national side.

He was selected to join the Moroccan national team and made his first international cap with the team on 11 February 2009 against the Czech Republic. His appearance against the Czech Republic was a success, as his technical skills charmed the Moroccan fans, who are known for favoring technical football. Moroccan fans at the Stade Mohamed V were chanting "Allez Hamdaoui" throughout the game. The following day, Moroccan press praised his performance and welcomed him as a "much needed addition" to the Moroccan team. El Hamdaoui struck his first goal in the 84th minute in a 1–2 loss to Gabon. His second international goal came in a CAN Qualifier 2012 against Tanzania, where he scored the only goal in a 0-1 win, assisted by Arsenal-star Marouane Chamakh.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	28 March 2009	Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco	Gabon	1-2	Loss	2010 WCQ
2.	9 October 2010	Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania	Tanzania	1-0	Win	2012 ACNQ
Correct as of 10 February 2011

Career statistics

As of 24 October 2011^[24][25]

El Hamdaoui playing for Ajax in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe[26]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
SBV Excelsior	2001–02	6	2	–		–		6	2
	2002–03	21	2	–		–		21	2
	2003–04	33	17	–		–		33	17
	2004–05	14	11	–		–		14	11
	Total	74	32	0	0	0	0	74	32
Tottenham Hotspur	2004–05	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	2005–06	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Derby County	2005–06	9	3	0	0	–		9	3
	Total	9	3	0	0	–		9	3
Willem II	2006–07	5	3	0	0	–		5	3
	2007–08	2	0	0	0	–		2	0
	Total	7	3	0	0	–		7	3
AZ Alkmaar	2007–08	23	7	1	0	3	0	27	7
	2008–09	31	23	3	1	–		34	24
	2009–10	26	20	2	1	3	0	31	21
	Total	80	50	6	2	6	0	92	52
Ajax	2010–11	26	13	2	3	10	3	38	19
	2011–12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		26	13	2	3	10	3	38	19
Career Total		196	101	8	5	16	3	220	109

Honours

Club

AZ

• Eredivisie (1): 2008–09
• Johan Cruijff Schaal (1): 2009

Ajax

• Eredivisie (1): 2010–11

Individual honours

• Dutch Footballer of the Year: 2008–09
• Dutch Championship Top Scorer: 2008–09

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jesper Remmen (20 April 2010). "Uitgelicht: Mounir El Hamdaoui schiet weer met scherp" (in Dutch). Road to 2010. http://www.roadto2010.nl/2010/afrikanen-in-europa/uitgelicht-mounir-el-hamdaoui-schiet-weer-met-scherp/. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
2. ^ "Tottenham pull off double signing". BBC Sport. 26 January 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/4206135.stm. Retrieved 10 October 2009. 
3. ^ "Derby sign Tottenham duo on loan". BBC Sport. 16 September 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/derby_county/4254034.stm. Retrieved 10 October 2009. 
4. ^ "Willem II vs. Utrecht". Soccerway. 19 August 2006. http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2006/08/19/netherlands/eredivisie/sbv-willem-ii-tilburg/stichting-fc-utrecht/372083/. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
5. ^ El Hamdaoui scheurt kruisband, NOS.nl, 21 September 2006
6. ^ "Mounir el Hamdaoui naar AZ Alkmaar" (in Dutch). Aktueel.nu. 31 August 2007. http://www.aktueel.nu/mounir_el_hamdaoui_naar_az_alkmaar.html. Retrieved 24 July 2010. 
7. ^ "Match: Sparta Rotterdam v AZ Alkmaar". ESPN Soccernet. 16 September 2007. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=229165&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
8. ^ "Match: AZ Alkmaar v NAC Breda". ESPN Soccernet. 31 August 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=248295&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
9. ^ "Mounir El Hamdaoui 2008/09 Game Log". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/gamelog?id=23112&season=2008&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
10. ^ "Match: Willem II Tilburg v AZ Alkmaar". ESPN Soccernet. 27 September 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=248541&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
11. ^ "AZ wint in eigen huis van Utrecht" (in Dutch). Het Parool. 20 December 2008. http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/11/SPORT/article/detail/87268/2008/12/20/AZ-wint-in-eigen-huis-van-Utrecht.dhtml. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
12. ^ "El Hamdaoui topscorer" (in Dutch). Trouw. 10 May 2009. http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/sport/article2754702.ece/El_Hamdaoui_topscorer_Eredivisie.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
13. ^ Schaerlaeckens, Leander (20 April 2009). "Dutch football round-up: How AZ Alkmaar became champions". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/20/eredivisie-az-alkmaar-dutch-football. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
14. ^ "El Hamdaoui is Voetballer van het Jaar" (in Dutch). V-Bal!. 13 May 2009. http://www.v-bal.nl/nieuws/47040/el-hamdaoui-is-voetballer-van-het-jaar.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
15. ^ "Koeman named Van Gaal successor at Alkmaar". FIFA.com. FIFA. 18 May 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1058970.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
16. ^ "Mounir El Hamdaoui 2009/10 Game Log". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/gamelog?id=23112&season=2009&cc=5739. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
17. ^ "AZ sacks Koeman, calls on Advocaat". DutchNews.nl. 7 December 2009. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/12/az_sacks_koeman_calls_on_advoc.php. Retrieved 26 July 2010. 
18. ^ Eredivisie (28 February 2010). "El Hamdaoui na drieklapper: "Heb gehoord wat Advocaat heeft gezegd"" (in (Dutch)). Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/nl/news/213/eredivisie/2010/02/28/1811018/el-hamdaoui-na-drieklapper-heb-gehoord-wat-advocaat-heeft. Retrieved 6 August 2010. 
19. ^ "Einde soap; El Hamdaoui naar Ajax" (in Dutch). AT5 Nieuws. 30 July 2010. http://www.at5.nl/artikelen/45525/einde-soap-el-hamdaoui-naar-ajax. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
20. ^ "El Hamdaoui tekent alsnog" (in Dutch). De Telegraaf. 30 July 2010. http://www.telegraaf.nl/telesport/voetbal/ajax/7286900/__EL_HAMDAOUI_TEKENT_ALSNOG__.html. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
21. ^ "Strike pair end Ajax exile". UEFA. 25 August 2010. http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/matches/season=2011/round=2000117/match=2002408/postmatch/report/index.html. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 
22. ^ Ajax Amsterdam 1 - 1 AC Milan ESPN Soccernet, 29 September 2010
23. ^ [1] Bettor.com, 21 October 2011.
24. ^ "Mounir El Hamdaoui Statistics". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=23112&cc=5739. Retrieved 11 May 2011. 
25. ^ "Mounir El Hamdaoui". Voetbal International. http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler/Mounir-El-Hamdaoui.htm. Retrieved 11 May 2011. 
26. ^ Counts for appearances and goals at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Supercup and UEFA Intertoto Cup, including qualifying games

External links

• Mounir El Hamdaoui at National-Football-Teams.com

Persondata
Name	El Hamdaoui, Mounir
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	14 July 1984
Place of birth	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Date of death
Place of death