Rachid Bouaouzan

Football player infobox
playername = Rachid Bouaouzan


fullname = Rachid Bouaouzan
height = Height|m=1.70
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1984|2|20|df=y
cityofbirth = Rotterdam
countryofbirth = Netherlands
currentclub = NEC Nijmegen
clubnumber = 14
position = Winger
youthyears =
youthclubs = SVV/SMC
years = 2003–2007
2007–
2008–
clubs = Sparta Rotterdam
Wigan Athletic
→ NEC Nijmegen (loan)
caps(goals) = 71 (4)
00 (0)
00 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 17:37, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

Rachid Bouaouzan (born 20 February 1984) is a Dutch-Moroccan football player who currently plays for NEC Nijmegen, on loan from Wigan Athletic.

Club career

Bouaouzan is a speedy winger who was born in Rotterdam and made his debut in professional football, being part of the Sparta Rotterdam squad in the 2003-04 season.

Rachid signed a three year contract with Wigan Athletic in August 2007. The transfer fee was rumoured to be in the region of £300,000.

The Kokmeijer case

In his second season, while playing in the Eerste Divisie, Bouaouzan reached the Dutch news headlines due to a heavy foul on Niels Kokmeijer, his opponent playing for Go Ahead Eagles on December 17, 2004. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC_c_71Cbcg Foul Niels Kokmeijer] - Youtube] Kokmeijer's leg was broken badly and he was subsequently forced to retire from professional football. Sparta Rotterdam suspended Bouaouzan for the rest of the season, which was more than the 10 match ban the KNVB awarded him. Besides that he was taken to court by the Dutch government for battery, a unique moment in Dutch football history. Bouaouzan was charged with a conditional punishment of six months in jail. In April 2008 the highest Dutch court changed this into a unconditional punishment.

At the end of the season Sparta Rotterdam qualified for the play-offs where Bouaouzan returned on the pitch. In the last and final play-off match Bouaouzan scored Sparta's winning goal over Helmond Sport securing them a spot in the Eredivisie for 2005-06. In that season he was boo-ed by almost every crowd in the country, however in the 2006-07 season this was no longer the case.

International career

Bouaouzan joined the Moroccan national team in their preparation in October 2006 in the Netherlands. He has played for the Dutch U21-team, but remains eligible to play for both senior national teams.

External links

* [http://www.wiganlatics.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10429~41635,00.html Player profile] - Wigan Athletic
* [http://www.viplanet.nl/Spelers/Speler/RachidBouaouzan.htm Career stats] - Voetbal International nl|icon

References