Rachid Bouaouzan (born 20 February 1984) is a Dutch-Moroccan football player who currently plays for Wigan Athletic.

[edit] Club career

Bouaouzan is a footballer 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.

[edit] 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.^[1] 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 sentenced to a conditional six months in jail. In April 2008 the highest Dutch court changed this into an unconditional sentence.

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, thus securing them a spot in the Eredivisie for 2005-06.

[edit] N.E.C. loan

Because Bouaouzan was not able to get into the Wigan squad during the 2007/08 season, he went on a one-year loan deal to the Dutch Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen. In Nijmegen he was first choice for manager Mario Been and was able to play in Nijmegen's UEFA Cup campaign. During the season he was banned to the reserve squad three times for disciplinary reasons and motivational problems. In April 2009, after another incident, he was sent back to Wigan.

[edit] 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.

[edit] External links

• Player profile - Wigan Athletic
• Career stats - Voetbal International (Dutch)

[edit] References

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