Wilfred Bouma
Personal information
Date of birth	15 June 1978 (1978-06-15) (age 31)
Place of birth	Helmond, Netherlands
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Left Back, Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Aston Villa
Number	3
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994–2005 1996–1998 1998–1999 2005–	PSV → MVV (loan) → Fortuna Sittard (loan) Aston Villa	170 (19) 055 (13) 033 0(5) 083 0(1)
National team2
2000–	Netherlands	035 0(2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 May 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 25 May 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Wilfred Bouma (born 15 June 1978) in Helmond, North Brabant is a Dutch international footballer who currently plays for English club Aston Villa. Bouma is a technically refined left back/centre back who is known for his hard working nature, defensive positioning and tackling ability.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early career

Bouma started his career at amateur club SV Rood-Wit '62 before joining PSV on a youth contract in 1994. The PSV head coach at the time, Aad de Mos handed him his professional debut against Willem II on October 26, 1994 which his team lost 2–1. After not featuring for a long time, he was loaned out to MVV in 1996 and played in the Eerste Divisie where he scored seven goals in 18 games. The following season, he scored sixteen goals in 33 games after helping his team back into the Eredivisie. After impressing at Fortuna Sittard in 1998–99, he was drafted back into the PSV squad the following season.

[edit] Back at PSV

At PSV, he played as a left winger and as forward because of his quick pace and direct passing, teaming up with Arnold Bruggink and at times, with Ruud van Nistelrooy. When Arthur Numan went off to Rangers at the end of the 1999–00 season, Bouma was moved to left-back where he had to compete with Danish international Jan Heintze.

With the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers entering its crucial stages, Bouma was handed his international debut for the Dutch national team against the Republic of Ireland on 2 September 2000. In the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal, he was chosen by Dick Advocaat to play as a central defender and he has also retained that spot while playing for PSV under Guus Hiddink in the 2004–05 season.

[edit] Aston Villa

Just before the close of the international transfer window, Bouma signed for Aston Villa on 30 August 2005 for £3.5 million.^[1] He struggled to establish himself during the 2005–06 campaign at Villa Park, as his debut season was heavily tarnished with injuries. However, when Martin O'Neill replaced boss David O'Leary, Bouma - after recovering from a hamstring injury - replaced stand-in left-back Gareth Barry.

Under O'Neill, Bouma begun to flourish during the 2006–07 season - he established himself as first choice left back and went onto total 28 appearances in the claret and blue shirt. This lead to Bouma becoming a cult hero at Villa Park, most notably for his strong tackling, and determined nature in defence. This turn in form also attributed to Bouma reclaiming his place in the Dutch National Team, playing in the friendly against Russia in February 2007, the tour of Asia in June 2007 and the following UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying fixtures.

On 9 February 2008, Bouma - who was in the process of making his 76th appearance in claret and blue - netted his first goal for the club in the 48th minute of the match against Newcastle United. The deflected goal levelled the game at 1-1, before a hat-trick by teammate John Carew, wrapped up a 4-1 victory.^[2]

Upon returning from international duty for the Netherlands at Euro 2008, Bouma participated in both legs of Aston Villa's Intertoto Cup third round tie against Odense, however the second leg at Villa Park on 26 July 2008 was marred by a serious ankle injury to the full-back. Bouma caught his studs on the turf as he attempted to challenge opposition forward Baye Djiby Fall. Initially, the injury looked like a horrific break, however reports later confirmed that Bouma had suffered a dislocation, an injury which looked set to keep him out until October. His recovery however took much longer. Bouma's increasing importance to the Villa cause, as well as his 'cult-hero status' was noted as he was carried off early in the tie whilst being accompanied by a 30,000 strong chant of support by the Villa faithful.

On 9 September 2008, Bouma signed a new two-year deal at Villa Park with the option of a third year.

In January 2009 it was announced that Bouma, along with other long-term absentee John Carew had returned to full training. He was scheduled to return on 16 February for the reserves but he pulled out at the last minute because he "felt sore". On 2 March 2009, Bouma finally played 90 minutes in a 4-3 win in a reserve match against Chelsea. However, he suffered a setback on his road to recovery in April after learning bone fragments had broken away from his ankle, and underwent surgery soon after.^[3]

On 16 September 2009, after being out of action for fourteen months, it was announced that Bouma had resumed full training with the club.^[4]

[edit] International career

Bouma training with the Netherlands.

As of July 2008, Wilfred Bouma has played for the Netherlands 35 times, scoring twice. Bouma made his debut on September 2, 2000, in the 2-2 draw with the Republic of Ireland. Several steady appearances followed in the coming years, including 4 appearances at Euro 2004, whilst playing as a centre-back. Bouma was included in the Dutch squad for Euro 2008, and he made 2 appearances, coming on as a 78th substitute against France and playing the full 90 minutes against Romania. Bouma's only two goals at international level came within 4 months of each other, as the defender netted in the 3-2 defeat to Czech Republic in the group stage of Euro 2004. He then went onto net the opener against Macedonia in October of the same year, in a match which ended 2-2.

Wilfred Bouma: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	June 19, 2004	Estádio Municipal, Aveiro, Portugal	Czech Republic	1–0	2–3	Euro 2004
2.	October 10, 2004	City Stadium, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	0–1	2–2	2006 World Cup qualification

[edit] Career statistics

^[5]

[edit] Trivia

• Bouma married in June 2007.
• Bouma lives in Streetly, West Midlands with his wife and children.
• In the 2007/2008 season, Bouma started every Premiership game for Aston Villa, being widely recognised as one of Villa's most consistent performers.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wilfred Bouma

• Wilfred Bouma career stats at Soccerbase
• Wilfred Bouma profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)

v • d • e Netherlands squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 van der Sar • 2 Reiziger • 3 Stam • 4 Bouma • 5 van Bronckhorst • 6 Cocu • 7 van der Meyde • 8 Davids • 9 Kluivert • 10 van Nistelrooy • 11 van der Vaart • 12 Makaay • 13 Westerveld • 14 Sneijder • 15 F. de Boer • 16 Overmars • 17 van Hooijdonk • 18 Heitinga • 19 Robben • 20 Seedorf • 21 Bosvelt • 22 Zenden • 23 Waterreus • Coach: Advocaat

v • d • e Netherlands squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 van der Sar • 2 Ooijer • 3 Heitinga • 4 Mathijsen • 5 van Bronckhorst • 6 De Zeeuw • 7 van Persie • 8 Engelaar • 9 van Nistelrooy • 10 Sneijder • 11 Robben • 12 Melchiot • 13 Timmer • 14 Bouma • 15 De Cler • 16 Stekelenburg • 17 De Jong • 18 Kuyt • 19 Huntelaar • 20 Afellay • 21 Boulahrouz • 22 Vennegoor of Hesselink • 23 van der Vaart • Coach: van Basten