Nourdin Boukhari (Arabic: نور الدين البخاري; born 30 June 1980) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. After retiring, he worked as a youth coach, and is the currently assistant coach of Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam.[1] Born in the Netherlands, he represented Morocco at international level.

Nourdin Boukhari
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-06-30) 30 June 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
Sparta Rotterdam (interim head coach)
Youth career
Neptunus
RVV HOV
Sparta Rotterdam
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2002 Sparta Rotterdam 76 (13)
2002–2006 Ajax 69 (14)
2003–2004NAC Breda (loan) 28 (5)
2006–2007 Nantes 9 (2)
2007AZ (loan) 10 (0)
2007–2008 Sparta Rotterdam 32 (8)
2008 Al-Ittihad Jeddah 0 (0)
2009 NAC Breda 17 (5)
2009–2012 Kasımpaşa 7 (0)
2010–2011Wisła Kraków (loan) 9 (1)
2012 NAC Breda 10 (2)
2012–2013 RKC Waalwijk 26 (1)
2014 Sparta Rotterdam 11 (0)
2014–2015 Magreb '90 11 (2)
Total 315 (53)
International career
2001–2007 Morocco 14 (2)
Managerial career
2015–2018 Sparta Youth Academy
2021– Sparta Rotterdam (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

edit

He started his career for Sparta where he stood out for his technical skill and subsequently signed for Ajax where he made his debut against FC Groningen on 1 September 2002. For the 2003–04 season, he was loaned to NAC Breda.[2] After his contract had expired in 2006, he joined French league side Nantes.[3] However, his stay with the French side turned out to be a disappointment, so he was sent on loan to AZ in January 2007.[4] Although not unsuccessful, AZ chose not to buy him and Boukhari returned to Nantes, which was relegated to the Ligue 2. Boukhari was reluctant to play in the second division and on 7 July he returned to Sparta Rotterdam, where he signed a contract for three years. Back at the club where it all started for him, Boukhari became club captain and the face of the 100-year Anniversary of the club.

After spending a season with Sparta Rotterdam, Boukhari was approached early in the transfer window by Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. However, the Saudi Arabian side then refused to pay the transfer fee to Sparta, instead of paying the fee, sending a lawyer to declare that they wanted to cancel the deal. Al-Ittihad manager Gabriel Calderón was reportedly unhappy about Boukhari's lack of match fitness, and asked the board to cancel the transfer. However, the Eredivisie side wanted the transfer to go through: "The transfer is a done deal and we expect to receive the money into our account," said director Peter Bonthuis. The Rotterdam side submitted a complaint to FIFA regarding the Saudi Arabian club's sudden change of action.[5]

In January 2009, Boukhari signed a contract until the end of the season with NAC Breda.[6] In July 2009, he signed three-year deal with Turkish side Kasimpasa SK.[7] He was sent on loan to Polish side Wisła Kraków for the 2010–11 season.[8] After his contract with Kasimpasa had been dissolved, Boukhari signed an amateur deal with NAC Breda until the end of the season. After he had left as a free agent, he again signed an amateur deal with RKC Waalwijk in September 2012,[9] which was turned into a paid deal in January 2013.[10] However, he was released at the end of the season. In January 2014, he signed with Sparta Rotterdam, with which he almost promoted to the Eredivisie.[11] He retired from professional football in June 2014 and became a member of the staff, being responsible for the team's strikers. He started playing for the freshly Hoofdklasse side Magreb '90.[12]

International career

edit

Boukhari chose to represent Morocco in international football. He made his international debut in a November 2001 friendly match against Zambia.

Career Statistics

edit

International

edit
Appearances and goals by national team and year[13]
National team Year Apps Goals
Morocco 2001 1 0
2002 3 0
2003 1 0
2004 1 1
2005 2 0
2006 3 1
2007 3 0
Total 14 2
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boukhari goal.
List of international goals scored by Nourdin Boukhari
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 17 November 2004 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco   Burkina Faso 2–0 4–0 Friendly [14]
2 15 November 2006 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco   Gabon 4–0 6–0 Friendly [15]

Honours

edit

Ajax

Wisła Kraków

Personal life

edit

He was the step-father to PSV and Netherlands international winger Noa Lang.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ Het tweede leven van Nourdin Boukhari als jeugdtrainer en amateurvoetballer vice.com
  2. ^ "Ajax verhuurt Nourdin Boukhari aan NAC Breda". Ajax. Retrieved 4 September 2003.
  3. ^ "Voetbal: Boukhari naar FC Nantes". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
  4. ^ "Voetbal: Waterman en Boukhari naar AZ". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 21 January 2007.
  5. ^ "Boukhari Transfer in Jeopardy". Goal.com. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  6. ^ "Boukhari naar NAC Breda". RTV Rijnmond. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Boukhari naar Turkse Kasimpasa". NOS. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Maaskant haalt Boukhari naar Wisla Kraków". Voetbalprimeur. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Boukhari naar RKC, Auassar naar Doetinchem". RTV Rijnmond. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Boukhari krijgt van RKC Waalwijk zijn profstatus terug". Voetbal International. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Update: Sparta slaat drievoudige slag met Roorda, Boukhari en Bessa". Voetbalzone. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Nourdin Boukhari – Magreb '90". Amateurvoetbalopzondag.nl. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Nourdin Boukhari". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Morocco vs. Burkina Faso". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Morocco vs. Gabon". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Noa Lang schiet in verdediging: 'Mensen denken: hij is een lichte jongen'" (in Dutch). voetbalzone.nl. 11 March 2020.
edit