Nourdin Boukhari (; born 30 June 1980) is a Moroccan former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. After retiring, he worked as a youth coach, and is the currently assistant coach of

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

. Born in the Netherlands, he represented

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

at international level.

Club career

He started his career for

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

where he stood out for his technical skill and subsequently signed for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, where he made his debut against

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

on 1 September 2002. For the 2003–04 season, he was loaned to

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...

. After his contract had expired in 2006, he joined French league side

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. However, his stay with the French side turned out to be a disappointment, so he was sent on loan to AZ in January 2007. Although not unsuccessful, AZ chose not to buy him and Boukhari returned to Nantes, which was relegated to the

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. Boukhari was reluctant to play in the second division and on 7 July he returned to

, 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 Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. 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 Gabriel Humberto Calderón (born 7 February 1960) is an Argentinian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of UAE Pro League side, Khor Fakkan Club. Calderón played in several teams including Argentine Ra ...

was reportedly unhappy about Boukhari's lack of match fitness, and asked the board to cancel the transfer. However, the

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. In January 2009, Boukhari signed a contract until the end of the season with

. In July 2009, he signed three-year deal with Turkish side Kasımpaşa. He was sent on loan to Polish side

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

for the 2010–11 season. After his contract with Kasimpasa had been dissolved, Boukhari signed an amateur deal with

until the end of the season. After he had left as a free agent, he again signed an amateur deal with

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

in September 2012, which was turned into a paid deal in January 2013. However, he was released at the end of the season. In January 2014, he signed with

, with which he almost promoted to the

. 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

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

side Magreb '90.

International career

Boukhari chose to represent

in international football. He made his international debut in a November 2001 friendly match against

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Career Statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Boukhari goal.''

Honours

Ajax *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2005–06 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Wisła Kraków *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Personal life

He was the step-father to PSV and Netherlands international winger

Noa Lang Noa Noëll Lang (born 17 June 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Club career Ajax On 1 December 2019, Lang became the first Ajax player to score a ...

References

External links

Voetbal International profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boukhari, Nourdin 1980 births Living people Footballers from Rotterdam Dutch sportspeople of Moroccan descent Moroccan men's footballers Morocco men's international footballers Moroccan expatriate men's footballers People from Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam players AFC Ajax players NAC Breda players FC Nantes players AZ Alkmaar players Kasımpaşa S.K. footballers Wisła Kraków players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Derde Divisie players Ligue 1 players Süper Lig players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Ekstraklasa players Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Poland 2002 African Cup of Nations players Men's association football wingers Men's association football midfielders SVA Papendorp players Saudi Pro League players 21st-century Moroccan sportsmen