| Intro | Footballer |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From |
Morocco Netherlands |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
31 March 1987, Naarden |
| Age | 33 years |
Noureddine “Nordin” Amrabat (Arabic: نورالدين أمرابط; born 31 March 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for English club Watford.
He played for Dutch national youth teams and once was called up for the senior national side. On 1 October 2009, Amrabat announced his decision to play for Morocco, whom he represented at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2012 Olympics.
Early life
Born in Naarden, North Holland, Amrabat was released from Ajax at age 13, having suffered stunted growth due to Osgood Schlatter disease. His father recommended that Amrabat play at the amateur level while studying for a different profession. He washed dishes, made desserts and vacuum cleaned his school while playing for SV Huizen in Almere. At 17, he planned to study Management, Economics and Law.
Club career
Early career
After making his study plans, Amrabat was signed by Almere’s Omniworld of the Eerste Divisie, contributing 14 goals and as many assists in 36 games. In 2007, he joined newly promoted Eredivisie club VVV Venlo, scoring ten times in 33 games. A year later, national champions PSV Eindhoven signed him for €2 million, and he represented them in the UEFA Champions League. Amrabat spent three years at the Philips Stadion before moving abroad for the first time, to Turkey’s Kayserispor.
Galatasaray
On 12 July 2012 Amrabat signed for fellow Turkish club Galatasaray for a fee of €8.6 million on a five-year contract (€600,000 went to PSV; Kayserispor retained 10% valued €800,000). Amrabat made his Debut on 12 August 2012 in the 2012 Turkish Super Cup Final against rivals Fenerbahce coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute as the game ended 3–2 with Galatasaray winning the title for the 12th time. On 15 September 2012, Galatasaray Manager Fatih Terim picked Amrabat for the starting eleven for a game against Antalyaspor and he duly scored his first goal for Galatasaray in the 2012–13 Süper Lig and provided an assist as the game ended 4–0.
Málaga
In January 2014, Amrabat moved to Málaga CF in a six-month loan deal. On 10 March he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 away win against Osasuna, and on 6 April he converted a penalty in a 4–1 Derby victory over Granada CF. Fifteen days later, having earlier assisted Sergi Darder’s goal, he received a straight red card in a 2–0 home win against Villarreal CF for gesturing that referee Álvarez Izquierdo needed glasses.
In August 2014, Amrabat agreed to extend his stay in Andalusia for the full season. On 30 April of the following year he was bought outright, for a €3.5 million fee. His permanent spell on the Costa del Sol was less prolific than the temporary one, playing 12 games without scoring.
Watford
On 18 January 2016, Amrabat joined Premier League club Watford for a fee of £6.1 million. He made his debut five days later, replacing Troy Deeney at the end of a 2–1 win over Newcastle United at Vicarage Road.
International career
Amrabat was expected to take part in the 2008 Olympic football tournament with the Netherlands but he and fellow PSV (and future Moroccan) teammate Ismaïl Aissati both failed to make the final squad.
In November 2011 he decided to play for the Morocco national football team. On 11 November 2011, Amrabat made his debut with the Atlas Lions of Morocco against Uganda in a 0–1 loss in the LG Cup. Two days later, he scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Cameroon as the game ended 1–1.
He was selected to compete at the 2012 Olympics for the Moroccan team, starting all three of their matches in another group stage exit. He also started their first two matches as they fell at the same point in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Personal life
His younger brother Sofyan is also a footballer, currently playing for FC Utrecht.
Career statistics
Club
- As of 14 December 2016.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Omniworld | 2006–07 | 36 | 14 | 14 | — | — | — | 36 | 14 | 14 | ||||||
| Total | 36 | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 14 | 14 | |||||||
| VVV-Venlo | 2007–08 | 33 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 10 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 33 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 10 | 7 | |||||
| PSV | 2008–09 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 5 | |||
| 2010–11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 57 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | 12 | 1 | 0 | 75 | 12 | 11 | |||
| Kayserispor | 2010–11 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 6 | 8 | |||||
| Total | 38 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 7 | 14 | |||||
| Galatasaray | 2012–13 | 30 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 1 | 10 |
| 2013–14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 34 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 56 | 3 | 11 | |
| Málaga (loan) | 2013–14 | 15 | 2 | 5 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | 5 | ||||||
| 2014–15 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 6 | 7 | |||||
| Total | 46 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | — | — | 50 | 8 | 12 | |||||
| Málaga | 2015–16 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Watford | 2015–16 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 27 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 284 | 48 | 49 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 334 | 54 | 70 | |