Wilfred Bouma

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Wilfred Bouma
Personal information
Date of birth	June 15, 1978 (1978-06-15) (age 29)
Place of birth	Helmond, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Aston Villa
Number	3
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1994–2005 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 2005–	PSV → MVV (loan) → MVV (loan) → Fortuna Sittard (loan) Aston Villa	170 (19) 018 0(7) 033 0(6) 033 0(5) 083 0(1)
National team2
2000–	Netherlands	033 0(2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 April 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 25 May 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Wilfred Bouma (born June 15, 1978 in Helmond, North Brabant) is a Dutch football player 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.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Back at PSV 3 Aston Villa 4 International career 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early career

Bouma started his career at amateur club SV Rood-Wit '62 before joining PSV Eindhoven 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 Maastricht in 1996 and played in the Eerste Divisie where he scored seven goals in 18 games. The following season, he scored six 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 September 2, 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 £3.5m.^[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, tour of Asia in June 2007 and the recent UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying fixtures.

Bouma scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the 48th minute of the match against Newcastle United, which was an important equaliser, on February 9th, 2008.

[edit] International career

Bouma has played for the Netherlands since 2000, was included in the Dutch squad for UEFA Euro 2008.

[edit] Trivia

• Bouma married in June 2007.
• The only two international goals Bouma has to his name, came in the space of four months. His first - a header against the Czech Republic in Euro 2004 - was added to by a goal against Republic of Macedonia in October of the same year.
• Bouma lives in Streetly, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall 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

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

v • d • e Aston Villa F.C. – current squad 3 Bouma • 5 Laursen • 6 Barry • 7 Young • 9 Harewood • 10 Carew • 11 Agbonlahor • 13 Taylor • 14 Delfouneso • 15 Davies • 16 Knight • 17 Salifou • 18 Routledge • 19 Petrov • 20 Reo-Coker • 26 Gardner • 27 Osbourne • 28 Maloney • 29 O'Halloran • Manager: O'Neill

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