Merouane Abdouni

SSSSMerouane Abdouni (born March 27, 1981 in Bordj El Kiffan, Algiers) is a footballer. He currently plays as a goalkeeper for ES Ben Aknoun in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2.^[1]

Biography

Abdouni began his playing career at USM El Harrach and made his first team debut in the 1999/2000 in the Algerian second division. That same season, he helped the team gain promotion to the top flight, although they would get relegated just one year later. He stayed another season before signing with USM Alger in the summer of 2002.

With USM Alger, he played a key role in the teams 2003 African Champions League run, where the team was eliminated in the semi-final's to eventual champions Enyimba FC of Nigeria. He also helped the team win the Algerian league twice (2003 and 2005) and the Algerian Cup twice (2003 and 2004). He was voted as the top goalkeeper in the 2004/2005 season by sports daily El Heddaf (Le Buteur) and was selected in the DZFoot.com Team of the Season. He received all 4 of his call-ups to the Algerian National Team during his spell with USM Alger.

In the summer of 2005, he joined crosstown rivals MC Alger and became the target of chants by USM Alger fans during the capital derby «El Classico». He helped the team win back to back Algerian Cup's in 2006 and 2007, both times defeating his former team USM Alger in the final. On May 17, 2007, in a CAF Confederation Cup game against Kwara United of Nigeria, he received a red card from the referee and then assaulted the referee as well as match officials. He subsequently received a 3-year ban from the CAF, a decision upheld by FIFA, disallowing him from playing in any competition (domestic or international). The ban was later reduced to 2 years.^[2]

Although unable to participate in any games, he signed with USM Alger at the beginning of the 2007 season.

In April 2012 he joined Åsane Fotball on a trial. He is set to sign a permanent deal with the Norwegian second division club.

National team statistics

Honours

• Won the Algerian league twice with USM Alger in 2003 and 2005
• Won the Algerian Cup four times
  • Two times with USM Alger in 2003 and 2004
  • Two times with MC Alger in 2006 and 2007
• Won the Algerian Super Cup once with MC Alger in 2006

References

External links

• Merouane Abdouni at National-Football-Teams.com
• USM-Alger.com Profile

Algeria squad – 2002 African Cup of Nations 1 Gaouaoui 2 Slatni 3 Haddou 4 Kraouche 5 Zeghdoud 6 Mansouri 7 Belbey 8 Dziri 9 Ghazi 10 Tasfaout 11 Kherkhache 12 Samadi 13 Zafour 14 Bounekdja 15 Akrour 16 Bendahmane 17 Raho 18 Saïfi 19 Diss 20 Meftah 21 Bradja 22 Abdouni Coach: Madjer