Souffian El Karouani (Arabic: سفيان الكرواني; born 19 October 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Utrecht. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Souffian El Karouani
El Karouani in 2023 with Utrecht
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-10-19) 19 October 2000 (age 24)[1]
Place of birth 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
Utrecht
Number 16
Youth career
0000–2008 TGG
2008–2012 Den Bosch
2012–? BVV
000?–2017 Elinkwijk
2017–2019 NEC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 NEC 104 (5)
2023– Utrecht 11 (0)
International career
2021– Morocco 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:07, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Career

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El Karouani played in the youth teams of TGG, Den Bosch,[3] BVV, Elinkwijk and NEC.[2]

2019–20 season

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In 2019, he was promoted to NEC's first team.[4] He made his debut for the club on 9 August 2019, in the home match against FC Eindhoven which was lost 1–2.[2] El Karouani came on as a substitute for Anthony Musaba in the 68th minute. On 2 July 2020, he signed a one-year contract with NEC which included an option on another season.[5]

2020–21 season

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In the 2020–21 season, he became the starting left back in an attacking NEC led by head coach Rogier Meijer.[3] On 3 October, El Karouani scored his first goal for the club in the home game against FC Eindhoven, which was won 6–0.[6] On 23 May 2021, El Karouani won promotion to the Eredivisie with NEC, by beating NAC Breda 1–2 in the final of the play-offs. He provided the assist to the winning goal by Jonathan Okita, which meant that the club returned to the highest Dutch division after an absence of four year.[7] He finished the season with 43 appearances in which he scored 3 goals, and his 8 assists were the most in the team.[1]

Utrecht

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On 26 April 2023, El Karouani signed a three-year contract with Utrecht, set to commence from the 2023–24 season.[8]

International career

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Born in the Netherlands, El Karouani is Moroccan by descent. He debuted with the Morocco national team in a 3–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over Guinea-Bissau on 9 October 2021.[9]

Career statistics

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As of match played 20 December 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League KNVB Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
NEC 2019–20 Eerste Divisie 2 0 0 0 2 0
2020–21[a] Eerste Divisie 38 3 2 0 3[b] 0 43 3
2021–22 Eredivisie 31 0 2 0 33 0
2022–23 Eredivisie 33 2 3 1 36 3
Total 104 5 7 1 3 0 114 6
Utrecht 2023–24 Eredivisie 11 0 2 0 13 0
Career total 115 5 9 1 3 0 127 6
  1. ^ Season curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b c Souffian El Karouani at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Souffian El Karouani". NEC Nijmegen (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Martens, Jan (5 December 2020). "Souffian El Karouani is de Bossche joker van NEC: 'Ik heb plezier in wat ik doe'". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Proper wordt later toegevoegd aan selectie NEC". Omroep Gelderland (in Dutch). 12 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. ^ "El Karouani tekent eerste profcontract bij N.E.C." NEC (in Dutch). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  6. ^ "NEC biedt volop vermaak in Goffert, FC Eindhoven figureert". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 3 October 2020.
  7. ^ "NEC verslaat NAC in slotfase en keert na vier jaar terug in de eredivisie". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Eerste aanwinst 2023/2024: Souffian El Karouani naar FC Utrecht" (in Dutch). FC Utrecht. 26 April 2023.
  9. ^ "FIFA". FIFA. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Seven clubs provide players for Eredivisie team of the month (May)". eredivisie.eu. 20 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Taylor Booth named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
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