Abdelhamid El Kaoutari

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Arabic: عبد الحميد الكوثري‎; born 17 March 1990) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for AS Nancy.

Abdelhamid El Kaoutari
El Kaoutari with Reims in 2016
Personal information
Full name Abdelhamid El Kaoutari
Date of birth (1990-03-17) 17 March 1990
Place of birth Montpellier, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Nancy
Number 3
Youth career
1998–2000 AS Grand
2000–2008 Montpellier
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2015 Montpellier 150 (1)
2012 Montpellier B 2 (0)
2015–2018 Palermo 7 (1)
2016 → Reims (loan) 8 (0)
2016–2017 → Bastia (loan) 18 (0)
2018 Wydad AC 4 (0)
2019– Nancy 37 (0)
National team
2008–2009 France U19 6 (0)
2012 Morocco U23 2 (0)
2011– Morocco 13 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 July 2020

Football career

El Kaoutari was born in Montpellier and played for his hometown club since childhood, having joined as a youth player. While in the club's youth academy, known as Centre de Formation de La Paillade, he helped the Montpellier under-19 team win the 2008–09 edition of the Coupe Gambardella. After successfully passing through La Paillade, El Kaoutari was allowed to train with the senior team alongside fellow youth teammate Mickaël Nelson. He made his professional debut on 12 May 2008 in a Ligue 2 match against Gueugnon. El Kaoutari appeared as a substitute in the 65th minute. Montpellier won the match 2–1.[1]

For the 2008–09 season, El Kaoutari featured regularly in the Coupe Gambardella and the Coupe de France. He started both Montpellier's Coupe de France victories over amateur club Saint-Flour and third-tier club Cannes. Both matches went into extra time. El Kaoutari also appeared in four league matches, which included three straight matches late in the season, while Montpellier were in the midst of a promotion battle. Montpellier did, indeed, achieve promotion to Ligue 1. El Kaoutari was given a more prominent role in the squad for the 2009–10 Ligue 1 season. After appearing early on as a substitute, by November, El Kaoutari became a staple in the starting eleven, usually starting in the left-back position.

In July 2015, he moved to Italian Serie A club Palermo, when he signed a four-year contract.[2]

On 1 February 2016, El Kaoutari signed a six-month loan deal with Ligue 1 club Reims.[3]

In January 2019, he left Wydad AC for AS Nancy.[4]

International career

El Kaoutari played for the France under-19 team. He was a late addition to the team making his debut during the Elite Round portion of qualification for the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. He was later selected to play in the tournament and featured in all four matches with France suffering elimination in the semi-finals losing 3–1 to England.

El Kaoutari played his first match for Morocco on 4 June 2011 against Algeria (4–0). He was named in Pim Verbeek's 18-man squad for the Morocco U-23 football team to compete at the London 2012 Olympics.

Honours

Club

Montpellier

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "EL KAOUTARI E' ROSANERO". U.S. Citta' di Palermo (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. "EL KAOUTARI CEDUTO AL REIMS" (in Italian). palermocalcio.it. 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  4. "Guerra:El Kaoutari a signé". AS Nancy. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
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