Khalid Boulahrouz facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Khalid Boulahrouz | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 28 December 1981 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Maassluis, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Excelsior Maassluis | ||||||||||||||||
| DSOV | ||||||||||||||||
| Ajax | ||||||||||||||||
| Haarlem | ||||||||||||||||
| –2001 | AZ | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | RKC Waalwijk | 64 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Hamburger SV | 52 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Chelsea | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | → Sevilla (loan) | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | VfB Stuttgart | 64 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Sporting CP | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Brøndby IF | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Feyenoord | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 235 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Netherlands U21 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2004–2012 | Netherlands | 35 | (0) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Khalid Boulahrouz (born December 28, 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a defender. He was nicknamed "The Cannibal" because he was so good at stopping opposing players. Khalid was known for his strong tackles and being able to play in different defensive positions.
He played for top football clubs in the Netherlands, Germany, England, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark. From 2004 to 2012, he played for the Dutch national team 35 times. He was part of the Dutch squads for two World Cups and two European Championships.
Contents
About Khalid Boulahrouz
Khalid Boulahrouz was born in Maassluis, Netherlands. His family is from Morocco. He has eight brothers and sisters. When he was young, he trained at the youth academies of Ajax and Haarlem. His father passed away when Khalid was sixteen. After that, he took on more responsibility for his family.
In December 2006, he married Sabia Thele. During the Euro 2008 tournament, while Khalid was with the Dutch team, his wife gave birth to their daughter, Anissa. Sadly, Anissa passed away shortly after birth. The Dutch team wore black armbands in her memory when they played against Russia a few days later. Khalid and Sabia later had another daughter, Amaya (born March 2010), and a son, Daamin (born January 2011). They announced their separation in January 2013.
Playing for Clubs
As a young player, Khalid Boulahrouz played for several youth teams. These included Excelsior Maassluis, DSOV, Ajax, Haarlem, and AZ.
Starting at RKC Waalwijk
After playing for different clubs, Khalid found a stable place at Waalwijk. Coach Martin Jol helped him gain confidence there. He started his professional career in the Dutch Eredivisie league on March 9, 2002. His first game was against Heerenveen.
Moving to Hamburger SV
After two seasons with RKC, he joined Hamburg in Germany. This was at the start of the 2004–05 season. While playing for Hamburg, he earned his nickname "Khalid der Kannibale" ("Khalid the Cannibal"). This was because of his strong defensive play. He received many yellow and red cards, showing how tough he was. His team also had one of the best defenses in the 2005–06 Bundesliga season.
Time at Chelsea
On August 18, 2006, Chelsea agreed to sign Boulahrouz from Hamburg. The transfer fee was about £8.5 million. Chelsea's manager, José Mourinho, said that Khalid would be a versatile player for the team. He officially joined Chelsea on August 21, 2006.
Six days later, he played his first game in the Premier League against Blackburn Rovers. He wore the number 9 shirt, which is unusual for a defender. This was simply because it was one of the few numbers available at the time. Khalid started well at Chelsea, playing in big games against Liverpool and Barcelona. However, he later faced knee and shoulder injuries. These injuries kept him out of play for a long time.
Loan to Sevilla
For the 2007–08 season, Boulahrouz went on loan to the Spanish club Sevilla. He played only six games for them and then returned to Chelsea in 2008. He did not play any more games for Chelsea after that.
Playing for VfB Stuttgart
On July 21, 2008, Boulahrouz moved to VfB Stuttgart in Germany. The fee was around €5 million. He had some challenges in his first three seasons there. However, in the 2011–12 Bundesliga season, he became a regular starter.
On September 17, 2011, he played his 100th game in the German top league. Two weeks later, on September 30, 2011, he scored his first goal for Stuttgart. It was in a 2–0 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In May 2012, VfB Stuttgart announced that his contract would not be extended.
Moving to Sporting CP
On July 18, 2012, Boulahrouz signed a two-year contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal. He played 11 league games for the club. His contract was ended on September 3, 2013.
Time at Brøndby IF
On October 7, 2013, Boulahrouz signed a contract with Brøndby IF in Denmark. This contract lasted until the summer of 2014. He played 13 league games for Brøndby IF that season. Khalid had several injuries during his time there, which was a reason why he did not get a new contract.
Final Club: Feyenoord
On July 14, 2014, it was announced that Boulahrouz had signed a one-year contract with Feyenoord in the Netherlands. He joined as a free agent. He helped replace defenders who had left after playing for the Netherlands in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. On February 11, 2016, Khalid Boulahrouz announced his retirement from professional football. This was more than half a year after his contract with Feyenoord ended.
Playing for the Netherlands
Khalid Boulahrouz's good performances for RKC Waalwijk led to him being chosen for the Netherlands national football team. He played his first international game on September 3, 2004. The Netherlands won 3–0 against Liechtenstein. He was part of the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. By November 2011, he had played 34 games for the national team.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Round of Sixteen, Boulahrouz was sent off in the match against Portugal. He received a second yellow card for a foul. The referee in that game gave out a record number of cards.
He was initially not chosen for the Dutch Euro 2008 squad. However, after an injury to another player, he was added to the 23-man squad. He started in the group stage games.
2010 FIFA World Cup
Boulahrouz was included in the team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On May 27, 2010, coach Bert van Marwijk confirmed he would be in the final squad. Khalid started in the Netherlands' last group match on June 24, a 2–1 win against Cameroon. He also played in the semi-final match against Uruguay. The Netherlands finished as runner-up in the tournament.
Playing Style
Edwin van der Sar, a goalkeeper and teammate, said that Boulahrouz was an important defender. He also mentioned that Khalid was good at lifting the team's spirits. Former Dutch defender Jaap Stam believed that Boulahrouz could become his successor.
Coaching Career
In early 2021, Boulahrouz returned to AZ, a club he played for in his youth. He became an assistant coach for the Under-18 team. In September 2021, he signed a two-year contract with AZ. He worked as an assistant and defensive coach for the senior team. He left this role at the end of the 2021–22 season.
Career Numbers
Khalid Boulahrouz played a total of 235 league games in his career. He scored 7 goals in those league matches. Overall, he played 292 professional games and scored 9 goals.
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| RKC Waalwijk | 2001–02 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||
| 2003–04 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||||
| 2004–05 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 4 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 72 | 5 | ||||
| Hamburger SV | 2004–05 | Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |||
| Total | 52 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 6 | 0 | 60 | 2 | |||
| Chelsea | 2006–07 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Sevilla (loan) | 2007–08 | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| VfB Stuttgart | 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 63 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | 81 | 2 | |||
| Sporting CP | 2012–13 | Primeira Liga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Brøndby IF | 2013–14 | Danish Superliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| Feyenoord | 2014–15 | Eredivisie | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Career total | 235 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 292 | 9 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2004 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | 0 | |
Awards and Achievements
Hamburger SV
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005
Netherlands
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2010
See also
In Spanish: Khalid Boulahrouz para niños
