Merouane Abdouni
Merouane Abdouni | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1981 Algeria |
| Occupation | Footballer (Goalkeeper) |
| Years active | 1999–2012 |
| Known for | Playing for USM El Harrach, USM Alger, MC Alger, USM Blida; Algeria national team |
Merouane Abdouni (born March 27, 1981) is a former Algerian goalkeeper who represented clubs including USM El Harrach, USM Alger, MC Alger, and USM Blida during his professional career.
Biography
Abdouni launched his professional journey with USM El Harrach, making his first appearances in the 1999–2000 season within the Algerian second division. He played a key role in the club’s promotion to the premier league. Following the team's relegation, he remained for an additional season before transferring to USM Alger in 2002.
While at USM Alger, Abdouni significantly contributed to the club reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 African Champions League. He was part of squads that secured two national league championships (2003 and 2005) as well as two Algerian Cup victories (2003 and 2004). His outstanding performance earned him the distinction of best goalkeeper for the 2004–05 season by El Heddaf (Le Buteur) and a place in the DZFoot.com Team of the Season. During this timeframe, he also earned all four of his caps with the Algeria national team.
In 2005, Abdouni moved to rival club MC Alger, where he helped achieve back-to-back Algerian Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2007, both times defeating his former club USM Alger. In May 2007, during a CAF Confederation Cup fixture against Nigeria’s Kwara United, he received a red card and subsequently assaulted match officials. This incident led to a three-year suspension imposed by CAF, later reduced to two years by FIFA, prohibiting him from participating in all official competitions.
Despite this suspension, Abdouni returned to USM Alger in 2007. In April 2012, he underwent a trial with Åsane Fotball, a Norwegian second-tier team, seeking to secure a permanent contract.
National team statistics
| Algeria national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Appearances | Goals |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 |