Jan Wouters
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Jan Jacobus Wouters (born 17 July 1960) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder and was Dutch Footballer of the Year in 1990.
Player career
Wouters played for several clubs including Utrecht, Ajax, Bayern Munich and PSV. He was also a Netherlands international team member (70 caps, four goals) and was hugely influential in 1988 when the Netherlands won the European Football Championship.
Wouters participated in four tournaments as player of the Dutch national team: UEFA Euro 1988, 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, and 1994 FIFA World Cup. He played his final match in the Dutch team during the quarter finals of the 1994 World Cup against later winners Brazil on 9 July 1994.
Coaching career
Wouters started his career as head coach at Ajax after the sacking of coach Morten Olsen in December 1998. Wouters was sacked by Ajax in March 2000.
He was a coach of Scottish Premier League club Rangers under Dick Advocaat and then Alex McLeish, starting in July 2001. He left Rangers at the end of the 2005–06 season, along with McLeish and Andy Watson.
Wouters is infamous to England supporters after elbowing Paul Gascoigne and fracturing his cheekbone during a World Cup qualifier in 1993 at Wembley Stadium. Gascoigne was forced to wear a Phantom of the Opera style facemask to protect his fractured cheekbone until his injury healed. The following day, the Daily Mirror labelled Wouters a "Dutch thug". The match was drawn 2–2 and damaged England's hopes of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States, despite England leading the match 2–0.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Other | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Utrecht | 1980–81 | Eredivisie | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 1 | |
| 1981–82 | 31 | 4 | 8 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 43 | 6 | ||
| 1982–83 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 29 | 6 | ||
| 1983–84 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 5 | |||
| 1984–85 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 1985–86 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 36 | 5 | ||
| Total | 166 | 21 | 20 | 4 | — | 5 | 0 | 193 | 25 | ||
| Ajax | 1986–87 | Eredivisie | 32 | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | 48 | 5 |
| 1987–88 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 36 | 4 | |
| 1988–89 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90 | 28 | 7 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 34 | 7 | ||
| 1990–91 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 6 | |||
| 1991–92 | 11 | 2 | — | — | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |||
| Total | 151 | 23 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 194 | 23 | |
| Bayern Munich | 1991–92 | Bundesliga | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1992–93 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 4 | |||
| 1993–94 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
| Total | 68 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 76 | 7 | ||
| PSV | 1993–94 | Eredivisie | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 1995–96 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| Total | 52 | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 63 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 437 | 55 | 50 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 524 | 60 |
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 1982 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 10 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1990 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 13 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 4 |
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wouters goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 May 1988 | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands | Bulgaria | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 January 1989 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel | Israel | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 6 September 1989 | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Denmark | 2–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 25 March 1992 | De Meer Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Yugoslavia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Utrecht
Ajax
Bayern Munich
PSV
Netherlands
Individual
- Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1989–90
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1988
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1992–93
In popular culture
Wouters was repeatedly referenced in a Saturday Night Live sketch on 4 February 2023 featuring James Austin Johnson as a British rapper named Milly Pounds.
External links
- (in Dutch)
- at Wereld van Oranje (archived) (in Dutch)