Elbekay Bouchiba (born 1 November 1978) is a Dutch

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

of Moroccan descent who last played for

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

in Major League Soccer.

Club career

Bouchiba is a midfielder who was born in

Weert Weert (; li, Wieërt ) is a municipality and city in the southeastern Netherlands located in the western part of the province of Limburg. It lies on the Eindhoven–Maastricht railway line, and is also astride the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal. Pop ...

who began his career in the youth ranks of Willem II and made his debut in professional football, being part of the AZ squad in the 1998–99 season. He made his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

debut in a 2–0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam on 22 August 1998. He also played for Sparta Rotterdam and

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese ...

before joining

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisi ...

. His most productive season in the

was the 2001–02 season in which he appeared in 29 league matches for Sparta Rotterdam. On 10 August 2002 he scored his first two goals for Sparta in a 2–1 victory over HFC Haarlem in a 2002–03 KNVB Cup match. During his time with Sparta Rotterdam Bouchiba appeared in 58 official matches and scored 3 goals. While with

Bouchiba went on trial stints with Cardiff City and 1. FC Köln. Bouchiba appeared in 127 league matches in the Netherlands, including 111

appearances. In 2008, he moved to

Al-Wakrah Al Wakrah ( ar, الوكرة, al-Wakra) is the capital city of the Al Wakrah Municipality in Qatar. Al Wakrah's eastern edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf and Qatar's capital Doha is situated to the city's immediate north. Governed by Sheikh ...

in the Qatari League. During the 2009–10 season he played for Al-Shamal.

Major League Soccer

In January 2011 Bouchiba went on trial with

of Major League Soccer in hopes of securing a contract. On 15 February 2011 it was reported that he had agreed to terms with the Canadian club. However it was not officially announced by the Canadian club until 9 March 2011. Bouchiba was one of three

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

players signed by Toronto, both Nick Soolsma and

Javier Martina Javier Sylvester Martina (born 1 February 1987) is a Curaçaoan-Dutch footballer who plays as a winger for A.V.V. Zeeburgia in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, and for the Curaçao national team. Club career Netherlands Born in Willemstad, Netherla ...

also joined the club. Bouchiba did not see the field during his first season with Toronto due to ACL knee injury, in mid October he returned to practicing with the team and stated that he is looking forward to playing next season with the team. He was waived by Toronto FC on 28 February 2012.

References

External links

*
altomfotball.nofctwente.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchiba, Elbekay 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Weert Dutch sportspeople of Moroccan descent Men's association football midfielders Dutch footballers Footballers from Limburg (Netherlands) Willem II (football club) players AZ Alkmaar players Sparta Rotterdam players FC Twente players Roda JC Kerkrade players Al-Wakrah SC players Al-Shamal SC players Toronto FC players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Qatar Stars League players Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate soccer players in Canada Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Canada Dutch expatriate footballers