Merouane Abdouni (born March 27, 1981) is a retired Algerian

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played for

USM El Harrach Union Sportive de la Médina d'El Harrach ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الحراش), known as USM El Harrach or simply USMH for short, is an Algerian football club based in El Harrach, Algiers. The club was founded in 1935 ...

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الجزائر); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its co ...

MC Alger Mouloudia Club d'Alger ( ar, نادي مولودية الجزائر), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home sta ...

and

USM Blida Union Sportive Madinat Blida ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة البليدة), known as USM Blida or simply USMB, is a football club based in Blida, Algeria. They currently play in the Inter-Régions Division, the third tier of ...

Biography

Abdouni began his playing career at

and made his first team debut in the 1999/2000 in the Algerian second division. That same season, he helped the team gain promotion to the top flight, although they would get relegated just one year later. He stayed another season before signing with

in the summer of 2002. With

, he played a key role in the teams 2003

African Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

run, where the team was eliminated in the semi-final's to eventual champions

Enyimba FC Enyimba Football Club or simply known as Enyimba, is a Nigerian football club based in the city of Aba which plays in the Nigerian Professional Football League. Their name means ''People's Elephant'' in Igbo language and is also the nickname us ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He also helped the team win the Algerian league twice (2003 and 2005) and the

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup ( ar, كأس الجزائر) also known the Republic Cup ( ar, كأس الجمهورية), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after in ...

twice (2003 and 2004). He was voted as the top goalkeeper in the 2004/2005 season by sports daily ''El Heddaf (Le Buteur)'' and was selected in the ''DZFoot.com'' Team of the Season. He received all 4 of his call-ups to the Algerian National Team during his spell with

. In the summer of 2005, he joined crosstown rivals

and became the target of chants by

fans during the capital derby «El Classico». He helped the team win back to back Algerian Cup's in 2006 and 2007, both times defeating his former team

in the final. On May 17, 2007, in a

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

game against

Kwara United Kwara United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Ilorin. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional football League after promotion in 2017 from the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is t ...

, he received a red card from the referee and then assaulted the referee as well as match officials. He subsequently received a 3-year ban from the CAF, a decision upheld by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, disallowing him from playing in any competition (domestic or international). The ban was later reduced to 2 years.CAF : Lourdes sanctions contre le MCA - Football algérien
Although unable to participate in any games, he signed with

at the beginning of the 2007 season. In April 2012, he joined

Åsane Fotball Åsane Fotball is a Norwegian football club located in Åsane. The club currently plays in 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system, where they have been played since they promoted from the 2019 2. divisjon. They wer ...

on a trial. He is set to sign a permanent deal with the Norwegian second division club.

National team statistics

Honours

* Won the Algerian league twice with

in 2003 and 2005 * Won the

four times ** Two times with

in 2003 and 2004 ** Two times with

in 2006 and 2007 * Won the

Algerian Super Cup The Algerian Super Cup ( ar, كأس الجزائر الممتازة), is an Algerian football competition, held as a game between the reigning champions of the Algerian League and the Algerian Cup. The first edition was held in 1973 and then agai ...

once with

in 2006

References

External links

*
USM-Alger.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdouni, Merouane 1981 births Living people People from Bordj El Kiffan Association football goalkeepers Algerian footballers Algeria international footballers USM Alger players USM El Harrach players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Algeria under-23 international footballers MC Alger players Algeria youth international footballers Algerian Ligue 2 players 2002 African Cup of Nations players Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games competitors for Algeria 21st-century Algerian people 20th-century Algerian people