Thomas Ouwejan

Thomas Ouwejan (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoːmɑs ˈʌuəjɑn]; born 24 June 1996) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back for Udinese, on loan from AZ.[1]

Thomas Ouwejan
Personal information
Full name Thomas Ouwejan
Date of birth (1996-06-24) 24 June 1996
Place of birth Alkmaar, Netherlands
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Udinese
(on loan from AZ)
Number 5
Youth career
0000–2007 De Foresters
2007–2015 AZ
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– AZ 83 (2)
2016–2017 Jong AZ 8 (0)
2020– → Udinese (Loan) 8 (0)
National team‡
2012–2013 Netherlands U17 5 (0)
2015 Netherlands U19 3 (0)
2015–2016 Netherlands U20 8 (0)
2016–2017 Netherlands U21 12 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23 December 2019

Career

AZ

Ouwejan joined the AZ youth academy from childhood club De Foresters in 2007. On 10 December 2015, he made his first appearance for the club, starting in a UEFA Europa League match against Athletic Bilbao. He was replaced in the 75th minute for Pantelis Hatzidiakos, another debuting player. Three days later, Ouwejan also made his Eredivisie debut in a game against PEC Zwolle. That season, he also came to 16 appearances and two goals for the reserve team, Jong AZ. In addition, he appeared once in the KNVB Cup and three times in the Eredivisie; with AZ finishing fourth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.[2]

The following season, he played once for the reserve team and 16 times for the first team in all competitions.[2] In the following play-off games for participation in the Europa League preliminary round, AZ reached the final, but eventually lost to FC Utrecht on penalties.[3]

In the 2017–18 season, Ouwejan became a regular starter and appeared in six matches in the KNVB Cup and 31 matches in the Eredivisie.[2] AZ reached the final of the cup that year, in which they lost to Feyenoord.[4] In the Eredivisie, AZ took third place. He continued as a starter during the 2018–19 season, scoring two goals in 31 league appearances and one goal – his first in European tournaments – in the third qualifying round of the Europa League against Ukrainian side Mariupol.[5][2]

At the start of the 2019–20 season, new head coach Arne Slot preferred the newly emerged youngster Owen Wijndal at left back, which meant that Ouwejan mostly appeared as a midfielder, and found himself increasingly out of the starting lineup.[6] He finished the season with 10 appearances in the Eredivisie and six in the Europa League.[2]

Loan to Udinese

Ouwejan joined Italian Serie A club Udinese on a season-loan from AZ for the 2020–21 season, with an option to buy.[7][8] He made his debut for the side on 27 September 2020 in a 1–0 loss to Verona.[9]

International career

Ouwejan gained five caps for the Netherlands under-17 team and took part with the under-19 team in the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He was utilised in all three of Netherland's games in the tournament, which was eliminated after the group stage.[10] He then gained eight caps for at under-20 level,[11] and made his debut for the Netherlands U21 team on 15 November 2016 in the 2017 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifier against Portugal in Doetinchem.[12]

References
  1. "Thomas Ouwejan - AZ". www.az.nl.
  2. "T. Ouwejan - Profile". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. "FC Utrecht na stunt tegen AZ in Europa League" (in Dutch). KNVB. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. "Feyenoord wint KNVB-beker mede dankzij prachtgoal Van Persie". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 22 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. "AZ Alkmaar-Mariupol". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. "Ouwejan baalt: 'Vorig jaar was ik nog de beste speler'". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 January 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. "Thomas Ouwejan è bianconero!". Udinese Calcio (in Italian). 3 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  8. "Ouwejan op huurbasis naar Udinese". AZ Alkmaar (in Dutch). 3 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. "Hellas Verona - Udinese 1-0". Udinese Calcio (in Italian). 27 September 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020. Al 67’ ci prova anche il neo entrato Ouwejan con una potente conclusione dal limite, Silvestri si distende e devia in corner.
  10. "Thomas Ouwejan - Jeugd mannen onder 17". onsoranje.nl (in Dutch). KNVB. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. "Thomas Ouwejan - Jeugd mannen onder 19". onsoranje.nl (in Dutch). KNVB. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  12. "Thomas Ouwejan - Jeugd mannen beloftenelftal". onsoranje.nl (in Dutch). KNVB. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

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