Jan Wouters

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Jan Wouters
JanWouters.jpg
Personal information
Full name Jan Jacobus Wouters
Date of birth (1960-07-17) 17 July 1960 (age 65)
Place of birth Utrecht, Netherlands
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980–1986 Utrecht 168 (21)
1986–1992 Ajax 150 (21)
1992–1994 Bayern Munich 66 (6)
1994–1996 PSV 52 (5)
Total434(55)
International career
1982–1994 [1] Netherlands 70 (4)
Managerial career
1996–1997 Utrecht (assistant)
1997 Utrecht (caretaker)
1997–1998 Ajax (youth)
1998–2000 Ajax
2001–2006 Rangers (assistant)
2006–2007 PSV (assistant)
2007 PSV (caretaker)
2008–2009 PSV (assistant)
2009–2011 Utrecht (assistant)
2011–2014 Utrecht
2015 Kasımpaşa (caretaker)
2015–2018 Feyenoord (assistant)
2021 Fortuna Sittard (assistant)
2022-present Ajax youth (assistant)
Medal record
Representing Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1988 West Germany
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1992 Sweden
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

Contents

Career

Wouters played for several clubs including PSV, Utrecht, Bayern Munich and Ajax. 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.

He was a coach of Scottish Premier League club Rangers under Dick Advocaat and then Alex McLeish. 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

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [2]
ClubSeasonLeague [2] National CupOtherContinental [3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Utrecht 1980–81 Eredivisie 19120211
1981–82 314822 [a] 0436
1982–83 276101 [a] 0296
1983–84 31421335
1984–85 25161312
1985–86 335102 [b] 0365
Total166 [2] 21 [2] 2045 [3] 0 [3] 19325
Ajax 1986–87 Eredivisie324709 [b] 1485
1987–88 284102 [c] 07 [b] 0364
1988–89 221401 [a] 0270
1989–90 287412 [a] 1347
1990–91 30521 [d] 326
1991–92 1124 [a] 0141
Total [4] 151 [2] 23 [2] 1822023 [3] 2 [3] 19423
Bayern Munich 1991–92 Bundesliga 171171
1992–93 33420354
1993–94 161414 [a] 0242
Total6866140767
PSV 1993–94 Eredivisie10110111
1994–95 221102 [a] 0251
1995–96 203403 [a] 0273
Total52 [2] 5 [2] 605 [3] 0 [3] 635
Career total437555072037252460
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Super Cup
  4. Ajax suspended for playing European football as a result of the iron rod incident in the previous season

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [5]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 198210
198300
198400
198500
198670
198730
1988101
198952
1990110
199160
1992131
199370
199470
Total704
Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wouters goal.
List of international goals scored by Jan Wouters [5]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
124 May 1988 Rotterdam, NetherlandsFlag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 1–01–2 Friendly
24 January 1989 Tel Aviv, IsraelFlag of Israel.svg  Israel 1–02–0Friendly
36 September 1989 Amsterdam, NetherlandsFlag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 2–02–2Friendly
425 March 1992Amsterdam, NetherlandsFlag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia 2–02–0Friendly

Honours

Utrecht

Ajax

Bayern Munich [6]

PSV

Netherlands

Individual

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. [9]

References

  1. Stokkermans, Karel (16 January 2009). "Jan Wouters - International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Jan Wouters - speler Eredivisie". voetbalstats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jan Wouters - Europese wedstrijden Nederlandse clubs". voetbalstats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  4. "Jan Wouters bij Ajax" [Jan Wouters at Ajax]. afc-ajax.info (in Dutch).
  5. 1 2 "Jan Wouters – Interlands Nederlands elftal". voetbalstats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  6. "Jan Wouters" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  7. "UEFA 1988 Team of the Tournament". UEFA . Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  8. "Bundesliga Historie 1992/93" (in German). kicker. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  9. Weekend Update ft. Michael Longfellow, James Austin Johnson and Devon Walker - SNL, 6 February 2023, retrieved 6 February 2023