| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Abdelhak Nouri | ||
| Date of birth | 2 April 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2015 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Jong Ajax | 45 | (11) |
| 2015–2017 | Ajax | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 54 | (11) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012 | Netherlands U15 | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Netherlands U16 | 2 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Netherlands U17 | 12 | (5) |
| 2014 | Netherlands U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Netherlands U19 | 19 | (9) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 June 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 July 2016 | |||
Abdelhak ″Appie″ Nouri (born 2 April 1997) is a retired Dutch professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax. Nouri operated primarily as an attacking midfielder, but could also be deployed as a winger.
In July 2017, during a match, Nouri collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack, which left him with severe and permanent brain damage.[1] Despite his condition, Nouri was listed as a member of the Ajax first team squad ahead of the 2017–18 season.[2]
Nouri was born in Amsterdam, and is of Moroccan descent.[3] He made his name as a footballer largely in his youth, attracting attention from multiple publications as a future star. He was named as one of the best 40 youth players by The Guardian in 2014, before he made his professional debut.[4]
Nouri is a youth exponent from the academy at Ajax. He made his professional debut for the reserve side, Jong Ajax, on 13 March 2015, in a Eerste Divisie game against VVV Venlo, replacing Danny Bakker after 78 minutes in a 1–0 loss.[5]
On 21 September 2016, Nouri made his official first-team debut in a KNVB Cup match against Willem II, and scored a goal. His exploits throughout the season for Jong Ajax saw him being gifted the Player of the Season award for the 2016–17 season, as well as a promotion to the first team.[6]
On 8 July 2017, Nouri collapsed during a friendly match against Werder Bremen, due to cardiac arrhythmia. He was taken to the hospital by a trauma helicopter, and his condition was announced as stable.[7][8] Five days later, however, Ajax reported that Nouri had suffered severe and permanent brain damage as a direct result of the incident.[9] Nouri eventually left intensive care on 25 July 2017, being able to breathe unaided, but will not be able to play football again.[10] In June 2018, Ajax announced an investigation had found that the medical treatment Nouri received on the field was "inadequate".[11] In August 2018, he came out of a year long coma with Nouri said to be able to recognise and communicate with members of his family by moving his mouth and eyebrows.[12]