Jan Wouters

For the Belgian legal scholar, see Jan Wouters (legal scholar).

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.

Jan Wouters

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(s)	Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1986	Utrecht	168	(21)
1986–1992	Ajax	150	(21)
1992–1994	Bayern Munich	66	(6)
1994–1996	PSV	52	(5)
Total		434	(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  Netherlands UEFA European Championship Winner 1988 West Germany 1992 Sweden
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Utrecht	1980–81	Eredivisie	19	1
	1981–82		33	4
	1982–83		27	6
	1983–84		31	4
	1984–85		25	1
	1985–86		33	5
	Total		168	21
Ajax	1986–87	Eredivisie	32	4
	1987–88		28	4
	1988–89		22	0
	1989–90		28	5
	1990–91		30	5
	1991–92		10	1
	Total		150	19
Bayern Munich	1991–92	Bundesliga	17	1	0	0	–		0	0	17	1
	1992–93		33	4	2	0	–		0	0	35	4
	1993–94		16	1	4	1	–		4	0	24	2
	Total		68	6
PSV	1993–94	Eredivisie	10	1	1	0	–		0	0	11	1
	1994–95		22	1	1	0	–		2	0	25	1
	1995–96		20	3	4	0	–		3	0	27	3
	Total		52	5	6	0	0	0	5	0	63	5
Career total			438	51

Honours

Utrecht

• KNVB Cup: 1984–85

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1989–90
• KNVB Cup: 1986–87
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1986–87
• UEFA Cup: 1991–92

Bayern Munich^[3]

• Bundesliga: 1993–94

PSV

• KNVB Cup: 1995–96

Netherlands

• UEFA European Championship: 1988

Individual

• Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1989–90
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1988^[4]
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1992–93^[5]

In popular culture

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.^[6]