# Abdeslam Ouaddou

Abdeslam Ouaddou (Arabic: عبدالسلام وادو; born 1 November 1978) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He also holds the French nationality.

## Club career

Ouaddou was born in Alnif, Morocco. He started his footballing career quite late, at the age of 21. In the summer of 2001, Ouaddou was signed by newly promoted Premier League club Fulham for £2 million, on a four-year contract. However, Ouaddou did not settle in England and spent the last two years of his contract on loan at Rennes, before joining the French club permanently once his contract expired.
In summer 2006, Ouaddou signed for Olympiacos. After disappointing appearances with the team, he was relegated to the bench. On 7 December 2006, he asked Olympiacos to release him free because he felt homesick and had some family problems. The club's directors agreed and Ouaddou will return to France.
On 1 January 2007, the opening day of the January transfer window, Ouaddou joined Valenciennes FC on a free transfer. After one season with the club however, he transferred to AS Nancy for a fee of £150,000. He was voted the club's best signing for the 2008–09 campaign.
On 30 June 2010, Ouaddou left Nancy after a dispute with the Ligue 1 outfit. He had a deal until 2012 but left after the club decided to sack him for gross misconduct, while the player wanted to cancel his contract.
In 2010, he played for Al-Duhail SC in the Qatar Stars League, eventually winning the league championship.
It was announced on 8 August 2011, that Qatar SC had signed him for a two-year deal. He commented on the move, stating "I'm more than pleased to have extended my stay in the Qatar Stars League and move to another big club". In 2013, he criticized employment conditions in Qatar, stating "When you work in Qatar you belong to someone. You are not free. You are a slave." In November 2012, he left Qatar SC.
On 1 January 2013, he signed a contract with his first professional club AS Nancy to close his career, but two weeks later he announced that he retired from professional football.

## International career

Between 2000 and 2009, Ouaddou made 58 appearances for the Morocco national team scoring three goals.

## Coaching career

On 11 January 2024 he was named AS Vita Club head coach.
Ouaddou, once captain of Morocco's national team, has faced accusations of betrayal and espionage after joining Algeria's national football team as an apprentice coach in 2020. This move ignited tensions amid the ongoing Western Sahara conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, leading to social media attacks branding him a "traitor" and racist insults. Ouaddou has cited a lack of response from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to his coaching requests as a factor in his decision, as well as his desire to learn alongside the "best African coach," Djamel Belmadi.

### International goals

    Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ouaddou goal.
List of international goals scored by Abdeslam Ouaddou :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 15 November 2003 | Stade d'Honneur, Meknes, Morocco | Burkina Faso | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 31 January 2004 | Stade Taïeb El Mhiri, Sfax, Tunisia | Benin | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2004 African Cup of Nations |
| 3 | 24 January 2008 | Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra, Ghana | Guinea | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations |

## Honours

Fulham
* UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002
Morocco
* Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2004