Former Watford midfielder Nordin Amrabat made his 90th appearance in the Eredivisie this weekend. The 39-year-old Moroccan had played 89 games in the league by 2010, but has waited 16 years for his return to the Dutch top flight. Amrabat came off the bench for Utrecht as they beat FC Twente 2-1 on Sunday evening, and in the process he became the oldest outfield player to play for the Dutch side.
Amrabat left the Dutch top flight back in January 2011, having played a handful of seasons with PSV. He then went on to play in Türkiye and Spain before ending up in England with Watford. During one and a half seasons with Watford he played 48 games before leaving to join Al Nassr in 2018. After a few years in Greece with AEK Athens, Amrabat spent a few months with Hull City before joining Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca. Amrabat played 36 games for the club last season, but was out of contract this summer. He began training with Utrecht and earned a short term contract with the club. On Sunday he came off the bench to play 23 minutes for the club.
Utrecht have now won three of their last five games, with only one defeat in that span of games as well. The result means they now sit 11th in the Eredivisie but are certainly starting to trend in the right direction.