Wout Brama
Wout Brama (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌut ˈbraːmɐ]) (born 21 August 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for the FC Twente in the Eredivisie.[1]
Born in Almelo, Brama began his youth team at PH Almelo before moving to FC Twente in 1999.[2] After progressing through the Twente youth system, in which he was captain for both the youth team and the reserve team, he signed his first professional contract with the club in March 2005.[3] Later that year, he was promoted to the first team.[4]
Brama made his debut in the Eredivisie in the 2005–06 season for FC Twente, which came on as a second–half substitute, in a 2–0 loss against Roda JC in the opening game of the season.[5] Since making his FC Twente debut, Brama quickly established himself in the first team at a midfield position.[6] Despite being sidelined for five matches,[7] Brama finished his first season in the 2005–06 season, making 38 appearances in all competitions.
The 2006–07 season saw Fred Rutten appointed as a new manager. Under Rutten, Brama found himself out of the first team, with Orlando Engelaar, Karim El Ahmadi and Otman Bakkal preferred in the starting eleven at midfield instead and played in the reserve side.[8] Nevertheless, he extended his contract until 2008.[9] He made his European debut on 15 July 2006 in a UEFA Intertoto Cup match, playing 90 minutes, in a 1–0 loss against Kalmar; ultimately winning 3–1 in the second leg.[10][11] Throughout the 2006–07 season, Brama found himself in and out of the first team to fight for his first team place.[12]He went on to make a total of 23 appearances in all competitions at the end of the season.
In the 2007–08 season, Brama started the first two league matches against Excelsior and Utrecht, starting in the right–back position.[13] However, he soon lost it to Niels Wellenberg.[14] Brama spent the most of the season, coming on from the substitute bench.[15] It wasn't until on 16 February 2008 when he set up one of the goals, in a 2–1 win over Roda JC.[16] Then, on 23 March 2008, he come on as a late substitute and set up a winning goal for Eljero Elia, in a 2–1 win over Ajax.[17]At the end of the 2007–08 season, Brama went on to make a total of 30 appearances in all competitions.
After Rutten and El Ahmadi left the club in the summer of 2008, Steve McClaren was appointed as the new manager. Under McClaren, Brama soon received more playing time in the first team in the 2008–09 season.[18] Brama then made his UEFA Champions League debut in the play–offs round on 13 August 2008, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Arsenal; and also played again in the second leg, which saw them lose 4–0[19] He then started in every match since the opening game of the season against Roda JC, until he suffered a thigh injury in early November.[20] After returning from injury, Brama regained his first team place and then set up a goal for Blaise Nkufo, who later scored a hat–trick, in a 6–0 win over Heracles Almelo on 22 November 2008.[21] His performance resulted him signing a contract extension, keeping him until 2012, in February 2009.[22] Towards the end of the season, Brama helped the side reach the final of the KNVB Cup.[23] However, he didn't play in the final, as Twente went on to lose 5–4 in the penalty–shootout after playing in a 2–2 draw throughout the game.[24] Despite this, Brama went on to make 47 appearances in all competitions in the 2008–09 season.
