Music: {allcanada} Whitecaps bring Akloul back

Thursday, March 31, 2011

{allcanada} Whitecaps bring Akloul back

VANCOUVER -- The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed centre back Mouloud Akloul to a Major League Soccer contract, the team said Thursday.

Akloul, 28, played for Vancouver last year in the United States Soccer Federation D-3 League. His season was cut short when he fractured his left ankle after scoring the match winner in his Vancouver debut on April 24.

The injury resulted in the native of Lorient, France, playing just two games for Vancouver last year.

Whitecaps coach Teitur Thordarson is pleased with Akloul's recovery.

"We know Mouloud has many qualities as a centre back, but his determination to get himself fit again just shows how strong of a character he is," Thordarson said in a release.

"I'm very much looking forward to working with him this season."

Prior to coming to Vancouver, the six-foot-two, 185-pound defender started his career with FC Lorient Bretagne Sud in France. He then spent two seasons with Vannes Olympique Club.

Akloul went on to play in Algeria with Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie and Mouloudia Olympique de Bejaia. He then moved to the Middle East when he joined Al-Ittihad Kalba of the second-tier United Arab Emirates Football League Division 1 for the 2008-09 season.