Mourad Meghni

Mourad Meghni

Personal information
Full name	Mourad Meghni
Date of birth	16 April 1984 (1984-04-16) (age 27)
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club	Umm Salal
Number	23
Youth career
1996–1999	Clairefontaine
1999–2000	Cannes
2000–2002	Bologna
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2007	Bologna	72	(11)
2005–2006	→ Sochaux (loan)	16	(0)
2007–2011	Lazio	48	(0)
2011–	Umm Salal	1	(0)
National team‡
2000–2001	France U–17
2002–2003	France U–19	9	(0)
2003–2005	France U–21	7	(0)
2009–	Algeria	9	(0)
Honours Competitor for  France Men's Football Gold 2001 Trinidad and Tobago Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:00, 17 September 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:34, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Mourad Meghni (born 16 April 1984 in Paris, France) is an Algerian professional footballer. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder for the Qatari club Umm Salal Sport Club and the Algerian national team. He can also played as a central midfielder. He is a player known for his excellent technique, he is right-footed. As a young footballer in France, his ability earned him the nickname "petit Zidane".

Aged 13, Meghni joined the famous academy Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre (Fernand Sastre National Technical Centre), commonly referred to as Clairefontaine. He decided to leave the Clairefontaine academy at the age of 16 and signed for Cannes, where he only remained for one season and opted to move on to Bologna, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002, against FC BATE in the Intertoto Cup, coming on as a substitute.^[1] With Bologna, he came runner-up in the 2002 Intertoto Cup losing out to Fulham on aggregate 5–3. In the summer of 2007, Meghni signed with Lazio on a co-ownership deal for €5.75 million. He has so far won the 2008–09 Coppa Italia, as well as the Supercoppa Italiana in 2009 with Lazio.

Meghni is a former French youth international and was a part of the team that won the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship, held in Trinidad and Tobago alongside Hassan Yebda, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Anthony Le Tallec and Michaël Fabre. He opted to play for Algeria at senior level in August 2009, taking advantage of FIFA’s new ruling, allowing him to change his national allegiance despite being older than 21 years of age. He made his debut for Algeria in a 1-0 win on 12 August 2009, against Uruguay.^[2]

Early life

Meghni was born on 16 April 1984 in Paris to Ali and Anna, a father of Algerian origin and a Portuguese mother. His father during an interview spoke about how Mourad had been attracted by football at a very early age and that he used to take him to football stadiums very often notably to encourage his older brother Saïd who preceded him on the football pitches. His father also spoke on how Mourad joined several football training schools at an early age including that of Tursi and FC Nantes in France where he made impressive and swift progress as a budding player. His mother stated during the interview that she had always made it her duty together with her husband to visit Algeria every year to get together with all the family members and friends in the family home of Ouled Hadadj.^[3][4]

At the age of 13 Meghni joined the national football school at Clairefontaine there he vastly improved his technique, prior to joining the academy Meghni always played on small pitches hence he learnt quickly the necessary skills and technique that would be needed when beating a man, whilst at Clairefontaine he had a Brazilian coach who helped him improve his technique which he is now known for. Meghni remained at the national football school at Clairefontaine for three years before moving to Cannes at the age of 16.^[5]

When he was 16, Meghni decided to leave the Clairefontaine academy and sign for Cannes, but due to financial problems Cannes were immediately relegated to amateur football. Meghni had an unsuccessful time at Cannes as he was usually on the substitute bench for the reserve team, but in the summer of 2000 he was snapped up by Bologna at the age of 16 on a free transfer. Meghni views his time at Cannes as a learning experience as he was very young when he signed for the club.^[6]

Club career

Bologna

As a youth player, Meghni moved from the renowned Clairefontaine academy to Bologna, where he played from the 2000–01 season to the 2004–05 season. He made his Serie A debut on January 12, 2003 in a 2–0 loss at home to Milan. Meghni then spent the 2005–06 season on loan to French Ligue 1 side Sochaux, before returning to Bologna.

While at Bologna, Meghni was never able to turn his talent into success and consistency, and as such was never a favourite among the fans. He made a statement following Bologna's relegation to Serie B, in which he declared he would never play in what he considered to be a sub-standard competition. He did spend a year in Serie B, his last at the club, where he was a regular for the entire season, yet only found the net twice.^[7]

Lazio

In the 2007–08 season, Meghni joined Lazio on a co-ownership deal for €5.75million. His early performances for the Biancocelesti were not impressive, and he failed to nail down a regular place in the lineup, only starting seven matches for the season. He did make his debut in the UEFA Champions League, setting up a crucial goal for Tommaso Rocchi, which gave the club their only win in the competition, at home to Werder Bremen.^[8][9] At the end of the season, Meghni was fully bought by Lazio from Bologna for another €1.92M,^[10] as part of the deal taking Gaby Mudingayi to the newly promoted team, which Mudingayi was sold for €7M. After the arrival of Matuzalém, and due to many injury's, Meghni became a backup player, and in December 2009 injured.^[11] His contract with Lazio was mutually terminated on 10 June 2011.^[12]

Umm Salal

After a four-year stint playing for the Rome-based club, Meghni joined the Qatar Stars League outfit Umm-Salal on 11 June 2011.^[13]

Statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
2002–03	Bologna	Serie A	8	2	-		-		3	0	11	2
2003–04			12	0	2	0	-		-		14	0
2004–05			17	3	1	0	-		-		18	3
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2005–06	Sochaux	Ligue 1	16	0	1	0	1	0	-		18	0
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
2006–07	Bologna	Serie B	35	2	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
2007–08	Lazio	Serie A	19	0	1	0	-		4	0	24	0
2008–09			22	0	3	1	-		-	-	25	1
2009–10			7	0	-		-		4	1	11	1
2010–11			-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
Total	Italy		120	7	7	1	-		11	1	-	-
Total	France		16	0	1	0	1	0	-		18	0
Career total			136	7	8	1	1	0	11	1	-	-

International career

On August 12, 2009, Meghni was selected for the first time to join the ranks of the Algerian national football team, in a game facing Uruguay (Algeria won on a score of 1–0).^[14]

Meghni will not be in Algeria’s final World Cup squad after being informed that his knee injury has not sufficiently healed and will require surgery despite the great lengths that both the player and the Fennecs medical team went to in order to give him a chance of recovering in time.^[15]

Personal life

Meghni's father, Ammi Ali, is of Algerian Origin while his mother, Anna, is a Portuguese national.^[16] He is married.^[17]

Honours

Club

Bologna F.C. 1909

• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Runner-up: 2002

S.S. Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2008–09
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2009

Country

France U-17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2001

References

1. ^ http://www.fcbate.by/archive_eurocup.php?lang=en&what=games&season=2002/2003
2. ^ http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2009/08/04/1420594/algeria-call-up-lazios-mourad-meghni-for-uruguay-friendly
3. ^ ""Echorouk" pays a courtesy visit to Meghni's parents in Ouled Hadadj". Echorourk. 2009-12-08. http://www.echoroukonline.com/eng/index.php?news=8532. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
4. ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=14193&cc=null
5. ^ http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/under19/news/kind=1/newsid=82921.html
6. ^ http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under19/news/kind=1/newsid=82921.html
7. ^ http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=326824.html
8. ^ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/clubs/player=58896/profile/index.html
9. ^ http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=69714.html
10. ^ "Bilancio intermedio consolidato 31/12/2008 [Half=Year Report on 31 December 2008]" (in Italian). SS Lazio. 2009-02-27. http://www.sslazio.it/cms/view/home/societa_/investor_relator/comunicati/bilancio_intermedio_consolidato_31_12_2008/s145/c2362. Retrieved 2010-06-18. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Infermeria" (in Italian). SS Lazio. 2010-02-10. http://www.sslazio.it/cms/view/home/news/archivio/elenco_news/infermeria/s152/c3401. Retrieved 2010-06-13. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "COMUNICATO" (in Italian). SS Lazio. 10 June 2011. http://www.sslazio.it/news/news/1-news/1568-comunicato.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
13. ^ "Umm-Salal engage Meghni". official website (Qatar Football Association). 12 June 2011. http://www.qfa.com.qa/umm-salal-engage-meghni.aspx. Retrieved 13 July 2011. 
14. ^ "L'Algérie gagne face à l'Uruguay 1–0" (in French). FAF. 2009-08-12. http://www.faf.org.dz/algerie-uruguay120809.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ "World Cup 2010: Mourad Meghni To Miss Out On South Africa Trip Due To Injury". Goal. 2010-05-25. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/140/world-cup-2010/2010/05/25/1941377/world-cup-2010-mourad-meghni-to-miss-out-on-south-africa. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
16. ^ ""Echorouk" pays a courtesy visit to Meghni's parents in Ouled Hadadj". Echorourk. 2009-12-08. http://www.echoroukonline.com/eng/index.php?news=8532. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
17. ^ "Stars of the national football and Ramadan". Ennahar. 2009-08-19. http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/sports/1839.html. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 

External links

• Goal.com profile
• Mourad Meghni – FIFA competition record
• UEFA profile

Persondata
Name	Meghni, Mourad
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	16 April 1984
Place of birth	Paris, France
Date of death
Place of death