Karim Ziani

Football player infobox
playername= Karim Ziani
fullname = Karim Ziani


height = height|m=1.69
weight = 66 kg
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|8|17|mf=y
cityofbirth = Sèvres
countryofbirth = France
currentclub = Marseille
clubnumber = 6
position = Midfielder
youthyears = 1995-2001
youthclubs = RC Paris
years = 2000–2005
2004–2005
2005-2006
2006–2007
2007-
clubs = Troyes
→ Lorient "(loan)"
Lorient
Sochaux
Marseile
caps(goals) = 64 (1)
24 (1)
37 (7)
36 (8)
21 (2)
nationalyears = 2003-
nationalteam = Algeria
nationalcaps(goals) = 38 (3)
pcupdate = May 18, 2007
ntupdate = September 6, 2008

Karim Ziani ( _ar. كريم زياني) (born August 17, 1982 in Sèvres, France) is an Algerian football player who is currently playing for Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1.

Personal life

He was born in Sèvres, France, on August 17 1982, of kabyle parents, originally come from Bejaia in the Kabylie region of Algeria [ [http://www.dzfoot.com/news.php?hot_id=2025 « "Verts d'Europe : Ziani, le ticket gagnant" »] sur DZFoot.] .

International career

Ziani made his debut for the Algerian national team in 2003 when he was called up by Belgian caretaker George Leekens for a friendly against Belgium. He was a member of the Algerian 2004 African Nations Cup team, who finished second in their group in the first round of competition before being defeated by Morocco in the quarter-finals. He was also named as the best player at his position in the 2004 African Nations Cup. Karim Ziani scored his first goal for Algeria against Gambia with a penalty in a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier, Algeria won 1-0. Ziani then added two more goals to his tally in a 2010 World Cup against Liberia. Algeria won the game 3-0

Club career

Ziani started his playing career in the junior ranks at RC Paris where he was spotted by scouts from Troyes. Ziani spent three seasons playing with Troyes' junior team before joining the first team. He subsequently spent two seasons playing in Ligue 1 before Troyes were relegated to Ligue 2. He spent the next season mostly on the bench for Troyes and in the summer of 2004 was loaned out to FC Lorient. In the next two seasons he would become Lorient's top player and would lead them to promotion to Ligue 1. He was voted as the top player in Ligue 2 for the 2005–06 season.

In the summer of 2006, he signed a three-year deal with FC Sochaux and reunited with his first coach at Troyes Alain Perrin.The following summer, Ziani saw increasing attention from other French clubs, namely Olympique de Marseille. This interest culminated on 29 June 2007, when news broke that Ziani had finalized his move to Marseille for a transfer fee of US$11 million.Karim scored his first goal with Marseille in a match against Valenciennes. He has since then become a familiar face in Albert Emon's starting eleven. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/6252966.stm|title=Algeria's Ziani joins Marseille|accessdate=2007-06-30|publisher=BBC Sport]

Honours

* Member of 2004 African Nations Cup Top 11 team [ [http://www.lobservateur.bf/Oarticlearchive.php3?id_article=234 L’apport de la légion étrangère] . L'Observateur Paalga - Jan 2004.]
* DZFoot d'Or: 2004, 2005, 2006 [ [http://www.dzfoot.com/dzfootor.php?hot_id=2068 DZFoot d'Or 2006] . DZfoot.com.]
* Top player in Ligue 2: 2005/2006 (FC Lorient)
* Algerian Ballon d’Or (Ballon d’Or El Haddaf): 2006, 2007
* Coupe de France: 2007 (FC Sochaux-Montbéliard)

Career

Last updated September 29 2007

References

External links

* [http://video.lequipe.fr/video/iLyROoaft3rj.html Video report of Karim Ziani (2006–07 season)] , on video.lequipe.fr.
*lfpfr|103211
*FIFA player|205717