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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karim Ziani | ||
| Date of birth | 17 August 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Sèvres, France | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Wolfsburg | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2001 | RC Paris | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2005 | Troyes | 64 | (1) |
| 2004-2005 | → Lorient (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 2005-2006 | Lorient | 37 | (7) |
| 2006-2007 | Sochaux | 38 | (8) |
| 2007–2009 | Marseille | 62 | (9) |
| 2009– | Wolfsburg | 7 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003– | Algeria | 46 | (4) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:15, 12 October 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Karim Ziani (Arabic: كريم زياني) (born 17 August 1982 in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine) is an Algerian footballer who plays for VfL Wolfsburg in Bundesliga. He has the talent to play in different positions, although he is best known for being a midfielder.
Contents |
Personal life
Ziani was born to an Algerian father, originally from Bejaia in the Kabylie region of Algeria, and a french mother.[1]
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 $11 million. Karim scored his first goal with Marseille in a match against Valenciennes. He has since then become a familiar face in Eric Gerets' starting eleven.[2]
VfL Wolfsburg
It was announced on July the 7th 2009 that Karim Ziani had signed a four-year contract with the Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. Armin Veh the Wolfsburg coach had been a keen admirer of the player and was delighted to have obtained the player's services, in a statement released by the club's website Armin Veh said "I'm delighted we were able to sign Ziani, He fits in well with our team and will help us achieve our goals".[3]
International career
Ziani made his debut for the Algerian national team in 2003 when he was called up by Belgian caretaker Georges 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
International goals
- Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2006 | Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers |  Gambia |
1–0 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | 1 |
| 2 | 6 June 2008 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida |  Liberia |
3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) | 2 |
| 3 | 6 June 2008 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida | Liberia |
3–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) | 2 |
| 4 | 11 October 2009 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida |  Rwanda |
3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) | 1 |
Honours
- Member of 2004 African Nations Cup Top 11 team[4]
- DZFoot d'Or: 2004, 2005, 2006[5]
- 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
| Season | Club | Country | Championship | National cup | European cup | International  |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Goals | Played | Goals | Played | Goals | Played | Goals | |||
| 1995–2001 | RC Paris |  France |
Youth team training | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2001–02 | Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (L1) | France |
8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (L1) | France |
24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (L2) | France |
28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (L2) | France |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | FC Lorient (L2) | France |
24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | FC Lorient (L2) | France |
37 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (L1) | France |
36 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | Olympique de Marseille (L1) | France |
21àç- | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 + 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Last updated September 29, 2007
References
- ^ « Verts d'Europe : Ziani, le ticket gagnant » sur DZFoot.
- ^ "Algeria's Ziani joins Marseille". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/6252966.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ http://football.uk.reuters.com/bundesliga/news/L7287058.php
- ^ L’apport de la légion étrangère. L'Observateur Paalga - Jan 2004.
- ^ DZFoot d'Or 2006. DZfoot.com.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karim Ziani |
- Video report of Karim Ziani (2006–07 season) on video.lequipe.fr (French)
- Karim Ziani French league stats at lfp.fr (French)
- Karim Ziani FIFA competition record
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