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Karim Ziani

 
Wikipedia: Karim Ziani
Karim Ziani
Karim Ziani 2.jpg
Personal information
Full name Karim Ziani
Date of birth 17 August 1982 (1982-08-17) (age 27)
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).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:35, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

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 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. Ziani was also the artist of the recent Algerian team performances during the final phase of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification together with 2010 African Cup of Nations. Algeria made three important victories; firstly at home with the score of 3-1 against the African champion Egypt, then won away against Zambia with the score of 0-2 while finally winning at home 3-1 against Rwanda

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

Career

Season Club Country Championship National cup European cup International Algeria
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

External links


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