Kheireddine "Kiko" Zarabi (born 18 July 1984) is an Algerian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
.
Club career
Born in
Hussein Dey District
Hussein Dey is a district in Algiers Province, Algeria. It was named after the Ottoman provincial ruler of the Regency of Algiers.
He had installed his country house near the beaches of the suburb of Algiers. On the shores of Hussein Dey had fa ...
,
Algiers, Zarabi started his career at age 10 with IRB Ouargla. When he turned 13 his family returned to live in the capital, and he joined
NA Hussein Dey
Nasr Athlétique de Hussein Dey ( ar, نصر حسين داي), known as NA Hussein Dey or NAHD for short, is an Algerian football club based in Hussein Dey, Algiers. The club was founded in 1947 and its colours are red and yellow. Their home ...
first before leaving to
RC Kouba
Raed Chabab Kouba (), known as RC Kouba or simply RCK for short, is an Algerian football club based in Kouba, a district of Algiers. The club was founded in 1945 and its colours are green and white. Their home stadium, Mohamed Benhaddad Stadi ...
two years later; he made his senior debut with the latter in 2002, remaining three seasons with the club.
In May 2005, Zarabi went on trial with French
Ligue 2 side
FC Lorient
Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in we ...
. However, nothing came of it, and he returned to his homeland where he successively represented
ES Sétif
Entente Sportive Sétifienne ( ar, الوفاق الرياضي السطايفي), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in ...
and
CR Belouizdad.
Zarabi signed a two and a half year contract with
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's
Turun Palloseura
Turun Palloseura, commonly known as TPS, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland. During the 2022 season, the men's first team of the club competes in Ykkönen, the second highest tier of men's football, and the women's repre ...
in late 2007. On 19 January 2009, he moved to Portugal where he would remain the following years, with
C.F. Os Belenenses
Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...
,
Vitória de Setúbal
Vitoria or Vitória may refer to :
People
* Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian
* Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer
* Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer
* Steven Vitória ...
,
Leixões S.C.
Leixões Sport Club, commonly known as Leixões (), is a Portuguese sports club from Matosinhos. It is organised into several departments for many sports, such as football, boxing, karate, volleyball, swimming and billiards. It is most well kno ...
and
F.C. Arouca, the first two teams in the
Primeira Liga and the other in the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
.
In his
second season with Arouca, Zarabi contributed 14 matches and two goals as the
Aveiro District club reached the top flight for the first time in its history. A brief spell in the French
Ligue 2 with
Nîmes Olympique
Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, ...
notwithstanding, he continued competing in the Portuguese second tier until his retirement, with
C.F. União,
S.C. Covilhã
Sporting Clube da Covilhã, commonly known as just Sporting da Covilhã, is Portuguese association football, football club from the city of Covilhã that plays in the second-tier Liga Portugal 2. The club was founded in 1923. Their nickname is the ...
and
C.D. Cova da Piedade
Clube Desportivo Cova da Piedade is a football club established in the parish of Cova da Piedade, municipality of Almada, Portugal.
History
Clube Desportivo Cova da Piedade was founded on 28 January 1947, resulting from the merge between União ...
.
International career
During his time at Kouba, Zarabi was a regular member of the
Algeria under-23 team and participated in various tournaments, most notably the
2005 Mediterranean Games.
Personal life
Zarabi's father, Abdelaziz, was also a footballer and a
full Algerian international. His older brother,
Abderraouf, also a defender, also played with Hussein Dey and in Finland.
Football / Ligue 2: Hermach quitte Nîmes Olympique, Kheireddine Zarabi arrive (Football / League 2: Hermach leaves Nîmes Olympique, Kheireddine Zarabi arrives)
Midi Libre
''Midi Libre'' () is a French daily newspaper in Montpellier that covers general news. It began publication in 1944.
Since 1949, the newspaper has organised a cycling stage race, the Grand Prix du Midi Libre.
References
External links
W ...
, 29 December 2015 (in French)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarabi, Kheireddine
1984 births
Living people
People from Hussein Dey (commune)
21st-century Algerian people
Algerian footballers
Men's association football defenders
Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players
RC Kouba players
ES Sétif players
CR Belouizdad players
Veikkausliiga players
Turun Palloseura footballers
Primeira Liga players
Liga Portugal 2 players
C.F. Os Belenenses players
Vitória F.C. players
Leixões S.C. players
F.C. Arouca players
C.F. União players
S.C. Covilhã players
C.D. Cova da Piedade players
Ligue 2 players
Nîmes Olympique players
Algeria men's under-23 international footballers
Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games competitors for Algeria
Algerian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Finland
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
Expatriate footballers in France
Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Algerian expatriate sportspeople in France