Ryad Boudebouz ( ar, رياض بودبوز; born 19 February 1990) is a professional
footballer who plays for
Saudi First Division League
The First Division League (FDL for short), also called the Yelo league for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia. The First Division League is ranked below the Saudi Professional League and above the Sau ...
club
Al-Ahli. Mainly an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, he can also play as a
right winger.
A former
France youth international, Boudebouz switched his allegiance to Algeria in 2010. He played for the
Algeria national team at the
2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
and the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...
. In total, Boudebouz scored two goals in twenty-five matches for Algeria from 2010 to 2017.
Club career
Born in
Colmar to
Algeria
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, map_caption =
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, capital = Algiers
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, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
n parents, Boudebouz grew up in the 'Europe' district of the city. At age 10, he joined the junior ranks of local side
Colmar where he stayed until age 14 when he joined
Sochaux
Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Geography
Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris.
Population
Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''.
Economy
S ...
's youth academy. Boudebouz made his debut for the club's reserve side at the age of 16. On 15 May 2008, Boudebouz signed his first professional contract with the club agreeing to a three-year deal tying him to the club until 2011.
On 4 October 2008, Boudebouz made his first team debut for Sochaux, starting in a league match against
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
. On 8 November 2008, he scored his first career goal, the winner in a 2–1 victory against
Le Mans.
On 2 September 2013 - the last day of the 2013–14 summer transfer window - Boudebouz signed a three-year contract with
Corsica-based club
SC Bastia
Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...
, for a reported fee of €1 million.
After two seasons in Corsica, Boudebouz joined
Montpellier with a four-year contract, as part of a deal that saw
Yassine Jebbour join the Corsican team.
In January 2019, Boudebouz was loaned to
Celta from
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...
.
On 27 July 2019, Boudebouz signed a three-year deal to join
Ligue 1 side
Saint-Étienne which was reportedly worth €4 million. On 6 March 2020, he scored a stoppage time winner for Saint-Etienne in the
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
semi-final to send the club into their first final in nearly 40 years.
On 8 September 2022, Boudebouz joined Saudi Arabian club
Al-Ahli on a free transfer.
International career
Boudebouz received a surprise call-up to the
France under-21 squad, who were looking to start fresh after their elimination from the
2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 compe ...
, for a friendly against
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
. However, Ryad decided to pass on the offer instead opting to play with the
under-19 team who were in the process of qualifying for the
2009 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, in which they later progressed.
On 4 May 2010, Boudebouz was named to the
Algeria national team 2010 World Cup preliminary squad. Boudebouz had been in the process of acquiring a passport to represent the nation of his parents since 2009. On 28 May 2010, Boudebouz made his debut for Algeria in a friendly against the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. Starting the game on the bench, he was substituted in at the 65th minute. He was included in the final 23-man squad for the World Cup.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
:''Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first.''
Honours
Saint-Étienne
*
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
runner-up:
2019–20
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudebouz, Ryad
1990 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Colmar
Chaoui people
French sportspeople of Algerian descent
French footballers
Algerian footballers
Association football midfielders
Ligue 1 players
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players
SC Bastia players
Montpellier HSC players
AS Saint-Étienne players
La Liga players
Real Betis players
RC Celta de Vigo players
Saudi First Division League players
Al-Ahli Saudi FC players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
2013 Africa Cup of Nations players
Algeria international footballers
France youth international footballers
Algerian expatriate footballers
Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Footballers from Alsace
French expatriate footballers
French expatriate sportspeople in Spain