Karim Koceila Yanis Ziani ( ar, كريم زياني; born 17 August 1982) is an Algerian former 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 ...

. He played in different

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

positions but was best known as a playmaker. He is now the sporting director of

JS Kabylie Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (in ar, شبيبة القبائل), ( Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqbayel, In Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⴻⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ), known as JS Kabylie or JSK, is an Algerian professi ...

. Ziani is considered a national hero by many Algerians as it was his cross that led to the goal that put Algeria into their first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

since 1986 at the expense of bitter rivals

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He played at the 2004 and

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...

, the latter in which Algeria finished fourth and 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 ...

in South Africa. Overall, he participated in 62 official matches for the Algerian national team and scored five goals.

Club career

Ziani began his football career in 1995 with the junior side of

Racing Club de Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spo ...

at the age of 13.

Troyes

In 1998, Ziani was spotted by scouts from

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

and was subsequently brought into their youth academy. Playing for the youth team there garnered a significant amount of keen admirers interested in him, including the likes of

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

and

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. In 2001, having spent three seasons playing with the youth team and because of the level of interest, the president of Troyes offered Ziani a five-year deal, which in turn was his first professional contract. With Ziani agreeing to a five-year deal, he was immediately promoted to the senior squad by

Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (born 7 October 1956) is a French professional football manager and former player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes, whom he took from the fourth tier to Ligue 1 and UEFA Cup qualification by winni ...

at the age of 17 and was assigned the number 17 shirt. He made his professional debut on 8 December 2001 against

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 ...

coming on as a substitute, replacing

David Hamed David Hamed (born 2 August 1974 in Marseille) is a French former professional footballer. He last played in the Championnat National as a defender for Amiens SC. He also holds Algerian citizenship. Hamed played at the professional level in ...

in the 72nd minute. After making a few substitute appearances, he made his first start on 3 March 2002 in a 1–0 loss to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, playing the entire match, adding up to a total of eight in the 2001–02 season. He became a regular in the 2002–03 season as he participated in a total of 24 games. After subsequently spending two seasons playing for Troyes in Ligue 1, the club was relegated to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

at the end of the 2002–03 season. Whilst in Ligue 2, during the 2003–04 season, Ziani played 28 games in total and scored his first professional goal against

FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy. The club was formed in 1899 and currently plays in Championnat National 2, the fourth level of French foot ...

, in the 9th minute with the score ending 3–0. He spent the following season mostly on the bench for Troyes and with interest from other clubs being shown, Troyes had decided to part ways with Ziani. Turkish club Rivaspor had made a bid but could not negotiate a contract with Ziani, as Ziani had put in a condition which Rivaspor rejected. Ziani revealed the condition merely as having

Madjid Bougherra Madjid Bougherra ( ar, مجيد بوقرة, lit=, links=, translit=; born 7 October 1982) is an Algerian football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the manager of the Algeria A' national team. Bougherra began his p ...

have a trial with the club to display his qualities as they had both travelled to Turkey and Ziani would have liked a compatriot with him at the club as he was only 19 at the time. When Rivaspor rejected the condition, both Ziani and Bougherra left Turkey together.

Lorient

In the summer of 2004, Ziani was loaned out to

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 ...

. In the next two seasons he would become

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

's top player and would lead them to promotion to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

. He was voted as the top player in

for the 2005–06 season.

Sochaux

In the summer of 2006, Ziani signed a three-year deal with

FC Sochaux FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

and reunited with his first coach at Troyes

. While at Sochaux he played as they won the

2007 Coupe de France Final The 2007 Coupe de France Final was a football match held at Stade de France, Saint-Denis on 12 May 2007, that saw FC Sochaux-Montbéliard defeat Olympique de Marseille in a penalty shoot-out. After normal time and extra time could not separa ...

. The game finished 2–2 and went to penalties, and he scored his penalty in the shootout as his side emerged victorious.

Marseille

The following summer, Ziani saw increasing attention from other French clubs, namely

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

. 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 became a familiar face in Eric Gerets' starting eleven.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 7 July 2009, it was announced that Ziani had signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga champions

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

. During December 2010 and January 2011, a number of clubs showed interest in signing Ziani, these were Newcastle United,

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

, Everton, and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

. On 14 January 2011, it was reported that Ziani had moved to Turkish high-flyers Kayserispor on an initial six-month loan deal, with an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season. On 8 July 2011, Wolfsburg and Ziani reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract.

El Jaish

On 20 July 2011, Ziani signed a three-year contract with

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

i club El Jaish. On 18 September 2009, Ziani made his Qatar Stars League debut for El Jaish as a starter in a league game against Al Khor. Although he failed to find the net in his first season, he finished the 2011–12 season as the top assistant with 13 assists.

Orléans

Ziani spent three seasons at

Ligue The Catholic League of France (french: Ligue catholique), sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Catholics as the Holy League (), was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke o ...

club

US Orléans Union Sportive Orléans Loiret Football (; commonly referred to as US Orléans or simply Orléans) is a French association football club based in Orléans. The club was founded in 1976 and currently play in Championnat National after being relega ...

, scoring nine goals in 92 matches. In summer 2019, Ziani ended his 18-year career at the age of 36.

International career

Ziani had stunned many people in 2003 in his choice to represent Algeria instead of France. Ziani made his debut for the Algerian national team in 2003 when he was called up by Belgian caretaker

Georges Leekens Georges Leekens (born 18 May 1949) is a Belgian football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of four national teams: the Belgian, Tunisian, Algerian and Hungarian national football teams. He also managed ...

for a friendly against Belgium. He represented Algeria at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations, as they finished second in their group before losing to Morocco in the quarter-finals. He was also named in that year's Team of the Tournament. Ziani scored his first goal in a 1–0 win against

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

in the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification This page details the process of qualifying for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. Qualified teams The 16 qualified teams were: * as hosts. * as group 1 winner. * as group 2 winner. * as group 3 winner. * as group 4 winner. * as group 5 winner. * a ...

phase. He then added two more goals to his tally in a 3–0 win against

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as Algeria advanced to the final tournament in South Africa. He also performed well at the

Style of play

Though diminutive in stature, Ziani more than makes up for his lack of physicality with his outstanding technique and never-say-die spirit.

Personal life

Ziani was born in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

, France to an Algerian father from

Béjaïa Béjaïa (; ; ar, بجاية‎, Latn, ar, Bijāya, ; kab, Bgayet, Vgayet), formerly Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean port city and commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Béjaïa is ...

and a French mother. Ziani is married and has two children: a girl, Lina and a boy, Kaïs. Ziani has a twin sister by the name of Karima who is married to fellow Algerian international

Antar Yahia Antar Yahia ( ar, عنتر يحيى; born 21 March 1982) is a retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Yahia is a former French youth international having earned caps for both the under-16 and under-18 youth teams for a bri ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ziani goal.''

Honours

Sochaux *

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 ...

: 2007 VfL Wolfsburg * DFL-Supercup: runners-up 2009 El Jaish *

Qatari Stars Cup The Qatari Stars Cup is a Qatari football competition played during the Qatar Stars League season known as Ooredoo Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The knockout competition, which involves a round-robin league structure, was first started in 2009 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Algeria * Africa Cup of Nations fourth place:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Individual * Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2004 *

DZFoot d'Or The DZFoot d'Or is a football award, created in 2000 by the Algerian football website DZFoot.com, the leading source of Algerian football news. The award is given annually to the Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthograph ...

: 2004, 2005, 2006DZFoot d'Or 2006
. DZfoot.com. * Ligue 2 Player of the Year: 2006 (FC Lorient) * Ligue 2 Team of the Year: 2005–06 (FC Lorient) * Algerian Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2007

References

External links

Video report of Karim Ziani (2006–07 season) on video.lequipe.fr
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziani, Karim 1982 births Living people People from Sèvres Footballers from Hauts-de-Seine French sportspeople of Algerian descent Algerian people of French descent Kabyle people French people of Kabyle descent French footballers Algerian footballers Association football midfielders Racing Club de France Football players ES Troyes AC players FC Lorient players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Olympique de Marseille players VfL Wolfsburg players Kayserispor footballers Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players El Jaish SC players Fujairah FC players Ajman Club players FC Petrolul Ploiești players US Orléans players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players Qatar Stars League players Liga I players UAE Pro League players Algerian expatriate footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate footballers in Germany Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Turkey Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Qatar Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate footballers in Romania Algeria youth international footballers Algeria under-23 international footballers Algeria international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Algerian twins Twin sportspeople French twins