Lazhar Hadj Aïssa ( ar, لزهر الحاج عيسى) (born 23 March 1984 in

Batna Batna or BATNA may refer to: *Batna (city), Algeria *Batna Province, Algeria *Best alternative to a negotiated agreement In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA (no deal option) refers to the most advantageou ...

) is an Algerian professional football player who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for NRB Teleghma in the

Algerian Ligue 2 The Algerian Ligue 2, also called Ligue 2 , formerly known as Ligue Professionnelle 2 and Championnat National 2, is the second highest division overall in the Algerian football league system. It was professional from 2010 to 2020. History The ...

Personal

Hadj Aïssa is nicknamed "Baggio" because of his hair and his style of play's similarity to Italian legend

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...

Club career

MSP Batna

Hadj Aïssa started his playing career in 1994 with his hometown club

MSP Batna Mouloudia Sportive Populaire de Batna ( ar, المولودية الرياضية الشعبية باتنة), known as MSP Batna or simply MSPB for short, is an Algerian football club based in the city of Batna, Algeria. The club was founded on 196 ...

, starting with the youth sides and progressing to become one of the most talented players at the club. In the 2003–2004 season, he made his full debut for the club in the Algerian Second Division, with his performances on the pitch attracting loads of interest from various domestic clubs.

ES Sétif

In the summer of 2004, Hadj Aïssa joined

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 association football, football club based in Sétif. Th ...

and made 25 appearances, scoring 2 goals, in his first season. The following season, he made 28 appearances and scored 5 goals. On 10 June 2006, on the recommendation of

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the m ...

, Hadj Aïssa was offered a trial with Spanish club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. In his third season with the club, Hadj Aïssa helped ES Sétif win the 2006–2007 Algerian League, their first league title since 1987. He also played a crucial role in the team's triumph in the 2006–2007 edition of the

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by eli ...

and was named the ''Best Player'' of the competition. The following season, he helped the club win the

2007–08 Arab Champions League The 5th Edition of Arab Champions League 2007–08 The Format * Each federation enter with (1~2) teams from their top Leagues : – The teams must be one of the top 5 teams in the latest season, or Cup Champions/Runners-up. * The Number of t ...

. However, on the domestic front, the club could only manage a third-place finish. On 11 July 2008, it was announced that he was going on trial with Portuguese club Benfica. However, days later, he announced that he would not join the club because they were looking to loan him out. Two weeks later, he traveled to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

and signed with Metalist Kharkov but the club would not match the price tag set by ES Sétif president Abdelhakim Serrar. On 9 August 2009, Hadj Aïssa signed with

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

n club

Al-Ettifaq Al Ettifaq Football Club ( ar, نادي الاتفاق لكرة القدم) is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Al-Ettifaq was established after the merging of three clubs in the city of Dammam at the year 1944. Al Ettifaq ...

. However, a few days later, the contract was canceled after Al-Ettifaq faced financial difficulties and failed to pay the transfer fee to ES Sétif. On 24 August 2009, it was announced that he was going on trial with English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. He trained with the club until the end of the transfer window, on 31 September but did not end up signing because of work permit issues. Portsmouth had been keen on keeping him, but due to the administrative issues they were unable to do so. In 2010, he captained his side in the final of the

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup ( ar, كأس الجزائر) also known the Republic Cup ( ar, كأس الجمهورية), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after i ...

, in which they won 3–0.

Qadsia SC

On 15 August 2011, Hadj Aïssa signed a one-year contract with

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

club

Qadsia SC ) The Royal ( ar, الملكي) The Yellow Castle ( ar, القلعة الصفراء) , founded = as ''Al-Jazira'' , ground = Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium Hawalli , capacity = 26,000 , chairman = Khaled Fahad Al Sabah , manager = Boris ...

Statistics

Honours

Club

;

Algerian Championnat National The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 ( ar, الرابطة الجزائرية المحترفة الأولى لكرة القدم); known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat Natio ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09, Runner-up 2009–10 *

North African Cup of Champions The North African Cup of Champions was a tournament designed by the Union of North African Football (UNAF) that puts together the winners of the domestic leagues around North Africa. The tournament contains representatives from Algeria, Libya, M ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: 2009–10 *

North African Super Cup The North African Super Cup was an annual association football competition which was launched in 1931, It stopped in 1956, and it returned in 2010. It is organised by the Union of North African Football Federations. The Super Cup pits the winner ...

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 ...

North African Cup Winners Cup The North African Cup Winners Cup was a competition organised by the Federation of North African Football, that contains the winners of the domestic cups around North Africa. The competition contains representatives from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco ...

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and org ...

: Runner-up 2008–09 ;

Kuwait Emir Cup The Kuwait Amir/Emir Cup ( ar, كأس أمير الكويت) is a Kuwaiti football competition created in 1962. The Emir Cup, is the last football competition held in the Kuwaiti football season. It is considered the most valuable cup. Al Arabi ...

: 2011–12 *

: 2011–12

Awards

* Best player of the

in 2007 * Best young player of the Algerian League in 2005

References

External links

*
Lazhar Hadj Aïssa
at dzfoot.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadj Aissa, Lazhar 1984 births Living people Algerian footballers Algeria international footballers Chaoui people ES Sétif players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Algeria A' international footballers MSP Batna players Qadsia SC players Algeria under-23 international footballers 2011 African Nations Championship players Expatriate footballers in Kuwait Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Algerian expatriate footballers People from Batna, Algeria Algeria youth international footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Algerian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Sharjah FC players MC Alger players Al Safa FC players UAE First Division League players Saudi First Division League players Association football midfielders Kuwait Premier League players 21st-century Algerian people