| Karim Ziani |
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Karim Ziani |
| Date of birth |
17 August 1982 (1982-08-17) (age 26) |
| Place of birth |
Sèvres, France |
| Height |
1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Playing position |
Midfielder |
| Club information |
| Current club |
Marseille |
| Number |
6 |
| Youth career |
| 1995–2001 |
RC Paris |
| Senior career1 |
| Years |
Club |
App (Gls)* |
2000–2005
2004–2005
2005-2006
2006–2007
2007– |
Troyes
→ Lorient (loan)
Lorient
Sochaux
Marseille |
64 (1)
24 (1)
37 (7)
36 (8)
45 (3) |
| National team2 |
| 2003– |
 Algeria |
40 (3) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of April 20, 2009.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of June 7, 2009.
* Appearances (Goals)
|
Karim Ziani (born 17 August 1982 in Sèvres) is an Algerian footballer who plays for Olympique de Marseille in Ligue 1.
[edit] Personal life
Ziani was born to Algerian parents, originally from Bejaia in the Kabylie region of Algeria[1].
[edit] International career
Ziani made his debut for the Algerian national team in 2003 when he was called up by Belgian caretaker George 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
[edit] 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]
[edit] Honours
[edit] Career
Last updated September 29, 2007
[edit] References
[edit] External links
