Mourad Meghni

Mourad Meghni

Personal information
Date of birth	(1984-04-16) 16 April 1984
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current team	CS Constantine
Number	10
Youth career
1996–1999	Clairefontaine
1999–2000	Cannes
2000–2002	Bologna
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2007	Bologna	72	(11)
2005–2006	→ Sochaux (loan)	16	(0)
2007–2011	Lazio	48	(0)
2011–2012	Umm Salal	4	(0)
2012	→ Al-Khor (loan)	2	(0)
2012	Lekhwiya	4	(0)
2015–	CS Constantine	14	(3)
National team‡
2000–2001	France U17
2002–2003	France U19	9	(0)
2003–2005	France U21	7	(0)
2009–2010	Algeria	9	(0)
Honours Representing  France Men's Football 2001 Trinidad and Tobago Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, 21 March 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Mourad Meghni (Arabic: مراد مغني‎‎) (born 16 April 1984) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder who currently plays for Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 club CS Constantine. He can also play as a central midfielder. He is a player known for his excellent technique. As a young footballer in France, his ability and Algerian heritage earned him the nickname "petit Zidane".

Aged thirteen, Meghni joined the famous academy Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre, commonly referred to as Clairefontaine. He decided to leave the academy at the age of 16 and signed for Cannes, where he only remained for one season and opted to move on to Bologna, for whom he made his professional debut on 20 July 2002, against FC BATE in the Intertoto Cup, coming on as a substitute. ^[1] With Bologna, he came runner-up in the 2002 Intertoto Cup losing out to Fulham on aggregate 5–3. In the summer of 2007, Meghni signed with Lazio on a co-ownership deal for €5.75 million, with the club further paying Bologna an additional €1.92M for full ownership, in the summer of 2008. He won the 2008–09 Coppa Italia, as well as the 2009 Supercoppa Italiana whilst playing for Lazio.

Meghni is a former French youth international and was a part of the team that won the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship, held in Trinidad and Tobago. He opted to play for Algeria at senior level in August 2009, taking advantage of FIFA's new ruling, allowing him to change his national allegiance despite being older than 21 years of age. He made his debut for Algeria in a 1–0 win on 12 August 2009, against Uruguay.^[2] He went on to play for Algeria at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Early life

Meghni was born on 16 April 1984 in Paris to Ali and Anna, an Algerian father and a Portuguese mother. His father during an interview spoke about how Mourad had been attracted by football at a very early age and that he used to take him to football stadiums very often notably to encourage his older brother Saïd who preceded him on the football pitches. His father also spoke on how Mourad joined several football training schools at an early age including that of Tursi and FC Nantes in France where he made impressive and swift progress as a budding player. His mother stated during the interview that she had always made it her duty together with her husband to visit Algeria every year to get together with all the family members and friends in the family home of Ouled Hadadj.^[3][4]

At the age of 13 Meghni joined the national football school at Clairefontaine there he vastly improved his technique, prior to joining the academy Meghni always played on small pitches hence he learnt quickly the necessary skills and technique that would be needed when beating a man, whilst at Clairefontaine he had a Brazilian coach who helped him improve his technique which he is now known for. Meghni remained at the national football school at Clairefontaine for three years before moving to Cannes at the age of 16.^[5]

When he was 16, Meghni decided to leave the Clairefontaine academy and sign for Cannes, but due to financial problems Cannes were immediately relegated to amateur football. Meghni had an unsuccessful time at Cannes as he was usually on the substitute bench for the reserve team, but in the summer of 2000 he was snapped up by Bologna at the age of 16 on a free transfer. Meghni views his time at Cannes as a learning experience as he was very young when he signed for the club.^[6]

Club career

Bologna

As a youth player, Meghni moved from the renowned Clairefontaine academy to Bologna, where he played from the 2000–01 season to the 2004–05 season. He made his Serie A debut on 12 January 2003 in a 2–0 loss at home to Milan. Meghni then spent the 2005–06 season on loan to French Ligue 1 side Sochaux, before returning to Bologna.

While at Bologna, Meghni was never able to turn his talent into success and consistency, and as such was never a favourite among the fans. He made a statement following Bologna's relegation to Serie B, in which he declared he would never play in what he considered to be a sub-standard competition. He did spend a year in Serie B, his last at the club, where he was a regular for the entire season, yet only found the net twice.^[7]

Lazio

In the 2007–08 season, Meghni joined Lazio on a co-ownership deal for €5.75million. His early performances for the Biancocelesti were not impressive, and he failed to nail down a regular place in the line-up, only starting seven matches for the season. He did make his debut in the UEFA Champions League, setting up a crucial goal for Tommaso Rocchi, which gave the club their only win in the competition, at home to Werder Bremen.^[8][9] At the end of the season, Meghni was fully bought by Lazio from Bologna for another €1.92M,^[10] as part of the deal taking Gaby Mudingayi to the newly promoted team, which Mudingayi was sold for €7M. After the arrival of Matuzalém, and due to many injury's, Meghni became a backup player, and in December 2009 injured.^[11] His contract with Lazio was mutually terminated on 10 June 2011.^[12]

Umm Salal

After a four-year stint playing for the Rome-based club, Meghni joined the Qatar Stars League outfit Umm-Salal on 11 June 2011.^[13]

Al Khor

On 29 March 2012, it was announced Meghni would join Al Khor on a temporary loan.^[14]

Lekhwiya

On 6 July 2012, Meghni moved from Umm Salal to league rival Lekhwiya SC on a free transfer.^[15]

Statistics

International career

On 12 August 2009, Meghni was selected for the first time to join the ranks of the Algerian national football team, in a game facing Uruguay (Algeria won on a score of 1–0).^[16]

Meghni will not be in Algeria's final World Cup squad after being informed that his knee injury has not sufficiently healed and will require surgery despite the great lengths that both the player and the Fennecs medical team went to give him a chance of recovering in time.^[17]

Personal life

Meghni's father, Ammi Ali, is Algerian while his mother, Anna, is a Portuguese national.^[18] He is married.^[19] His older brother, Saïd Meghni, was also a footballer and played briefly in Portugal for Tirsense and Moreirense, in the 1999–2000 season, and then in Italy for Bologna's primavera team.^[20]

Honours

Club

Bologna F.C. 1909

• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Runner-up: 2002

S.S. Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2008–09
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2009

Country

France U-17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2001

References

External links

• Goal.com profile
• Mourad Meghni – FIFA competition record
• UEFA profile

Algeria squad – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Fourth Place
1 Ousserir 2 Bougherra 3 Belhadj 4 Yahia 5 Halliche 6 Mansouri 7 Bezzaz 8 Lemmouchia 9 Ghezzal 10 Saïfi 11 Raho 12 Babouche 13 Matmour 14 Laïfaoui 15 Ziani 16 Chaouchi 17 Zaoui 18 Bouazza 19 Yebda 20 Meghni 21 Ziaya 22 Abdoun 23 Zemmamouche Coach: Saâdane