Rafik Saïfi

Rafik Saïfi was born on the 7 th February 1975 in Algiers. He is an Algerian international football player who is presently playing the r...

Rafik Saïfi was born on the 7^th February 1975 in Algiers. He is an Algerian international football player who is presently playing the role of a striker for the club, Amiens SC in the Championnat National.

source of picture: essalamonline.com

Club Career

Rafik Saïfi started his football career at CM Bordj El Kifane. It was with the club that got himself the nickname, Goal machine when he was 17 years of age. He went on to play for two other small clubs in the country, IRB Sougueur and IB Khémis El Khechna before he made his move to MC Alger in the home city. He assisted the club to win the Algerian ligue title before he made his move to France in the year 1999 at the age of 24.

He joined Troyes AC and played for the club for complete five seasons including the 2003/004 season when the club gained promotion to the Ligue 1 and he made a move to the newly promoted FC Istres in the year 2004. Rafik Saïfi played the total of 35 matches for the club before leaving the club when they were relegated again.

Rafik Saïfi joined AC Ajaccio in the year 2005, which was also a newly promoted club and the passed through relegation with the club, making it the third relegation in four years. Rafik Saïfi made another move to another newly promoted club, FC Lorient in the summer of the year 2006. He began his season with the club in good form, scoring four goals in four matches.

On the 8^th August 2009, Rafik Saïfi signed a new deal with Al Khor. It was a year deal. Rafik Saïfi scored his first goal for the club on the first match he played for the club, which was the match that was played against Al-Gharafa on the 12^th September 2009. On the 22^nd October 2009, Rafik Saïfi scored his second goal for the club in the match that was played against Al-Kharitiyath.

On the 23^rd January 2010, it was announced that the player will join FC Istres on a loan deal until the end of the season. He officially made a move to the club on the 2^nd February 2010.

He left the club and signed a deal with Amiens SC on the 4^th November 2010.

International Career

Rafik Saïfi played his first match for the Algerian national team on the 5^th June 1998 in a friendly match that was played against Bulgaria. He came into the match as a sub in the 65^th minute of the game. he scored his first international goal for the Algerian national team on the 28^th February 1999 in the 2000 African Cup of Nations qualifier match that was played against Liberia, as the game finished 1-1 draw. In the following game he played, Rafik Saïfi scored his second goal for the country against the same Liberia. It was a second leg match that finished 4-1 in favor of his country.

Rafik Saïfi was called by the Algerian national team coach, Nesser Sandjak to the national team of the country that took part in the 2000 African Cup of Nations in Ghana and Nigeria. He started the first game that was played by his country against DR Congo and was subbed in the 70^th minute of the match, as the match finished 0-0 draw. He played the second match of the country as a sub in the 77^th minute of the game as his country won the match that was played against Gabon, 3-1. He never played in the third group match of the country. He came into the match that was played against Cameroon in the quarter finals of the tournament as a sub in the 56^th minute of the game, as his country lost the match 2-1.

Rafik Saïfi was a member of the Algerian national team that played in the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali and he started in the entire three group match that were played against Nigeria, Liberia and Mali. Though his country could not make it out of the group stage of the competition, Rafik Saïfi performed well and was included in the team of the tournament.

Rafik Saïfi played his third African Cup of Nations for the Algerian national team in the year 2010, as he was included by the manager of the Algerian national team, Rabah Saadane in the team list for the competition in Angola. He started in the first game that was played by the country against Malawi as his country lost the game 3-0, though he was removed from the pitch on the 65^th minute of the game. He started in the second group match of the country against Mali on the bench; his country won the match 1-0. He was brought into the match in the 80^th minute of the game but he made little or no impact.

He clearly announced via the Tunisian TV Channel, Nessma that he was done with international football after the 2010 World Cup.

Rafik Saïfi played the total of 64 matches for the Algerian national team and scored the total of 18 goals for the country.