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 7th 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 8th 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 12th September 2009. On the 22nd
October 2009, Rafik Saïfi scored his second goal for the club in the match that
was played against Al-Kharitiyath.
On the 23rd
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
2nd February 2010.
He left the club and
signed a deal with Amiens SC on the 4th November 2010.
International Career
Rafik Saïfi played his first match for the Algerian national team on the
5th June 1998 in a friendly match that was played against Bulgaria.
He came into the match as a sub in the 65th minute of the game. he
scored his first international goal for the Algerian national team on the 28th
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 70th minute of the match, as the match finished 0-0
draw. He played the second match of the country as a sub in the 77th
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 56th 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 65th 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 80th 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.
Honours
Club
Ø MC
Alger
·
Algerian Championnat National
§ Winner:
1998/99
Ø Troyes
AC
·
UEFA Intertoto Cup
§ Winner:
2001
Ø Amiens
SC
·
Championnat National
§ Runner-up:
2010/11
Individual
Ø DZFoot
d'Or – 2007
Ø DZFoot
d'Or – 2008
Ø Algerian
Ballon d’Or (Ballon d’Or El Haddaf)