 Halliche withAlgeria in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rafik Halliche[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-09-02)2 September 1986 (age 39)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Algiers, Algeria[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2000 | CREPS Ben Aknoun | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2005 | NA Hussein Dey | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | NA Hussein Dey | 45 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Benfica | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | →Nacional (loan) | 34 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Fulham | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Académica | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Qatar SC | 43 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Estoril | 23 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Moreirense | 31 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 206 | (9) | |||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Algeria U23 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2019 | Algeria | 41 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 July 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:55, 9 September 2022 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Rafik Halliche (Arabic:رفيق حليش; born 2 September 1986) is an Algerian former professionalfootballer who played as acentral defender.
He started playing in 2005 withHussein Dey, going on to spend the vast majority of his career in Portugal. He also had spells in England, withFulham, and in Qatar.
AnAlgerian international since 2008, Halliche represented the nation in twoWorld Cups and fourAfrica Cup of Nations, winning the2019 edition of the latter tournament.
Born inAlgiers, Halliche began playing football at the age of seven with CREPS Ben Aknoun.[3] After seven years with the club he joined the junior ranks ofNA Hussein Dey, making his senior debut on 30 January 2006 in a league match againstParadou AC, coming on as asubstitute in the 74th minute.[4]
In the January 2008transfer window, Halliche received interest from several French sides, includingAJ Auxerre andValenciennes FC. However, on 30 January, he signed a four-year contract with Portugal'sS.L. Benfica,[5] which immediately loaned him to fellowPrimeira Liga teamC.D. Nacional until the end ofthe season.[6]
On 30 March 2008, Halliche made his debut for Nacional, coming on athalf-time in a 2–0 home league win againstU.D. Leiria.[7] He would go on to make two more appearances as a starter before going back to Benfica at the end of the loan, which was then extended for the entirety of2008–09 and alsothe following campaign.[8]
On 16 August 2010, Halliche was reported to be linked with a move toPremier League clubFulham, for£1.3 million.[9] The following week, Benfica confirmed the sale of the player,[10] who signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[11]
Halliche made his official début 8 January 2011, replacingBrede Hangeland in theFA Cup'sthird round tie againstPeterborough United: he conceded apenalty in the 85th minute for trippingCraig Mackail-Smith, in an eventual 6–2 win.[12][13] His first league appearance came on the 22nd, again from the bench (forAaron Hughes), in a 2–0 home victory overStoke City.[14]
Swansea City made a successful loan bid for Halliche during the 2011 summer transfer window, but several weeks after the deadline,FIFA denied international clearance to Swansea for both his move andDarnel Situ's move fromRC Lens, leaving the defender as a Fulham player subject to an appeal by the Welsh side.[15]
On 6 December 2011, Halliche went on a week-long trial withCeltic in theScottish Premier League,[16] but nothing came of it. On 31 August of the following year, Fulham confirmed that the player's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.[17]
Halliche returned to Portugal on 31 August 2012, signing a two-year deal withAcadémica de Coimbra.[18] During his spell, he battled for first-choice status withAníbal Capela andJoão Real.[19]
On 13 July 2014, Halliche signed forQatar SC.[20]
Halliche made his debut forAlgeria on 31 May 2008 againstSenegal, replacingAnthar Yahia in the 75th minute. On 18 November 2009 he started inthe decisive tie-breaker againstEgypt for the2010 FIFA World Cupqualifiers, as the national side won 1–0 inSudan and returned to theFIFA World Cup 24 years after their last presence.[citation needed]
Halliche was also summoned for the2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola: he kept the national side's qualification hopes alive after scoring the only goal in a win againstMali, after a loss toMalawi in the opener. In the semi-finals he wassent off in the first half after being given two yellow cards, the last one also resulting in apenalty, in a 0–4 loss to Egypt.[21]
Halliche was picked to represent Algeria in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, playing all the matches and minutes as the national side only conceded two goals in the group stage, but finished last in their group after failing to score once.[22] He was also selected tothe following edition by coachVahid Halilhodžić, ascaptain,[23] and contributed decisively to a 4–2 group victory overSouth Korea on 22 June, heading home from acorner kick for his country's second goal.[24]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2008 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 January 2010 | 11 de Novembro,Luanda, Angola |  Mali | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2 | 22 June 2014 | Beira-Rio,Porto Alegre, Brazil |  South Korea | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 3 | 11 October 2014 | Kamuzu Stadium,Blantyre, Malawi |  Malawi | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Algeria
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