 M'Bolhi withAlgeria in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adi Raïs Cobos Adrien Ouahab M'Bolhi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-04-25)25 April 1986 (age 39)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | ES Mostaganem | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2002 | Racing Paris | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Marseille B | 49 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Heart of Midlothian | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Panetolikos | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Ryūkyū | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Slavia Sofia | 27 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | →CSKA Sofia (loan) | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Krylia Sovetov | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | →CSKA Sofia (loan) | 28 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | →Gazélec Ajaccio (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | CSKA Sofia | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Philadelphia Union | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Antalyaspor | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Rennes | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Al-Ettifaq | 104 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Al-Qadsiah | 31 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | CR Belouizdad | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | ES Mostaganem | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | France U17 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | France U18 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010– | Algeria | 96 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 January 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Adi Raïs Cobos Adrien Ouahab M'Bolhi (Arabic:عدي رايس كوبوس أدريان وهاب مبولحي; born 25 April 1986), known asRaïs M'Bolhi, is a professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forES Mostaganem. Born in France, he plays for theAlgeria national team.
M'Bolhi, who hails of Congolese (father) and Algerian (mother) origin, started playing football forRCF Paris. Then, he joinedOlympique de Marseille, though he never made a league appearance before his release in January 2006.
After his release from Marseille, M'Bolhi was promptly recruited byHeart of Midlothian, one of 11 signings in the Januarytransfer window.[4] However, along with fellow new buys withLuděk Stracený andMartin Petras, he was not retained for the2006–07 season and left the club without having made a first-team appearance.
Prior to the 2006–07 season M'Bolhi signed with Greek clubEthnikos Piraeus, then competing inBeta Ethniki. M'Bolhi made 5 appearances for Ethnikos before leaving in the winter transfer period for Greek clubPanetolikos, then competing inGamma Ethniki.
In 2008 M'Bolhi played 22 matches forF.C. Ryūkyū inJapan Football League.
In May 2009, BulgarianSlavia Sofia signed M'Bolhi to a two-year deal. He made his competitive debut for Slavia on 14 June 2009 againstLokomotiv Sofia. In January 2010, M'Bohli was named the 2009 Best Goalkeeper ofA PFG. The fans organization of Slavia named him the best player of the 2009–2010 season.
On 6 May 2010, M'Bohli joined on a two-day trial with English championsManchester United, but was ultimately not selected to play on the squad.[5] On 23 June 2010, English clubNewcastle United reportedly put in a bid for him for £1million.[6]On 22 July he was training with West Ham in their summer training camp in Germany.[7]
He was loaned out toCSKA Sofia on 30 August 2010, until the end of the year. After some unstable performance fromIvan Karadzhov andZdravko Chavdarov, M'Bolhi was expected to be the first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the first half of the season and the group stage ofUEFA Europa League and he indeed established himself as the main goalkeeper for the "redmen". M'Bolhi did not play against his parent teamSlavia Sofia in the seventh round of the Bulgaria A PFG due to a special clause in the loan agreement.[8]
On 16 December 2010, M'Bolhi was transferred to Russian sideKrylia Sovetov Samara, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. His debut came on 12 March 2011, in the 1–0 away loss againstSpartak Nalchik, with the only goal being scored from the penalty spot. After the signing ofSergey Veremko, M'Bolhi found himself out of the first team.[9]
He was loaned out to CSKA Sofia for a second time on 2 August 2011, for a year, and was first choice for the team, but was then recalled by the Russian club. During the summer of 2012, M'Bolhi briefly returned to CSKA Sofia with the intention of signing a permanent contract with the team. However, he was deemed surplus to the requirements by the manager following the team's elimination from theUEFA Europa League by Slovenian clubMura 05 in late July 2012 (despite the Algerian not participating in these matches).[10]
He was back to Krylia Sovetov and trained with youth team.[11] He was later called up to the Algerian national team for the2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[12]
In mid January 2013, M'Bolhi was loaned out toLigue 2 clubGazélec Ajaccio.[13] He made his debut on 1 February 2013, in the 0–2 away loss againstRC Lens.[14] His team was relegated to theChampionnat National at the end of the season and he rejoined CSKA Sofia in the summer of 2013, signing a three-year contract.[15]
M'Bolhi was initially the third choice goalkeeper for the "armymen",[16] but started to feature more often towards the end of 2013 afterTomáš Černý fell into disfavour.[17] On 8 March 2014, M'Bolhi kept aclean sheet in the 1–0 win overLevski Sofia inThe Eternal Derby, but wassent off in the closing minutes of the match after an altercation withLarsen Touré where M'Bolhi smashed the ball on Touré's head.[18] He continued to be a regular for Algeria.
On 30 July 2014, M'Bolhi was unveiled as a new signing ofMajor League Soccer clubPhiladelphia Union.[19] M'Bohli had previously been linked toTrabzonspor, where he could have joined managerVahid Halilhodžić and team-mateCarl Medjani.[20]
However, his debut was delayed until 25 August (a 4–2 home win overSan Jose Earthquakes)[21] after he was involved in a car accident in Paris, France and had to resolve paperwork issues. M'Bolhi was presented with number 92 shirt for the club.[22][23]
However, as of 8 April, M'Bolhi was benched by the Union's head coach, Jim Curtin, citing poor performance during the Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City game on 5 April.[24]
After playing in only nine matches in the 2015 season, head coach Jim Curtin said that M'Bolhi would never play again for Philadelphia.[25] M'Bolhi is considered one of the worst signings in the club's history.[26]
On 24 August 2015, M'Bolhi signed for Turkish clubAntalyaspor.
On 11 January 2017, M'Bolhi decided to sign a contract with French top flight clubStade Rennais, rejoining his former national team managerChristian Gourcuff.
On 19 January 2018, M'Bolhi joined Saudi Arabian clubAl-Ettifaq on a six-month deal.[27] On 6 March 2018, M'Bolhi renewed his contract with Al-Ettifaq until the end of the 2020–21 season.[28] On 25 January 2019, M'Bolhi renewed his contract until 2022.[29] On 30 June 2022, Al-Ettifaq announced that M'Bolhi had left the club following the expiration of his contract.[30]
On 9 September 2022, M'Bolhi joined Saudi First Division League sideAl-Qadsiah, reuniting with former managerKhaled Al-Atwi.[31]
On 1 September 2023, M'Bolhi joinedCR Belouizdad.[32]
He earned his first call-up to theFrance U-17 national team in November 2002 for a friendly match against England.[33] In 2003, he was called up for two more friendlies against Portugal and the Czech Republic.[34][35]
In June 2004, he received his first and only call-up to theFrance U-18 team for a friendly tournament inSalerno, Italy.[36]
Subsequently, he was called up to theAlgerian U-17 team but was not released by his clubOlympique de Marseille.[37][38][39]
On 28 May 2010, M'Bohli made his debut forAlgeria in a 3–0 loss against theRepublic of Ireland after coming on as a second-half substitute. He conceded one goal, apenalty scored byRobbie Keane.[40] He made the 23-man Algerian squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup and replacedFaouzi Chaouchi as starting goalkeeper for the second group match againstEngland,[41] keeping aclean sheet and impressing in the goalless draw.[42] However, he conceded a goal toLandon Donovan in the 91st minute of Algeria's 23 June match-up against theUnited States[43]
On 11 August 2010, M'Bolhi earned his fourth cap in a 1–2 friendly loss toGabon.[44]
He was also chosen as the starting goalkeeper for the first two games of the2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification and featured in2014 World Cup qualification matches.[45]
On 9 September 2012, M'Bolhi was a key player for Algeria in a 1–0 away win overLibya in a2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match.[46] He was the first choice custodian for the country during the2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[47]
M'Bolhi was Algeria's starting goalkeeper at the2014 FIFA World Cup, where the Algerians managed to qualify to the knockout rounds for the first time in history. His performance in the round of 16 againstGermany, with a total of 11 saves, helped push the game into overtime. Algeria eventually lost 2–1, but M'Bolhi earnedman of the match honors.[48][49]
M’Bolhi won his first title with Algeria at the2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He was Algeria's starting goalkeeper as he started every game of Algeria's tournament winning run and played every minute of the competition for Algeria. Moreover, he was named as "Man of the Match" againstSenegal in theFinal and was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.[50]
In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[51]
M’Bolhi's mother, Aïsha, died in 2010. Since then, he has worn gloves on which her name is inscribed on one pair, while "Raïs" is written on another pair.[52]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hearts | 2006–07 | SCPL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ethnikos Piraeus | 2006–07 | Beta Ethniki | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Panetolikos | 2007–08 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||
| Ryūkyū | 2008–09 | JPL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 0 | ||
| Slavia Sofia | 2008–09 | A Group | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 0 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| CSKA Sofia (loan) | 2010–11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Krylia Sovetov | 2011–12 | RFPL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| CSKA Sofia (loan) | 2011–12 | A Group | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Gazélec Ajaccio (loan) | 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| CSKA Sofia | 2013–14 | A Group | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Philadelphia Union | 2014 | MLS | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | |||||
| Antalyaspor | 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Rennes | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Al-Ettifaq | 2017–18 | SPL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 110 | 0 | ||
| Al Qadsiah | 2022–23 | FDL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| CR Belouizdad | 2023–24 | ALP1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career total | 303 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 333 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 96 | 0 | |
Algeria
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