 Medjani playing forAlgeria in 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carl Medjani[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1985-05-15)15 May 1985 (age 39) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lyon, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back,Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Olympique Salaise Rhodia | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2003 | Saint-Étienne | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | →Lorient (loan) | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | →Metz (loan) | 23 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Lorient | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | Ajaccio | 184 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Monaco | 15 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | →Olympiacos (loan) | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | →Valenciennes (loan) | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Trabzonspor | 38 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Levante | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Leganés | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Trabzonspor | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Sivasspor | 37 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Ohod | 15 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | FC Salaise | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2022- | Olympique Salaise Rhodia | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 401 | (21) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | France U16 | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | France U17 | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | France U18 | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | France U21 | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2018 | Algeria | 62 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Carl Medjani (Arabic:كارل مجاني; born 15 May 1985) is a professionalfootballer who plays as acentral defender ordefensive midfielder for Olympique Salaise Rhodia. He spent most of his career in France, his country of birth, while representing theAlgeria national team at international level.
After spending his youth development years atSaint-Étienne, he was signed byLiverpool's managerGérard Houllier in August 2003.[2] Liverpool beat off stiff competition fromPremiership rivalsArsenal,Manchester United and German giantsBayern Munich to secure his services.[3] In an interview withL'Équipe, Medjani revealed he left Saint-Étienne because he was willing to stay if given an opportunity with the first team, but his request was turned down by managerFrédéric Antonetti.[4]
Medjani then struggled to break in Liverpool first team so he was sent on loan toLorient for the whole2004–05 season by new Liverpool managerRafael Benítez, where he made 25 appearances.[5] Despite impressing in theToulon under-20 tournament in summer 2005,[6] Benítez deemed it necessary for him to gain more experience and so he spent2005–06 on loan atMetz.[7][8]
At the start of the 2006–07 season, he rejoined Lorient, this time on a permanent basis.[9]
In the 2007–08 season, Medjani moved down toLigue 2 joiningAjaccio for the remainder of the season.[10]
The 2008–09 season earned Medjani a permanent move with the club on a three-year deal.[11] He soon made an immediate impact when he scored his first goal in the second round ofCoupe de la Ligue during Ajaccio's 4–2 loss againstMontpellier. On 20 February 2009, Medjani came on as a substitute in the second half and 18 minutes into the game, he was sent off, along withBrahim Ferradj in the same minute, as Ajaccio drew 1–1 withBrest.[12] Medjani scored his first league goal of the season during Ajaccio's 3–1 defeat toStrasbourg.[13]
Following the 2009–10 season and the World Cup, Medjani was linked with Ligue 2 sideNantes.[14] Ajaccio finished as runners-up in Ligue 2 resulting in their promotion to Ligue 1. Medjani signed a two-year contract extension until 2013.[15] In the 2011–12 season, Medjani continued to be in the first team, either playing in centre back and defensive midfield. Medjani scored his first goal in a 3–1 loss againstParis Saint-Germain on 16 October 2011.[16] On 10 December 2012, Medjani made a mistake in the final minutes, allowingDaniel Niculae to score in a 2–2 draw againstNancy, in a match which could have ended Ajaccio thirteen games without winning.[17] In April, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Saint-Étienne.[18]
Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Medjani expressed his desire to leave the club.[19] In December, Medjani started to wear the captain's armband.[20]
In January 2013, just prior to the closing of thetransfer window, Medjani joinedMonaco on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Ajaccio.[21]
Following Monaco promotion, Medjani was told by ManagerClaudio Ranieri that his first team appearances would be limited following the club's spending spree.[22]
In July 2013, Medjani was sent out on loan toOlympiacos from Monaco until 1 January 2014, with the option of a permanent move.[23] After six months with few appearances at Olympiacos, he returned to his parent club.[24]
Upon his return to France, Monaco then loaned him out toValenciennes till the end of 2013–14 season.[25]
Following his loan spell at Valenciennes, his time at Monaco came to an end despite having two years of his contract left.[26]
After leaving Monaco, Medjani was linked with a move toTrabzonspor andCagliari,[27] before joining Trabzonspor on a three-year contract.[28] He scored his first goal for the club in theplay-off round of the Europa League as Trabzonspor beatRostov 2–0 in the first leg.[29]
On 30 January 2016,La Liga sideLevante have signed Medjani until the end of the season, with an option to extend the contract for another season.[30] On 25 July, aftersuffering relegation, he signed a one-year contract withLeganés, also in the main category.[31]
On 9 January 2017, Medjani rescinded withLega[32] and signed with Trabzonspor again.[33]
Medjani has an Algerian father and a French mother, and was eligible for both national teams. Medjani captained theFrance U21 team in theToulon Tournament of2006.[6][34]
However, being of Algerian origin, he made the switch to represent Algeria in international competitions[34] and was called up byRabah Saâdane to theAlgeria national team's preliminary squad for the2010 FIFA World Cup,[35] before going on to make the fulltournament squad.[36]
On 10 December 2012, it was announced that Medjani was selected in the 40-man provisional squad for the2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[37] Medjani survived the cuts, firstly to the 24-man list announced on 18 December 2012,[38] and then to thefinal squad of twenty-three.[39]
Having won 25caps by this point, Medjani made his secondFIFA World Cup squad by winning a place in theAlgerian cohort for the2014 FIFA World Cup.[40] A year and ten appearances later, Medjani joined theAlgeria team at the2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[41]
While growing up, Medjani revered boxerMuhammad Ali.[42]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lorient (loan) | 2004–05 | Ligue 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Metz | 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Lorient | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Ajaccio | 2007–08 | Ligue 2 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | Ligue 2 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | Ligue 2 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | |
| 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 184 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 199 | 9 | ||
| Monaco | 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Olympiacos (loan) | 2013–14 | Superleague Greece | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Valenciennes (loan) | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| Trabzonspor | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | 9[b] | 1 | 42 | 8 | |
| 2015–16 | Süper Lig | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 38 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 54 | 9 | ||
| Levante | 2015–16 | La Liga | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Leganés | 2016–17 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Trabzonspor | 2016–17 | Süper Lig | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Sivasspor | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Ohod | 2018–19 | Saudi Professional League | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | |
| Career total | 401 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 445 | 23 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 October 2013 | Stade du 4 Août,Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  Burkina Faso | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 September 2014 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker,Blida, Algeria |  Mali | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 17 November 2015 | Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria |  Tanzania | 6–0 | 7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 22 March 2018 | 5 July 1962 Stadium,Algiers, Algeria | Tanzania | 3–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
Algeria squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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