 Benchikha in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1963-11-22)22 November 1963 (age 61) | ||
| Place of birth | Bordj Bou Arréridj,Algeria | ||
| Youth career | |||
| USM Alger | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| MC Alger | |||
| JS Bordj Ménaïel | |||
| JS El Biar | |||
| 1991–1994 | ES Zarzis | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2001 | MC Alger | ||
| 2001–2002 | Algeria U23 | ||
| 2002 | CA Bordj Bou Arréridj | ||
| 2005 | CR Belouizdad | ||
| 2005–2006 | Umm Salal | ||
| 2006–2007 | ES Zarzis | ||
| 2007–2009 | Club Africain | ||
| 2009–2010 | Algeria A' /Algeria U23 | ||
| 2010–2011 | Algeria | ||
| 2011–2012 | MC Alger | ||
| 2011–2012 | Club Africain | ||
| 2013–2014 | Difaâ El Jadidi | ||
| 2014 | Raja Casablanca | ||
| 2014–2015 | Al-Ittihad Kalba | ||
| 2015–2017 | IR Tanger | ||
| 2017 | Raja Casablanca | ||
| 2017 | Moghreb Tétouan | ||
| 2018 | ES Sétif | ||
| 2018–2019 | Al-Ittihad Tripoli | ||
| 2019–2020 | Mouloudia Oujda | ||
| 2020–2022 | DH El Jadida | ||
| 2022 | RS Berkane | ||
| 2022–2023 | USM Alger | ||
| 2023–2024 | Simba Sports Club | ||
| 2024–2025 | JS Kabylie | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Abdelhak Benchikha (Arabic:عبد الحق بن شيخة; born 22 November 1963) is an Algerianfootballcoach and former player.
Benchikha was born on 22 November 1963 in theSoustarah neighborhood ofAlgiers.[1]
His family is originally from the village of Sidi Abderrahmane in the commune ofTimezrit,Boumerdès Province.[1]
Benchikha began his managerial career coach withCR Belouizdad, where he helped win the league title two consecutive seasons (2000 and 2001).[2] He then briefly coachedMC Alger and theAlgerian Under-23 national team before returning toCR Belouizdad in the later part of the 2004–05 season. Benchikha then moved toQatar and joinedUmm-Salal Sports Club, which was playing in the second division. In his only season with the club, he helped it gain promotion to the top flight. The following season, he joined theTunisian sideES Zarzis.
On 13 June 2007 Benchikha signed a one-year contract withTunisian sideClub Africain.[3] In his first season with the club, he led them to the league title for the first time in 12 years, beating outEtoile du Sahel by just 2 points in the final standings.[4] Just a few months later, he followed that up with a triumph in the2008 North African Cup of Champions beatingMoroccan clubFAR Rabat in the final. In March 2009, the club offered him an extension but Benchikha chose to leave the club.[5]
On 10 June 2009, Benchikha was appointed as coach of theAlgeria A' national football team and theAlgerian Under-23 national team. He qualified the A' national team to the2011 African Nations Championship, after beatingLibya 2–2 on the away goals rule.[citation needed]
On 13 September 2010, Benchikha was appointed as coach of theAlgerian national team on a permanent basis, following the resignationRabah Saâdane.[6] On 5 June 2011, a day after losing 4–0 in a2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier againstMorocco, Benchikha resigned from his position.[7]
On 5 October 2011, Benchikha resigned from his position as manager ofMC Alger.[8]
On 17 December 2011, Benchikha signed an 18-month contract withTunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 sideClub Africain, returning to the club which he led to the 2008 league title.[9] However, on 20 April 2012, a mutual agreement was reached by the club and Benchikha to terminate his contract.[10]
He later had short spells in different countries, in which he managedDifaâ El Jadidi,Raja Casablanca,IR Tanger,Moghreb Tétouan,Mouloudia Oujda,DH El Jadida andRS Berkane in Morocco,Al-Ittihad Kalba in the United Arab Emirates,ES Sétif in Algeria andAl-Ittihad Tripoli in Libya.[citation needed]
On 25 December 2022, Benchikha contracted with USM Alger for a year and a half succeedingBoualem Charef, with Farid Zamiti assistant andFarid Belmellat coach of the goalkeepers.[11][12] On 13 March 2023, in the late match againstHB Chelghoum Laïd in theLigue 1, USM Alger supporters in the 37th minute of the second half left the stands in protest against the club administration. After the end of the match Benchikha stated that he did not understand the anger of the supporters and that he Satisfied with the performance of his players, especially since in a month they played eight matches. Benchikha set a goal, which is to win theCAF Confederation Cup, and his career was good, with his experience and the way he treated his players. Benchikha said after the match againstASEC Mimosas in the semi-finals that it is the time to win theCAF Confederation Cup title for the first time.[13]
In the final againstYoung Africans, Benchikha managed to win his first title in Algeria and the first continental title in the history of USM Alger.[14] After the derby match againstCR Belouizdad, Benchikha stated that the players after winning theCAF Confederation Cup went on vacation and that some players decided to leave. Benchikha said that he is comfortable and that if he can compete for titles he will stay or prefer to stay in his home.[15] On 16 July 2023, Benchikha announced after the end of theLigue 1 that he would remain in the club despite the offers he had received from clubs outside the country. Benchikha said that he started recruiting and that there were players who agreed with them to sign and others who renewed their contracts.[16][17] On 15 September 2023, Benchikha won theCAF Super Cup title for the second consecutive season after winning againstAl Ahly, it is the second African title that he presented toUSM Alger in three months.[18][19] On 9 October 2023 Abdelhak Benchikha submitted his resignation from his position, according to the official page onFacebook. The reason was that he was subjected to insults at the entrance to theOmar Hamadi Stadium.[20] Later via video, Benchikha denied this and said that he resigned for sporting and professional reasons.[21]
On 24 November 2023, Benchikha signed asSimba SC head coach[22] replacingRobertinho, penning a contract for a year and a half. On 27 April 2024 Benchikha won theTanzania FA Cup title against theNBC Premier League runner-upAzam. For his first season with the Tanzanians won the FA Cup and reached the quarter-finals of theCAF Champions League losing to the title holdersAl Ahly.[23] The next day,Simba SC announced in a press release that Benchikha and his Algerian assistants, Kamel Boudjenane andFarid Zemiti, have decided to leave the club for family reasons. In a video published by the club's networks, Benchikha thanked the supporters, the staff and all ofSimba SC.[24]
On 30 June 2024, replacing the coaching duo of Djilali Bahloul and Rabah Bensafi, Benchikha was appointed head coach ofJS Kabylie, a role he held until 3 January 2025 when he resigned in front of journalists after anAlgerian Cup game, citing fan hostility as the reason.[25] By resigning from his position as head coach of JSK, even though he had the support of his management, he abandoned the club, in the middle of theseason.[26] He was under contract with JS Kabylie until the end of the 2025–26 season. On 6 January 2025, the president of JS Kabylie, El Hadi Ould Ali responded to Benchikha in a press release where he said he deplored the way in which he announced his resignation but especially the justification of this to a supposed isolated incident involving a supporter.[27]
Umm Salal
Club Africain
Difaâ d'El Jadida
RS Berkane
USM Alger
Simba SC
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Club Africain |  | 11 June 2008[30] | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 073.33 | |
| Algeria A' |  | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 053.85 | ||
| Algeria | | 13 September 2010 | 5 June 2011 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 025.00 |
| MC Alger | | 1 September 2011 | 5 October 2011 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 050.00 |
| Club Africain | | 17 December 2011 | 20 April 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— |
| Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi |  | 20 July 2013 | 43 | 20 | 16 | 7 | 046.51 | |
| Raja Casablanca | | 4 June 2014[31] | 25 September 2014[32] | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 057.14 |
| Ittihad Kalba FC |  | 24 October 2014[33] | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 056.25 | |
| IR Tanger | | 2 June 2015[34] | 18 April 2017[35] | 54 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 044.44 |
| Moghreb Tétouan | | 6 September 2017[36] | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 050.00 | |
| ES Sétif | | 28 December 2017[37] | 25 April 2018 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 035.29 |
| Al-Ittihad Club |  | 13 July 2013[38] | 2 March 2019[39] | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 072.73 |
| MC Oujda | | 12 June 2019[40] | 30 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 040.00 | |
| Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi | | 20 October 2020[41] | 30 June 2022[42] | 48 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 035.42 |
| RS Berkane | | 10 August 2022[43] | 11 November 2022[44] | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 027.27 |
| USM Alger | | 25 December 2022[12] | 9 October 2023[20] | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 035.29 |
| Career Total | 338 | 155 | 100 | 83 | 045.86 | |||