Algerians in Europe 2008 - 2009

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Belhadj seals permanent Pompey switch

Portsmouth lève l'option d'achat de Belhadj

Mercredi 31 Décembre 2008 -- Le latéral gauche international algérien de Lens (Ligue 2), Nadir Belhadj, prêté depuis le début de la saison à Portsmouth (1re div. anglaise), a signé, hier, un contrat de quatre ans et demi en faveur de l'équipe anglaise, a annoncé le club sur son site Internet. Belhadj, 26 ans, a impressionné depuis son arrivée en Premier League et est désormais lié à Portsmouth (12e du classement) jusqu'en 2013. Lens a récupéré 4,5 millions d'euros d'indemnité de transfert, a annoncé Portsmouth. «Nous sommes très heureux d'avoir recruté Nadir. Il est rapide, énergique et possède une bonne qualité de centre. C'est une excellente acquisition pour le club», a commenté Tony Adams, le manageur de Portsmouth. Après Sedan, Lyon et Lens, «Pompey» est le quatrième club de la carrière de Belhadj qui a joué 23 rencontres toutes compétitions confondues depuis son arrivée dans le sud-ouest de l'Angleterre et a inscrit deux buts. Il est le titulaire indiscutable au poste d'arrière gauche. Il sera officiellement un joueur de Portsmouth à partir du 1er janvier 2009.

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Newcastle United set to bid for Rangers' Bougherra

January 1, 2009 -- With defensive reinforcements desperately needed at an injury ravaged St James' Park, Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear is set to bid for Rangers' central defender Madjid Bougherra.

The Algerian international, who moved to Ibrox for £2 million from Charlton Athletic in August, has impressed with a solid string of displays in the Scottish Premier League, and the way is now clear for Newcastle to bid for him after reports have linked the Scottish giants with a January move for Portsmouth defender Hermann Hraidersson.

Bougherra's advisers have made Rangers aware of the Magpies' interest and a formal bid should follow shortly, reports British broadsheet The Guardian. Rangers are expected to demand at least £3 million for the ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Crewe Alexandra player.

Walter Smith, the Rangers boss, is apparently willing to consider an offer for 26-year-old, who is expected to return from injury for Rangers against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the weekend, as he is looking to trim his squad to make room for his own transfer window reinforcements.

Although Smith would rather sell squad players than key men such as Boughera, the Algerian's wages and likely transfer fee mean that any worthwhile bids for the player will be considered seriously by the Ibrox club.

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No bids for Madjid Bougherra

January 3, 2009 -- Walter Smith yesterday dismissed speculation that Rangers are ready to make a financial killing on Madjid Bougherra by selling the Algeria central defender for twice what they paid for him just five months ago.

The Ibrox manager said reports of a £5million bid from Newcastle United for Bougherra are incorrect. Smith bought the 26-year-old from Charlton Athletic for £2.5million last August but the fact that Rangers have used the last two transfer windows to cash in by selling Alan Hutton and Carlos Cuéllar to Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, respectively, will prompt anxiety among the club's supporters.

Smith insisted that the only player he is allowing to move to England is Alan Gow, who is on the verge of completing a £300,000 move to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Rangers manager admits he will have to shed six of his first-team squad of 28 before he can bring any new players into the club.

“The only inquiry we have had is from Wolves for Alan Gow,” Smith said. “We have not had a bid for Madjid Bougherra. We would not transfer any player that we wanted to keep. I am not trying to offload anyone. Some people have asked to go and if you have 28 players and six are not taking part in the squad every week, it is a situation most managers have. I have to offload them. Then, the club possibly might bring in one or two players we think could help us.”

Rangers earned £7.8million when Cuéllar joined Aston Villa last August but claim that the Spanish defender initiated that transfer, while the £9million move of Hutton to Spurs last January was dictated by the economic facts of life.

“There are obviously players in our squad that we would not like to lose,” the manager said. “We were in a situation last year when Alan Hutton was sold. We didn't want to lose him but the bid was such that we had to take it from a purely financial sense. You can never say that won't happen again.”

Among the more outlandish speculation is that Newcastle also want Barry Ferguson but Smith is not likely to sanction the sale of his captain. Nacho Novo has also been linked with a return to Spain to play for Deportivo La Coruña, while Andrius Velicka, who has barely played since his £1million summer move from Viking Stavanger - is quoted for a return to Heart of Midlothian.

However, David Weir, the Rangers defender, believes that the Ibrox club have adopted the correct financial philosophy towards their assets on the pitch - and that even sides in England should consider following suit.

“Clubs have basically said that if the right offers come in, they will sell,” he said. “We've been operating like that in Scotland now for a while and that's right. You have to run your club as a going concern and not a charity.”

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Algeria's Dahmane heading to Turkey?

January 3, 2009 -- Algerian forward Mohamed Dahmane is believed to be on the shopping list of Turkish league leaders Sivasspor, even though his Belgian club insist they are yet to receive any serious offers for him.

The Director-General of RAEC Mons, Alain Lommers, disclosed that they are yet to receive any offer on the controversial Algerian player, while insisting they have received "some hints".

An agent working on behalf of Sivasspor in Europe, meanwhile, disclosed: "Yildiz, Sivasspor's top striker, is on his way to Galatasaray. And so, Dahmane could be a likely replacement. It is now up to the club to decide."

Eskisehirspor are the other Turkish club keen on the Algerian ace, whose minimum selling price has been set at about €650,000 by his Belgian employers.

The left-footed striker has made remarkable progress since he was snapped up by Mons three years ago from the Belgian third division.

French-born Dahmane is being watched by his country ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, which resume in March. He has already featured for Algeria's B team and, this season, he has netted five goals in 12 in the Belgian top flight.

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Il évolue au club londonien :
Laurent Hamici, un Algérien à Dulwich Hamlet

Mardi 6 Janvier 2009 -- Ils sont nombreux, les footballeurs algériens qui évoluent dans les différentes divisions du championnat d’Angleterre. Parmi ces joueurs, qui sont en train de faire le bonheur de leur club, figure un certain Samir Laurent Hamici. Âgé de 21 ans seulement, il porte les couleurs du club londonien de Dulwich Hamlet. Doué et talentueux, cet attaquant a réussi une excellente première partie du championnat avec son équipe Dulwich Hamlet où il a déjà inscrit 18 buts. Son talent lui permet le rêve d’endosser un jour le maillot d’une équipe plus huppée qui lui ouvrira, sans aucun doute, les portes de l’équipe.

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Algerian ace set for Blues deal

January 6, 2009 -- Birmingham have been linked with a swoop for Fulham winger Hameur Bouazza, who is currently on loan at Championship rivals Charlton.

The 23-year-old Algerian international joined the Addicks earlier in the campaign on loan. But it seems that Blues boss Alex McLeish will take advantage of a clause in that deal, which allows him to move on in the transfer window, by taking him to St Andrews for the rest of the season.

City are in need of attacking reinforcements after sending Quincy Owusu-Abeyie back to Spartak Moscow following his disappointing loan spell. However the news will come as a blow to Charlton boss Phil Parkinson as Bouazza has played a key part for his struggling side.

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Le Bayern de Munich veut Ziani

Jeudi 8 Janvier 2009 -- Le club allemand du Bayern de Munich est entré en lice pour recruter l’international Algérien Karim Ziani, milieu de terrain de l’Olympique de Marseille. Les medias Français ont rapporté, hier, que le géant Allemand a mis Ziani sur ses tablettes, et ce pour pallier au départ probable du joueur Hollandais Van Bommel, qui a refusé de prolonger son contrat avec le club bavarois, et l’allemand Bastian Schweinsteiger qui a exprimé sa volonté de changer d’air. Les mêmes sources ont indiqué que le Bayern présentera une offre officielle au club français, l’été prochain, afin d’enrôler le joueur contre la bagatelle de 15 millions d’Euros. Le club allemand mise sur son joueur Franck Ribery, ex joueur de l’Olympique de Marseille, pour convaincre les responsables du club pour leur céder Ziani.

En Belgique, le joueur Algérien Mohamed Amroune a ouvert le feu sur les dirigeants du club de « Mons » qui l’ont libéré avant hier. Amroune a indiqué au journal local La Province qu’il est choqué par la manière dont il a été libéré «J’ai avisé les dirigeants du club que je rejoindrai l’équipe avec une heure de retard seulement, mais j’ai été stupéfait de ma rétrogradation vers l’équipe B, et ça c’est de la lâcheté».

En Ecosse, le journal The Herald a rapporté que le coach du club de Glasgow Rangers, Walter Smith, voudrait se séparer à tout prix du joueur Algérien Brahim Hamdani, qui devrait quitter officiellement le club. Seulement les Rangers n’ont jusqu’à présent reçu aucune offre pour ce joueur, et c’est le souci qui préoccupe l’entraîneur, surtout qu’il a mis 10 noms sur la liste des joueurs à transférer.