Karim Zaza

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Personal information
Karim Zaza
Full name	Karim Zaza
Date of birth	January 9, 1975 (age 32)
Place of birth	?, Denmark
Height	184 cm
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Rot-Weiss Essen
Number	1
Youth clubs
	Brøndby IF
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-2000 2000-2003 2003-2006 2006-present	FC København Fremad Amager (loan) Silkeborg IF (loan) Odense BK Brøndby IF Rot-Weiss Essen	80 (0) 1 (0) 0 (0) 79 (0) 49 (0) 5 (0)
National team
2004	Morocco	2 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 September 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Karim Zaza (born January 9, 1975) is a Moroccan professional football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for German club Rot-Weiss Essen. Born in Denmark to Moroccan parents, he established himself as one of the top goalkeepers of the Danish Superliga with three consecutive Best Goalkeeper in Denmark awards from 2001 to 2003.

He started his youth years as a striker, but due to his harsh temper he was moved back to goalkeeper to stay out of trouble. He first played at Brøndby IF, but never got a match for the club, and moved on to main rivals FC København in 1995. Here he was known as a somewhat errant goalkeeper, despite showing good reflexes and technique, and he spent lacklustre time on loan at Fremad Amager (one match) and Silkeborg IF (no matches).

In 2000 he made a permanent move to the smaller provincial club Odense BK. Here he immediately made an impact, and got his big breakthrough, winning the Best Goalkeeper in Denmark award in both 2001 and 2002. Former club Brøndby then decided to move in after him, and he moved back to that team, looking to star in the newly built team of coach Michael Laudrup. Zaza looked to continue his successful run, and won another Best Goalkeeper in Denmark award in 2003.

Following an injury at the start of the 2004-05 season, Zaza found himself benched as a result of young substitute Casper Ankergren's good performances, and only played two matches for his team that year. He didn't find more playing time in the first half of the 2005-06 season, again sitting on the bench. Following the winter break halfway through the season, Zaza reclaimed his starting position for the remainding half of the season. As his contract with Brøndby expired in June 2006, he made a move to Rot-Weiss Essen of the German Second Bundesliga. He is currently the first-choice goalkeeper in the Essen team and appeared for the club in all of their five matches played so far in the 2006-07 season of the league.