Youssouf Hadji

Youssouf Hadji

Hadji playing for Al Arabi
Personal information
Date of birth25 February 1980
Place of birthIfrane, Morocco
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing positionAttacking midfielder / Striker
Club information
Current team
AS Nancy
Number15
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1998–2003Nancy96(13)
2003–2005Bastia61(13)
2005–2007Rennes34(3)
2007–2011Nancy127(38)
2011–2012Rennes24(6)
2012–2013Al-Arabi7(0)
2013–2014Elazığspor6(0)
2014–Nancy20(7)
National team‡
2003–2012Morocco64(16)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 June 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2012

Youssouf Hadji (Arabic: يوسف حجي‎, born 25 February 1980 in Ifrane Atlas-Saghir) is a Moroccan footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for AS Nancy. He also holds a French passport. He is the younger brother of former Moroccan star Mustapha Hadji and the uncle of Fola Esch striker Samir Hadji.

Career

Nancy

Hadji started his career at Nancy in Ligue 1 under the guidance of Laszlo Bölöni. Nancy were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2000, but Hadji remained loyal and played on for another three seasons.

Bastia and Rennes

In 2003, he decided to pack his bags and move to Corsica to play for SC Bastia in Ligue 1. After his old team were relegated at the end of his second season there, he reunited with Bölöni at Rennes. In Brittany, he wasn't a regular starter but contributed largely to their season with 3 goals and 3 assists.

Return to Nancy

On 10 January 2007, Hadji re-joined Nancy from Rennes for an estimated £1.2m.

Rennes

On 31 August 2011, After 4 years at Nancy, Hadji returned to Rennes. After one season with the Ligue 1 team.

Qatar

Hadji signed a two-year contract with Qatari side Al-Arabi on 26 June 2012.Sidelined because of injuries for most of the season, he terminated his contract after only one season making only 8 appearances in all competitions .

Turkey

He signed a two-year-deal with Elazığspor but he terminated his contract in February after financial problems in the club which prevented him from receiving his wages. he returned to train with his hometown club Nancy to keep fit.

Third stint with Nancy

In May 2014, he came back to Nancy, making it the third stint with his debut team. he stated that he wants to help his team to promote to Ligue 1 again and to retire in his hometown club.[1] He was named as the captain of the team in the match against Stade Brest 29 and since then he is the captain of the team. He scored his first goal in a 2-2 draw US Orléans in 21 December 2014.[2] His second goal was the equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Nîmes Olympique. He scored both goals in a 2-1 home win against Stade Brest 29, that was their first win since November 2014. Hadji continued his remarkable performance and scored another goal in a 2-0 away win against FC Sochaux. Again he scored a brace in a 6-0 win against LB Châteauroux although he played for only 60 minutes in the game before being substituted. thanks to Hadji goals, AS Nancy Made 3 consecutive wins and gained 11 points out of 15 available from their last five matches and moved five positions to become 6th in the Ligue 2.[3]

Personal

Youssouf's older brother Mustapha was a Moroccan international footballer, having had a successful career in football, before ending his career in 2010. Mustapha previously played for well-known clubs such as Coventry City, Sporting and Deportivo La Coruña.

Career statistics

Club Season League League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AS Nancy Lorraine 1998–99 Division 1 1 0 – – – 1 0
1999–00 Division 1 4 0 1 0 – 5 0
2000–01 Division 2 34 6 4 2 – 38 8
2001–02 Division 2 26 2 5 2 – 31 4
2002–03 Ligue 2 30 5 7 2 – – 37 7
SC Bastia 2003–04 Ligue 1 29 6 2 0 – – 31 6
2004–05 Ligue 1 32 7 2 0 – – 34 7
Stade Rennais 2005–06 Ligue 1 21 3 1 0 3 1 25 4
2006–07 Ligue 1 13 0 2 0 – – 15 0
AS Nancy Lorraine 2006–07 Ligue 1 14 1 2 0 – 16 1
2007–08 Ligue 1 24 7 3 0 – – 27 7
2008–09 Ligue 1 36 11 2 0 2 0 40 11
2009–10 Ligue 1 26 11 2 0 – – 28 11
2010–11 Ligue 1 26 8 – – – – 26 8
2011–12 Ligue 1 4 1 – – – – 4 1
Stade Rennais 2011–12 Ligue 1 24 6 5 1 6 1 35 8
Al-Arabi 2012–13 Qatar Stars League 7 0 1 1 – – 8 1
Elazığspor 2013–14 Süper Lig 6 0 4 0 – – 10 0
AS Nancy Lorraine 2014–15 Ligue 2 20 7 1 0 – – 21 7
Career total 3447738711239391

International goals

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Hadji revient à l’ASNL" (in French). asnl.net. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑