Monsef Zerka (, born 30 August 1981) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He originally played as a striker, but throughout his career he has also played as a fullback and as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Born in France, he represented

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

at international level.

Club career

Nancy

Zerka was born in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and US Orléans Union Sportive Orléans Loiret Football (; commonly referred to as US Orléans or simply Orléans) is a French association football club based in Orléans. The club was founded in 1976 and currently play in Championnat National after being releg ...

as a youngster, Zerka was signed by Nancy on the recommendation of his coach Jacques Quéré. He completed the final years of his apprenticeship at Nancy before making his debut in 2001. He debuted in a 4–0 home win against

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, coming in as a late substitute in the 83rd minute. Before finally signing professional forms (initially a three-year contract) with Nancy in August 2002, Zerka had made his debut for the Morocco national team. After playing in various positions over the years, Zerka proved effective in a forward role in Nancy's first season back in the top flight, scoring 6 goals in 24 appearances and continued in this position in 2006–07. He left

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), known as AS Nancy Lorraine, and more commonly as Nancy, is a French football club founded in 1967 and based in Nancy, Grand Est. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot located in Tomb ...

in the summer of 2009, after playing 173 league matches for the club and scoring 17 goals. In

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, he featured in 85 matches and scored 13 goals. Zerka will be remember by

supporters for scoring the first goal of Nancy in the Final of the 2006 Coupe de la Ligue. It was the first major trophy won by the club since the 1978 French Cup.

Nantes

On 31 August 2010, Zerka signed for

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

outfit

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...

. Zerka debuted for his new in a 2–1 home win against Racing Strasbourg. He also scored his first goal for Nantes in his debut. It was the 1–1 equalizer, scored in the 22nd minute of the match after an assist by Jean-Claude Darcheville. He scored his second, and last, league goal for Nantes in the next match against

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

. It was scored in the 7th minute of the match and it was the opening goal, in a match that ended as a 1–1 draw. It was scored after an assist by

Djamel Abdoun Djamel Abdoun (born 14 February 1986) is an Algerian retired professional footballer who played as a winger. In the summer of 2011, Abdoun signed a three-year contract with Olympiacos, on a free transfer from Kavala, due to their relegation ...

. In the next season Zerka remained goalless for Nantes in the league. He scored his only goal that season, in a French Cup 4–2 away defeat by

US Boulogne Union Sportive de Boulogne-sur-Mer Côte d'Opale (commonly referred to as US Boulogne, USBCO or frequently, simply Boulogne) is a French association football club based in the commune of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The club was founded in 1898 and cur ...

. On 7 January 2011, Nantes and Zerka mutually agreed to part ways. During his spell at Nantes Zerka featured in 35

games, scoring 2 goals.

Iraklis

On 14 January 2011, Zerka signed a contract with

Greek Superleague The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club Iraklis until the summer of 2012. He debuted for Iraklis on 23 January 2011, as he was in the starting line-up in a 3–0 away defeat by

AO Kavala Kavala Football Club (, ) is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Kavala, Greece. They compete in the Super League Greece 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. The club's home ground is the ...

New England Revolution

Zerka left Iraklis on a mutual agreement after their relegation from the Greek top flight, and he subsequently signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

on 18 August 2011. Zerka became one of the few bright spots in the Revolution's dismal

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

campaign. He made his Revolution debut, and scored his first Revolution goal, on 7 September 2011 in a 4-4 draw with the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. He made his home debut 3 days later in a home win over

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

. He scored his second and final goal for the Revolution in the final match of the Revolution season, a 2-2 draw at

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. The Revolution declined Zerka's contract on 30 November 2011. In seven matches (all starts) Zerka concluded his Revolution career with two goals and an assist.

Petrolul Ploieşti

In March 2012, he signed with the Romanian club Petrolul Ploieşti, scoring 2 goals in 12 matches.

Tanjong Pagar United

Zerka joined Singapore League ( S.League) club Tanjong Pagar United in January 2013. He made his league debut on 22 February 2013 against Balestier Khalsa, scoring a goal in the match that ended 3–1 to Tanjong Pagar United. On 27 February 2013, in only his second league match, Zerka scored his first career hat-trick against Warriors FC, which Tanjong Pagar United won 6–1. On 4 October 2013, Zerka scored a hat-trick 2 goals and 1 own goal to helped

Tanjong Pagar United Tanjong Pagar United Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Queenstown, Singapore, Queenstown, Singapore. The club currently competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football leag ...

become the first team to qualify for the 2013 Singapore Cup.

International career

Zerka has gained 10 full caps for

, scoring 2 goals.

2004 Summer Olympics football tournament

Zerka was a member of the Moroccan squad for the 2004 Summer Olympics football tournament. He was a starter in Morocco's first match, a 0–0 draw against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. In the second match, a 1–2 defeat by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, Zerka was once again a starter, but he was substituted in the 72nd minute by Tajeddine Sami. He watched Morocco's third and last match in the tournament from the bench. The match ended up a 2–1 victory for Morocco, its only victory in the tournament. Morocco got 4 points, equal to those of Costa Rica, but it was eliminated from the tournament, as it had scored fewer goals than Costa Rica.

2008 African Cup of Nations

Zerka also featured in the Morocco squad for the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. In the opening match for Morocco, he came in as a substitute for Youssouf Hadji in the 70th minute. He managed to score a header for Morocco 4 minutes after his entrance in the game. It was his team's last goal in 1-5 devastation against

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and Zerka's first goal for his country. He was a starter in his team's next match, a 3–2 defeat by

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, but he was substituted in the 80th minute by El Moubarki. In the next match Morocco had to compete against host nation

. Zerka came in as a substitute for Aboucherouane in the 55th minute of the match, but he was unable to help his team overturn Ghana's 2–0 lead. Morocco finished 3rd in its group and was eliminated.

Honours

Nancy *

: 2004–05 *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

References

External links