Youssouf Hadji ( ar, يوسف حجي; born 25 February 1980) is a Moroccan 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 le ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He notably had three spells for French side

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), commonly known as AS Nancy Lorraine, or simply Nancy, is a French association football club founded in 1967 in Nancy, Grand Est and located in Tomblaine, in the inner suburbs of Nancy. The club currently ...

, also serving as the team captain, making 378 appearances and scoring 95 goals for the club. At international level, he represented the Morocco national team earning 64 caps and scoring 16 goals. He also holds a French passport. He is the younger brother of former Moroccan star

Mustapha Hadji Mustapha Hadji (born 16 November 1971) is a Moroccan football coach and former player. He was named the 50th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove. Early life Hadji was born in Ifrane Atlas-Saghir, Morocco. ...

and the uncle of striker

Samir Hadji Samir Hadji (born 12 September 1989, in Creutzwald) is a footballer who plays for the Luxembourgian club F91 Dudelange as a striker. Born in France, he has represented Morocco at youth level. Personal life He is the son of former Moroccan i ...

. In May 2016, he won the

2015–16 Ligue 2 The 2015–16 Ligue 2 season was the 77th season since its establishment. Teams There are 20 clubs in the league, with three promoted teams from Championnat National replacing the three teams that were relegated to the same level, and three rel ...

with AS Nancy.

Career

Nancy

Hadji started his career at

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

under the guidance of

László Bölöni László Bölöni ( ro, Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 2 club Metz. He is best known for his time at Sporting CP as a manager where he introduced C ...

. Nancy were relegated to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, 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 ...

in 2000, but Hadji remained loyal and played on for another three seasons.

Bastia and Rennes

In 2003, Hadji moved to

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

to play for

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

. After his old team were relegated at the end of his second season there, he reunited with Bölöni at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine depart ...

. In

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

, he was not 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

from

for an estimated £1.2m.

Rennes

On 31 August 2011, after four years at Nancy, Hadji returned to

, for one season with the Ligue 1 team.

Qatar

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

Turkey

Hadji signed a two-year-deal with

Elazığspor Elazığspor is a Turkish professional football club located in Elazığ and currently competes in the TFF Third League. They previously played their home games at Elazığ Atatürk Stadium in Elazığ, which had a maximum capacity of 13,923. T ...

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

2014–15 Ligue 2

In May 2014, Hadji came back to Nancy, making it the third stint with his debut team. He stated that he wanted to help his team promote to

again and to retire at his hometown club. He was named as the captain of the team in the match against Stade Brest and since then he remained captain. He scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against

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 relega ...

on 21 December 2014. His second goal was the equalizer in a 1–1 draw against

Nîmes Olympique Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, t ...

. He scored both goals in a 2–1 home win against Stade Brest, the club's first win since November 2014. Hadji scored another goal in a 2–0 away win against

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy So ...

followed by a brace in a 6–0 win against

LB Châteauroux La Berrichonne de Châteauroux (), commonly referred to as La Berrichonne or simply Châteauroux, is a French association football club based in Châteauroux. The football team is a part of a sports club that consists of several other sports an ...

although playing for only 60 minutes in the game before being substituted. AS Nancy achieved three consecutive wins and gained 11 points out of a possible 15 from their last five matches, thereby moving up five positions to become 6th in

2015–16 Ligue 2

On 3 August 2015, Hadji started the second season of his third spell at

with a 0–0 draw against

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

. He assisted a goal in a 3–0 home win against Stade Brest. He scored his first goal in his sixth appearance in the league in a 1–1 draw in

Stade Marcel Picot The Stade Marcel Picot is a stadium located in Tomblaine, France, near the city of Nancy. Built in 1926, it is used by Ligue 2 football team Nancy. The stadium was completely rebuilt and inaugurated in its new configuration in 2003. It is n ...

against Chamois Niortais. Again he recorded a second assist on 2 October in a 3–0 win against

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...

. He returned to scoring against Dijon FCO in a home win, and again in an away win against Evian Thonon Gaillard in the Parc des Sports, Annecy helping Nancy jump to the top of the

table. He scored a brace against

in January 2016. On 25 April 2016, Nancy were crowned as the champions of the

after a 1–0 home win against

. After the coronation, Hadji scored a brace in a 2–0 win against

, but before recorded another assist against Evian Thonon Gaillard which was relegated to 2016–17 Championnat National thanks to this goal. Hadji finished the season with 9 goals and 3 assists in 33 appearances.

2016–17 Ligue 1

Since the team was promoted back to Ligue 1 since their last stint on 2012–13 Season, Hadji was appointed as the team captain for the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season. He appeared in 26 matches mostly as a substitute, but failed to score during the league season. On 10 September 2016, he recorded one assist against

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of Frenc ...

in the 31st minute. He scored only one goal against Besançon FC on the 58th minute in a 3–0 win during a 2016–17 Coupe de la Ligue match. By the end of the season, Nancy achieved the 19th position on the league table and was relegated again to Ligue 2.

2017–18 Ligue 2 and last season

On 25 July, Hadji extended his contract for another season even though it was believed he was going to retire by the end of the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season. He scored 4 goals in 5 matches against

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Fren ...

Stade Brestois 29 Stade Brestois 29 or simply Brest, is a French football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. In its early years, the club made a rapid rise ...

Valenciennes FC Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes or USVA) is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Valenciennes pla ...

and

Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01 Football Bourg-en-Bresse Péronnas 01 is a French association football team founded in 1942. They are based in Bourg-en-Bresse, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, and play in Championnat National, the third tier of the French football league system. ...

respectively. On 29 September, he scored a hat-trick against

in a 4–1 win. He scored a brace against

three months later. and then he did not score until the last 2 games of the season, the first in a 2–1 away loss against

Paris FC Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stad ...

and the second and the last in his career in a 3–0 home win against

from the penalty spot. He received a standing ovation from AS Nancy fans.

Personal life

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 Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

, Sporting and

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A C ...

. He is married to hair stylist Behcia Hadji, they have 2 daughters together.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hadji goal.''

Honours

Nancy *

: 2015–16 Individual *

top scorer: 2014–15 with 13 goals

References

External links

Youssouf Hadji's profile, stats & pics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadji, Youssouf 1980 births Living people People from Ifrane Atlas-Saghir Shilha people French people of Shilha descent Moroccan footballers Association football forwards Association football midfielders Morocco international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Qatar Stars League players Süper Lig players AS Nancy Lorraine players SC Bastia players Stade Rennais F.C. players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Elazığspor footballers Moroccan expatriate footballers Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Qatar