Camel Meriem (born 18 October 1979) is a French 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 ...

who played 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 ...

for

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 ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

, Arles-Avignon,

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

, and

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

. He has represented

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at international level.

Club career

Born in

Audincourt Audincourt () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. History Audincourt belonged to the County of Montbéliard which became part of France in 1793, during the French Revolutionary War ...

, Doubs, to Algerian parents, Meriem began his career with

, where he played 82 games and scored eight goals in five years. In January 2002 he signed for

and later that season he played and scored as his new side won the 2002 Coupe de la Ligue Final. He played three seasons with Bordeaux, representing his team in another 82 games, scoring eight goals before playing in the 2003–04 season on loan for

, for whom he played in the

2004 UEFA Cup Final The 2004 UEFA Cup Final was an association football match that took place on 19 May 2004 at Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden, contested between Spanish side Valencia and French side Olympique de Marseille. Valencia won the match 2–0, with goals from ...

. After the end of the season 2003–04 he returned to Bordeaux before signing in August 2005 for

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. After 110 games and eight goals in four seasons he was released by Monaco in the summer of 2009. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and joined

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on trial on 14 October 2009. On 26 October 2009, it was revealed that Meriem was now training and having talks with

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in a deal that could see him joining the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

based club until the end of the

2009–10 Premier League The 2009–10 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. A total of 20 teams competed in the league, with Chelsea unseating the thre ...

season. He returned to Blackburn Rovers for a second round of trials, however the trial was terminated early when Meriem picked up a knee injury. He returned to Rovers just after the new year (2009–2010) for a third trial and talks over a deal to join the club. On 5 February 2010, Meriem signed a contract with Greek club

on a 1.5-year contract. On 24 June 2010, Aris re-signed his contract and released the French midfielder into the free agent pool. On 9 August, Meriem signed a one-year contract plus an option for another year with newly promoted

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 ...

club

AC Arles-Avignon AC, A.C., A/C, or Ac often refers to: * Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C * Alternating current, a type of electrical current in which the current repeatedly changes direction AC, A.C. or Ac may also refer to: Arts and entertainment G ...

. He left Arles-Avignon in June 2011 on a free transfer and

. Nice released him after him in 2013. Apollon Limassol announced the signing of 33-year-old French midfielder Camel Meriem on a 1+1 year contract. At the end of the season 2014–15 Meriem decided to leave the island of Cyprus, leaving behind two successful years with Apollon Limassol. Apollon Limassol finished 3rd and participated in the Europa League group stages both years. In January 2017, Meriem joined AS Monaco third's team in the French seventh tier.

International career

Meriem earned his first national cap with the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 17 November 2004 against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in a 0–0 draw.

Style of play

Meriem was a playmaker well known for his vision and precise passing.

Personal life

His brother is

FC Tournai RFC Tournai is a Belgian association football club from the city of Tournai, Hainaut. It is the result of the merger between R. Union Sportive Tournaisienne (matricule n°26) and R.R.C. Tournaisien (n°36) in 2002. The club wears the matricu ...

midfielder Samir Meriem.

Honours

Sochaux * Division 2: 2000–01 Bordeaux *

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 ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriem, Camel 1979 births Living people People from Audincourt Footballers from Doubs French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Olympique de Marseille players AS Monaco FC players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players AC Arlésien players OGC Nice players Apollon Limassol FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece French expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus French sportspeople of Algerian descent