Carl Medjani (; born 15 May 1985) is a 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 plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Olympique Salaise Rhodia. He spent most of his career in France, his country of birth, while representing the Algeria national team at international level.

Club career

Liverpool

After spending his youth development years at

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, he was signed by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

's manager

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

in August 2003. Liverpool beat off stiff competition from Premiership rivals

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and German giants

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

to secure his services. In an interview with ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'', Medjani revealed he left Saint-Étienne because he was willing to stay if given an opportunity with the first team, but his request was turned down by manager

Frédéric Antonetti Frédéric Antonetti (born 19 August 1961) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of French club Strasbourg. He previously managed Bastia, Gamba Osaka, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Rennes and Lille. ...

. Medjani then struggled to break in Liverpool first team so he was sent on loan to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

for the whole 2004–05 season by new Liverpool manager

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

, where he made 25 appearances. Despite impressing in the

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

under-20 tournament in summer 2005, Benítez deemed it necessary for him to gain more experience and so he spent 2005–06 on loan at

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Lorient

At the start of the 2006–07 season, he rejoined Lorient, this time on a permanent basis.

Ajaccio

In the 2007–08 season, Medjani moved down to

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 ...

joining

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

for the remainder of the season. The 2008–09 season earned Medjani a permanent move with the club on a three-year deal. He soon made an immediate impact when he scored his first goal in the second round of

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 ...

during Ajaccio's 4–2 loss against

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. On 20 February 2009, Medjani came on as a substitute in the second half and 18 minutes into the game, he was sent off, along with Brahim Ferradj in the same minute, as Ajaccio drew 1–1 with Brest. Medjani scored his first league goal of the season during Ajaccio's 3–1 defeat to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Following the 2009–10 season and the World Cup, Medjani was linked with Ligue 2 side

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. Ajaccio finished as runners-up in Ligue 2 resulting in their promotion to Ligue 1. Medjani signed a two-year contract extension until 2013. In the 2011–12 season, Medjani continued to be in the first team, either playing in centre back and defensive midfield. Medjani scored his first goal in a 3–1 loss against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

on 16 October 2011. On 10 December 2012, Medjani made a mistake in the final minutes, allowing

Daniel Niculae Daniel George Niculae (; born 6 October 1982) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played mainly as a striker, currently he is the president of Liga I club Hermannstadt. He has made 39 appearances for Romania since his debut in 20 ...

to score in a 2–2 draw against Nancy, in a match which could have ended Ajaccio thirteen games without winning. In April, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Saint-Étienne. Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Medjani expressed his desire to leave the club. In December, Medjani started to wear the captain's armband.

Monaco

In January 2013, just prior to the closing of the

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Medjani joined

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, ...

on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Ajaccio. Following Monaco promotion, Medjani was told by Manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Serie A club AS Roma, Roma but will leave on 30 June 2025, followin ...

that his first team appearances would be limited following the club's spending spree.

Loan spells

In July 2013, Medjani was sent out on loan to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

from Monaco until 1 January 2014, with the option of a permanent move. After six months with few appearances at Olympiacos, he returned to his parent club. Upon his return to France, Monaco then loaned him out to

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

till the end of 2013–14 season. Following his loan spell at Valenciennes, his time at Monaco came to an end despite having two years of his contract left.

Trabzonspor

After leaving Monaco, Medjani was linked with a move to

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

and

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, before joining Trabzonspor on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club in the play-off round of the Europa League as Trabzonspor beat

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

2–0 in the first leg.

Levante and Leganés

On 30 January 2016,

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side Levante have signed Medjani until the end of the season, with an option to extend the contract for another season. On 25 July, after suffering relegation, he signed a one-year contract with

Leganés Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popu ...

, also in the main category. On 9 January 2017, Medjani rescinded with ''Lega'' and signed with Trabzonspor again.

International career

Medjani has an Algerian father and a French mother, and was eligible for both national teams. Medjani captained the France U21 team in the

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

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 ...

. However, being of Algerian origin, he made the switch to represent Algeria in international competitions and was called up by Rabah Saâdane to the Algeria national team's preliminary squad for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, before going on to make the full tournament squad. On 10 December 2012, it was announced that Medjani was selected in the 40-man provisional squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

. Medjani survived the cuts, firstly to the 24-man list announced on 18 December 2012, and then to the final squad of twenty-three. Having won 25

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s by this point, Medjani made his second

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

squad by winning a place in the Algerian cohort for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

. A year and ten appearances later, Medjani joined the Algeria team at the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

Personal life

While growing up, Medjani revered boxer

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medjani, Carl 1985 births Living people Footballers from Lyon Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Algerian men's footballers Algeria men's international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers French people of Kabyle descent Kabyle people Algerian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia FC Metz players FC Lorient players AC Ajaccio players AS Monaco FC players Liverpool F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players Valenciennes FC players Trabzonspor footballers Levante UD footballers CD Leganés players Sivasspor footballers Ohod Club players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Super League Greece players Süper Lig players Saudi Pro League players La Liga players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players France men's youth international footballers 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Algerian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England