Freddy Zemmour (born 21 February 1942) is an Algerian 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 ...
.
Career
Freddy Zemmour began playing football at the age of nine with Gallia Sports Algérois and was Algiers Department Champion in the three categories, Minimes, Cadets and Juniors. He spent his first senior year at Gallia d'Alger in 1961–62. That year, he played with Achour Salah, Ghazi Djermane, Abdelghani Zitouni, Nassou and Boubekeur Belbekri. After the independence of Algeria became a soldier in the French army in
El Harrach
El Harrach (Berber: ⵍⵃⴻⵔⵔⴰⵛ , formerly ''Maison-Carrée'') is a suburb of the Algerian capital Algiers.
The town is home to USM El Harrach
Union Sportive de la Médina d'El Harrach (), known as USM El Harrach or simply USMH for ...
, Belbekri who played with him in Gallia d'Alger and during his visit to his mother to ask him to join him at the
USM Alger
Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger (); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a Association football, football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its colours are red and black. Their home sta ...
, at Bologhine stadium. At that time, come out regularly from the military barracks to see his mother One day he went to train with USM Alger and was greeted by his friend Belbekri and coach
Abdelaziz Ben Tifour
Abdelaziz Ben Tifour (; – ) was a professional-Algerian footballer who played as a midfielder.
Life and career
He was a pioneer of Algerian football playing in Tunisia and France in the 40s and 50s as well as establishing the first Algeri ...
MC Alger
Mouloudia Club d'Alger (), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home stadium, Ali La Pointe Stadium, has a capacit ...
3–0.
Later in 1964, Zemmour told his coach Ben Tifour that he wanted to become a professional player in France, His answer was clear "I will talk about you at
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million In 1964 in a match in Batna, Zemmour was attacked by one of the players in the locker room but all his teammates protected him It was the only time he was subjected to a racist incident because he was French and Jewish religion, two things that are very sensitive in Algeria so far. In one of his statements he said "My decision to leave USM Alger and Algeria was not easy to make. But I have always been a "man of duty", and I had to focus on my professional career for the well being of my wife and children".
Personal life
Freddy Zemmour was born on 21 February 1942 in
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, at 9 rue Adolphe Blasselle, in Belcourt. He got married on 24 October 1964 at the Consulate of France in
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
. He then lived in 22 bd Bougara until August 1968, after which he left to
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 ...
. On 18 January 1965 his son Bruno was born in
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, clinical Avenue Claude Debussy. His daughter, Sandrine, was born on 30 January 1969 in St Maur des Fosses (
Paris region
Paris () is the capital and largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the fourth-most populous city in the European Union and the 30th most densely popul ...
). Zemmour left Algeria in 1968 because Freddy and his wife wanted to get closer to their families who had left Algeria between 62 and 68.
Career statistics
Honours
USM Alger
*
Championnat National
The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...