Jaouad Zairi (; born 17 April 1982) is a Moroccan 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 winger. He played for the Morocco national team between 2000 and 2009, making 34 appearances and scoring six goals.

Early life

Zairi was born into a large family in

Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...

, Morocco. At the age of 2, his family moved to

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

, a small French city. In 1997, he moved to FC Gueugnon.

Club career

Zairi joined the French

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 ...

team

FC Gueugnon Football Club Gueugnonnais (commonly called Gueugnon ) is a French association football club based in Gueugnon, Burgundy. The club was formed in 1940 and plays its home matches at the Stade Jean Laville located within the city. The club has ...

at the age of 15. In the summer of 2001, he joined

FC Sochaux FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

and played for them until 2008. In January 2006 he was loaned to the Saudi club

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. He moved to Portugal and played for one year with

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the of Porto that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese football, at the Estádio do B ...

(2006–2007). He returned in France and played another year with

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 ...

(2007–2008). He moved to Greece and played for Super League Greece side

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club (), currently known as Asteras AKTOR for sponsorship reasons, commonly referred to as Asteras, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Asteras Tripolis ...

for the 2008–09 season. On 25 April 2009,

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, ...

announced Zairi would join for the 2009–10 season. He won the

2010–11 Super League Greece The 2010–11 Super League Greece was the 75th season of the highest football league of Greece and the fifth under the name ''Super League''. The league consisted of 16 teams, the 13 best teams of the 2009–10 season and three teams that had b ...

with the club. After two seasons with Olympiacos he was informed by Olympiacos' manager

Ernesto Valverde Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 ...

that he was not to renew his contract with the club and that he was free to leave. In July 2017, he made an appearance for Indonesian club

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'), abbreviated as Persija (), is an Indonesian professional Association football, football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jaka ...

in a friendly match against

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

International career

Zairi made a debut for Morocco national team in 2000. He played in the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

in 2004 when Morocco made it to the finals but lost to their North African rivals

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Zairi also played for Morocco at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

International goals

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

Honours

Olympiacos *

Superleague Greece 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 repl ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Morocco *

runner-up:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zairi, Jaouad Living people 1982 births People from Taza Men's association football wingers Men's association football midfielders Moroccan men's footballers 21st-century Moroccan sportsmen Morocco men's international footballers Moroccan expatriate men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players Primeira Liga players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Saudi Pro League players FC Gueugnon players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Boavista F.C. players FC Nantes players Asteras Tripolis F.C. players Olympiacos F.C. players PAS Giannina F.C. players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) players Al Nasr SCSC (Salalah) players GOAL FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Oman Olympic footballers for Morocco Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Oman Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Greece Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in France 21st-century French sportsmen 20th-century French sportsmen