Lazhar Hadj Aïssa () (born 23 March 1984 in Batna) is an Algerian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for NRB Teleghma in the

Algerian Ligue 2 The Algerian Ligue 2, also called Ligue 2, formerly known as Ligue Professionnelle 2 and Championnat National 2, is the second highest division overall in the Algerian football league system. Administered by the Ligue Nationale du Football Amate ...

Personal

Hadj Aïssa is nicknamed "Baggio" because of his hair and his style of play's similarity to Italian legend

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...

Club career

MSP Batna

Hadj Aïssa started his playing career in 1994 with his hometown club MSP Batna, starting with the youth sides and progressing to become one of the most talented players at the club. In the 2003–2004 season, he made his full debut for the club in the Algerian Second Division, with his performances on the pitch attracting loads of interest from various domestic clubs.

ES Sétif

In the summer of 2004, Hadj Aïssa joined

ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne (), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional association football, football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in 1958 and its colours are bl ...

and made 25 appearances, scoring 2 goals, in his first season. The following season, he made 28 appearances and scored 5 goals. On 10 June 2006, on the recommendation of

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

, Hadj Aïssa was offered a trial with Spanish club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. In his third season with the club, Hadj Aïssa helped ES Sétif win the 2006–2007 Algerian League, their first league title since 1987. He also played a crucial role in the team's triumph in the 2006–2007 edition of the

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

and was named the ''Best Player'' of the competition. The following season, he helped the club win the 2007–08 Arab Champions League. However, on the domestic front, the club could only manage a third-place finish. On 11 July 2008, it was announced that he was going on trial with Portuguese club Benfica. However, days later, he announced that he would not join the club because they were looking to loan him out. Two weeks later, he traveled to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and signed with Metalist Kharkov but the club would not match the price tag set by ES Sétif president Abdelhakim Serrar. On 9 August 2009, Hadj Aïssa signed with

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

n club

Al-Ettifaq Al-Ettifaq Club (), commonly known as Al-Ettifaq or simply Ettifaq, is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League. The club was established by the merger of three Dammam-based clubs in 1945. Al- ...

. However, a few days later, the contract was canceled after Al-Ettifaq faced financial difficulties and failed to pay the transfer fee to ES Sétif. On 24 August 2009, it was announced that he was going on trial with English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He trained with the club until the end of the transfer window, on 31 September but did not end up signing because of work permit issues. Portsmouth had been keen on keeping him, but due to the administrative issues they were unable to do so. In 2010, he captained his side in the final of the

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup () also known the Republic Cup (), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after independence, and has been played yearly since then apart ...

, in which they won 3–0.

Qadsia SC

On 15 August 2011, Hadj Aïssa signed a one-year contract with

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as Zain Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Kuwait SC holds the best record in the competition, having won 20 times. History Th ...

club

Qadsia SC Al Qadsia Sporting Club () is a professional football club based in Kuwait City. Al Qadsia was founded in 1953 as ''Al-Jazira'', before being renamed to ''Al Qadsia SC'' on 20 October 1960. Qadsia currently plays in the Kuwait Premier League ...

Statistics

Honours

Club

;

Algerian Championnat National The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (), known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the co ...

: 2006–07, 2008–09, Runner-up 2009–10 *

North African Cup of Champions The North African Cup of Champions was a tournament designed by the Union of North African Football (UNAF) that puts together the winners of the domestic leagues around North Africa. The tournament contains representatives from Algeria, Libya, Mo ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: 2009–10 *

North African Super Cup The North African Super Cup was an annual association football competition which was launched in 2010. It is organised by the Union of North African Football Federations. The Super Cup pits the winner of the North African Cup of Champions against ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

North African Cup Winners Cup The North African Cup Winners Cup was a competition organised by the Federation of North African Football, that contains the winners of the domestic cups around North Africa. The competition contains representatives from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco ...

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

: Runner-up 2008–09 ;

Kuwait Emir Cup The Kuwait Amir/Emir Cup () is a Kuwaiti football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ...

: 2011–12 *

: 2011–12

Awards

* Best player of the

in 2007 * Best young player of the Algerian League in 2005

References

External links

*
Lazhar Hadj Aïssa
at dzfoot.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadj Aissa, Lazhar 1984 births Living people Algerian men's footballers Algeria men's international footballers Chaoui people ES Sétif players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Algeria men's A' international footballers MSP Batna players Qadsia SC players Algeria men's under-23 international footballers 2011 African Nations Championship players Expatriate men's footballers in Kuwait Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Algerian expatriate men's footballers Sportspeople from Batna, Algeria Algeria men's youth international footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Algerian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Sharjah FC players MC Alger players Al-Safa FC players UAE First Division League players Saudi First Division League players Men's association football midfielders Kuwait Premier League players 21st-century Algerian sportsmen