Omar Benzerga (; born 13 March 1990) 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 ...

Club career

On 14 June 2010, Benzerga signed a four-year contract with

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 ...

side

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 ...

, joining on a free transfer from

Lille OSC Lille Olympique Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lille, Northern France competing in Ligue 1, the top division of Football in Franc ...

. On 31 July 2010, Benzerga made his professional debut, starting for Nantes in their

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 ...

game against

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

. A week later, on 9 August 2010, he made his league debut for Nantes in the opening game of the 2010–11 Ligue 2 season against

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

starting the game before being subbed off in the 67th minute. On 16 June 2012, he was fired by his club Nantes and banned for three years by the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF and 3F; or Triple F; , ) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspec ...

International career

Benzerga played for the France U17 national team participating in the

2007 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship 2007 Final Tournament was held in Belgium from 2 to 13 May 2007. Top-five teams (two best places from each group plus winner of playoff between third-placed teams) qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2007 ...

where France reached the semi-finals. He started all four of France's games at the competition. In September 2009, Benzerga was called up to the Algerian U23 national team for a ten-day training camp in Beaucaire, France. He was called up again for another training camp 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 ...

in December 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benzerga, Omar 1990 births Living people People from Châtellerault Footballers from Vienne (department) French sportspeople of Algerian descent Algerian men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Algeria men's under-23 international footballers France men's youth international footballers Ligue 2 players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players SO Châtellerault players Lille OSC players FC Nantes players JSM Béjaïa players Royal Excel Mouscron players JS Saoura players ASM Oran players Algerian expatriate men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium 21st-century French sportsmen