Stéphane Ziani (born 9 December 1971) is a French 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 an

attacking 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. ...

and is currently a manager.

Club career

A product of

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 ...

's renowned youth system, Ziani was a key member for hometown squad from an early age, having represented the side on two separate stints: from 1991 to 94 and from 2000 to 2004. As a holding midfielder, he scored 11 league goals for

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

in 1997–98 for his first national championship, also achieved in 2001 with Nantes (the latter of which he contributed 31 appearances). With Nantes he also won the

2001 Trophée des Champions The 2001 Trophée des Champions was a soccer, football match held at Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg on July 19, 2001, that saw 2000–01 French Division 1, 2000–01 Division 1 champions FC Nantes defeat 2000–01 Coupe de France winners RC Strasb ...

. Ziani retired in 2006, having also represented

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

Stade Rennais F.C. Stade Rennais Football Club (SRFC, ), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais () or simply Rennes,''Rennais'' and ''Stade Rennes'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, are not grammatically correct names for the club. is ...

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (department), Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitain ...

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

Servette FC Servette FC is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Geneva, founded in March 1890 with rugby as its first sporting activity, and named after the Geneva district of the same name. The football section was created on ...

and

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccien (), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ACA or simply Ajaccio, is a French professional football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and plays in the Ligue 2, the sec ...

Managerial career

On 11 December 2008, he was sacked as manager by

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin Football Club Libourne, formerly known as AS Libourne or Libourne Saint-Seurin-sur-L'Isle, is a French football team from the town of Libourne in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The club plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French footbal ...

Personal

Ziani's father is of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n origin, hailing from the Kabyle city of

Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * Living people 1971 births Kabyle people French people of Kabyle descent Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers FC Nantes players SC Bastia players Stade Rennais FC players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players RC Lens players Deportivo de La Coruña players La Liga players Servette FC players Swiss Super League players AC Ajaccio players Ligue 1 players French football managers Footballers from Nantes French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland 20th-century French sportsmen {{france-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub