Medhi Lacen

Mehdi Lacen

Personal information
Full name	Mehdi Gregory Giuseppe Lacen
Date of birth	15 May 1984 (1984-05-15)
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Getafe
Number	6
Youth career
	Versailles
	Laval
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2004	Laval	4	(0)
2004–2005	Valence	35	(0)
2005–2008	Alavés	86	(0)
2008–2011	Racing Santander	100	(4)
2011–	Getafe	21	(0)
National team‡
2010–	Algeria	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:00, March 1, 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, March 1, 2012 (UTC)

Mehdi Gregory Giuseppe Lacen (born 15 May 1984) is an Algerian footballer who plays for Getafe CF in the Spanish first division, as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Born in Paris, France, to an Algerian father and an Italian mother, Lacen started his professional career with modest outfits of Stade Lavallois and ASOA Valence. In 2005–06, he moved to Spain, joining Deportivo Alavés which would eventually be relegated. He made his La Liga debut on 15 October 2005, in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.

After two second division seasons as an undisputed starter for the Basque, Lacen moved to Racing de Santander on 15 August 2008, on a three-year link. He competed throughout the campaign for first-choice status with French Peter Luccin, also newly signed.

In the 2009–10 season, as Racing finished in 16th position, Lacen became an automatic first-choice (Luccin returned to Real Zaragoza from his loan), scoring three times, namely in a 3–2 home win over Xerez CD, on 13 December 2009.

In late February 2011, with his Racing Santander contract expiring in June, Lacen signed a pre-contract with fellow top level outfit Getafe CF. On 25 May, he made the move official, signing a four-year contract with the Madrid outskirts club.

International career

Although French-born, Lacen had the possibility of representing Algeria through his fathers' origins. In 2006, he was called-up by Jean-Michel Cavalli to the national side for a friendly against Gabon, but did not play because of an administrative problem.

On 12 December 2009, the president of the Algerian FA, Mohamed Raouraoua, announced that Lacen would be called up to the Algerian squad for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. However, five days later, head coach Rabah Saadane announced that the player would not participate in the continental competition because of his wife's pregnancy.

On 12 February 2010, Racing Santander's website announced that Lacen was chosen for Algeria's upcoming friendly against Serbia. On March 3, he finally made his debut, in a 0–3 loss.

In June 2010, Lacen was selected to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, playing all the games. During the tournament, he partnered Hassan Yebda (another defensive midfielder), as the national team failed to score a goal, earning one point.

Personal

Lacen's younger brother, Michael, is also a footballer. He represented, amongst other clubs, FC Versailles.

External links

• Getafe official profile (Spanish)
• Medhi Lacen French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• BDFutbol profile
• Medhi Lacen at National-Football-Teams.com
• Medhi Lacen – FIFA competition record
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• Transfermarkt profile