Mustapha Hadji

Mustapha Hadji
ⵎⵙⵟⴰⴼⴰ ⵃⵊⵉ مصطفى حجي

Personal information
Date of birth	(1971-11-16) 16 November 1971
Place of birth	Ifrane Atlas-Saghir, Morocco
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1996	Nancy	134	(31)
1996–1997	Sporting CP	27	(3)
1997–1999	Deportivo	31	(2)
1999–2001	Coventry City	62	(12)
2001–2004	Aston Villa	35	(2)
2004	Espanyol	16	(1)
2004–2005	Al Ain	15	(5)
2005–2007	1. FC Saarbrücken	54	(10)
2007–2010	Fola Esch	44	(25)
Total		418	(91)
National team‡
1993–2004	Morocco	63	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 July 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 January 2010

Mustapha Hadji (born 16 November 1971 in Ifrane Atlas-Saghir, Morocco) is a former Moroccan footballer.

Early life

Hadji was born in Ifrane Atlas-Saghir, Morocco. He emigrated with his family to France.

Club career

Hadji began playing football in France. He signed his first contract with AS Nancy where he spent his first season as a youth player before joining the senior squad in his second year with the club.

After playing five seasons for AS Nancy, Hadji joined Sporting and then Deportivo, but it was with Coventry City where he became well known, especially in Britain. After an impressive 1998 FIFA World Cup, where Hadji scoring a memorable goal against Norway, he became much sought after, especially after being named African Footballer of the Year in 1998. He was signed a year later by Gordon Strachan for Coventry.

Hadji was a goal-scoring attacking midfielder with great pace and skillful runs. At Coventry, he was joined by Moroccan international, Youssef Chippo, sparking a brief trend for City fans to wear fezzes to games in their honor. After Coventry were relegated in 2001, he joined local rivals Aston Villa, having scored against them three times in the previous season. But after only playing sporadically, scoring twice in the league against Southampton and Everton and once in the UEFA Cup against Varteks, he was released on a free transfer to Espanyol in Spain in 2004 where he remained until June 2004.

Hadji has since played for Al Ain FC in United Arab Emirates where he remained for one year before returning to Europe with 1. FC Saarbrücken of Germany in 2005, where he signed a two year contract. In August 2007, Hadji signed for CS Fola Esch, a team currently playing in the Luxembourg's first-tier BGL Ligue. He ended his playing career in July 2010.

International career

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Hadji played in all three group games for Morocco, two as substitute. In Morocco's third game against the Netherlands, Hadji setup the equalizer for Hassan Nader with his first touch after coming on as substitute. Despite this, Morocco lost all three games and were eliminated. He scored a brilliant goal in Morocco's 2–2 draw with Norway in the 1998 World Cup, Hadji was named African footballer of the year after a brilliant world cup in France.

He played in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.

Other projects

Recent events for Hadji included being selected for Ambassadorship during the 2010 World Cup by FIFA to represent Africa. Hadji is also involved in a partnership with plans to invest in Morocco, thus making opportunities for the local people, as he's aiming to help rid poverty from his homeland.

Hadji is also a supporter of Show Racism The Red Card charity.

Personal

His three younger brothers all followed in his footsteps, Youssouf Hadji, is also a Moroccan international and currently plays for Rennes in France, Brahim Hadji plays for SV Klarenthal 1911 in Germany, and Farid Hadji at 1. FC Saarbrücken. While his son Samir Hadji plays for Fola Esch in the BGL Ligue.

External links

• Mustapha Hadji at National-Football-Teams.com