Rafik Halliche

Rafik Halliche

Personal information
Date of birth	September 2, 1986 (1986-09-02)
Place of birth	Algiers, Algeria
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	32
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	NA Hussein Dey	45	(1)
2008–2010	Benfica	0	(0)
2008–2010	→ Nacional (loan)	34	(0)
2010–	Fulham	1	(0)
National team‡
2006-2008	Algeria U23	6	(0)
2008–	Algeria	21	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 January 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 November 2011

Rafik Halliche (Arabic: رفيق حليش‎; born 2 September 1986 in Algiers) is an Algerian footballer who plays for Fulham in the English Premier League as a centre back. He's an Algerian international and has represented Algeria at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Club career

Early years and Nacional

In the January 2008 transfer window Halliche received interest from a number of Ligue 1 clubs, mainly from Auxerre and Valenciennes.

However Halliche went on to sign a 4 year contract with Primeira Liga's Benfica, who immediately loaned him to fellow Primeira Liga outfit Nacional until the end of the 2007-08 season.

On 30 March 2008, Halliche made his debut for Nacional coming on at half-time in a 2–0 home league win against União de Leiria. He would go on to make two more appearances as a starter for the club before going back to Benfica at the end of the loan. Halliche loan deal was then extended again for the entirety of 2008–09 and also the 2009-10 season at Nacional.

Fulham

On 16 August 2010, Halliche was reported to be linked with a move to English Premier League side Fulham for £3.3 million. On 23 August 2011, Benfica confirmed the sale of Halliche who signed a 3 year deal for an undisclosed fee with English Premier League side Fulham.

Later the Benfica Stars Fund who were the 3rd party owners of the player, disclosed the total transfer fee was £2.5 million in 2 instalments.

Halliche made his official début 8 January 2011, replacing Brede Hangeland in the FA Cup's third round tie against Peterborough United. He conceded a penalty in the 85th minute for tripping Craig Mackail-Smith, in an eventual 6–2 win. His first league appearance came on the 22 January, again as a substitute for Aaron Hughes. The match ended in a 2–0 home win against Stoke City.

Swansea City made a successful loan bid for Halliche during the 2011 summer transfer window but several weeks after the deadline, FIFA denied international clearance to Swansea City for both his move and Darnel Situ's move from Ligue 1 team Lens, leaving the defender as a Fulham player subject to an appeal by the Welsh team.

On 6 December 2011, Halliche went on a week-long trial with Scottish Premier League team Celtic.

International career

Halliche made his debut for Algeria on 31 May 2008 against Senegal, coming as a substitute for Anthar Yahia in the 75th minute. On 18 November 2009, he started – in the decisive tie-breaker against Egypt for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, as the national side won 1–0 in Sudan and returned to the FIFA World Cup 24 years after its last presence.

Halliche was also summoned for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, in Angola; he kept the national side's qualification hopes alive after scoring the only goal in a win against Mali, after a loss to Malawi in the opener. In the semifinals, he was sent off in the first half after being given two yellow cards, the last one also resulting in a penalty, in a 4–0 loss to Egypt.

Halliche was picked to represent Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, playing all the matches and minutes as the national side only conceded two goals in the group stage, but finished last in their group after failing to score once.

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• Premier League profile
• Rafik Halliche career stats at Soccerbase
• Rafik Halliche at National-Football-Teams.com