Rafik Halliche

Rafik Halliche (Arabic: رفيق حليش‎; born 2 September 1986) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club Moreirense F.C. as a central defender.

Rafik Halliche
Personal information
Full name Rafik Halliche[1]
Date of birth (1986-09-02) 2 September 1986[2]
Place of birth Algiers, Algeria[2]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Moreirense
Number 23
Youth career
1993–2000 CREPS Ben Aknoun
2000–2005 NA Hussein Dey
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 NA Hussein Dey 45 (1)
2008–2010 Benfica 0 (0)
2008–2010 → Nacional (loan) 34 (0)
2010–2012 Fulham 1 (0)
2012–2014 Académica 29 (0)
2014–2017 Qatar SC 30 (2)
2017–2018 Estoril 23 (2)
2018– Moreirense 31 (1)
National team‡
2006–2008 Algeria U23 6 (0)
2008– Algeria 41 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 July 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:55, 9 September 2019 (UTC)

He started playing in 2005 with Hussein Dey, going on to spend the vast majority of his career in Portugal.

An Algerian international since 2008, Halliche represented the nation in two World Cups and four Africa Cup of Nations, winning the 2019 edition of the latter tournament.

Club career

Early years

Born in Algiers, Halliche began playing football at the age of seven with CREPS Ben Aknoun.[3] After seven years with the club he joined the junior ranks of NA Hussein Dey, making his senior debut on 30 January 2006 in a league match against Paradou AC, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute.[4]

Nacional

In the January 2008 transfer window, Halliche received interest from a number of French sides, including AJ Auxerre and Valenciennes FC. However, on 30 January, he signed a four-year contract with Portugal's S.L. Benfica,[5] which immediately loaned him to fellow Primeira Liga team C.D. Nacional until the end of the season.[6]

On 30 March 2008, Halliche made his debut for Nacional, coming on at half-time in a 2–0 home league win against U.D. Leiria.[7] He would go on to make two more appearances as a starter before going back to Benfica at the end of the loan, which was then extended for the entirety of 2008–09 and also the following campaign.[8]

Fulham

On 16 August 2010, Halliche was reported to be linked with a move to Premier League club Fulham, for £1.3 million.[9] The following week, Benfica confirmed the sale of the player,[10] who signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[11]

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.[12][13] His first league appearance came on the 22nd, again from the bench (for Aaron Hughes), in a 2–0 home victory over Stoke City.[14]

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 for both his move and Darnel Situ's move from RC Lens, leaving the defender as a Fulham player subject to an appeal by the Welsh side.[15]

On 6 December 2011, Halliche went on a week-long trial with Celtic in the Scottish Premier League,[16] but nothing came of it. On 31 August of the following year, Fulham confirmed that the player's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.[17]

Académica

Halliche returned to Portugal on 31 August 2012, signing a two-year deal with Académica de Coimbra.[18] During his spell, he battled for first-choice status with Aníbal Capela and João Real.[19]

Qatar SC

On 13 July 2014, Halliche signed for Qatar SC.[20]

International career

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

Halliche was also summoned for the 2010 Africa 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 semi-finals he was sent off in the first half after being given two yellow cards, the last one also resulting in a penalty, in a 0–4 loss to Egypt.[21]

Halliche was picked to represent Algeria in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 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.[22] He was also selected to the following edition by coach Vahid Halilhodžić, as captain,[23] and contributed decisively to a 4–2 group win over South Korea on 22 June, heading home from a corner kick for his country's second goal.[24]

Career statistics

International
As of match played on 9 September 2019[25]
Algeria
YearAppsGoals
200820
200970
2010121
201100
201200
201350
2014102
201520
201600
201700
201800
201930
Total413

International goals
As of 11 October 2014[25]

(Algeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Halliche goal)

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 January 201011 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola Mali1–01–02010 Africa Cup of Nations
2.22 June 2014Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil South Korea2–04–22014 FIFA World Cup
3.11 October 2014Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre, Malawi Malawi1–02–02015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Algeria

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Algeria" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. "Rafik Halliche" (in French). Eurosport. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  3. Azibi, Abdelatif (27 June 2009). "Le Buteur s'invite chez Halliche" [Le Buteur visits Halliche] (in French). Le Buteur. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  4. "Division 1 18e j NAHD 1–1 PAC" [Division 1 18th r NAHD 1–1 PAC] (in French). DZFoot. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  5. "Halliche assina e... busca clube" [Halliche signs and... looks for club]. Record (in Portuguese). 30 January 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  6. "Benfica: Halliche emprestado ao Nacional" [Benfica: Halliche loaned to Nacional] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  7. "Nacional vence União de Leiria" [Nacional beat União de Leiria] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  8. "Benfica: Halliche diz que Nacional quer comprar o seu passe" [Benfica: Halliche says Nacional want to buy his rights] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  9. "Newcastle United plotting late swoop for Fulham bound Benfica defender Rafik Halliche". Goal. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  10. "Halliche no Fulham" [Halliche to Fulham] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 23 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  11. "Algeria defender Halliche seals Fulham move". ESPN Soccernet. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  12. "Fulham 6–2 Peterborough". Fulham F.C. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  13. "Fulham 6–2 Peterborough". Fulham F.C. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  14. "Fulham 2–0 Stoke City". Fulham F.C. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  15. "Swans denied clearance for duo". Sky Sports. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  16. "Celtic take Fulham defender on trial". STV News. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  17. "Halliche released". Fulham F.C. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  18. "Halliche assina por duas temporadas" [Halliche signs for two seasons]. Expresso (in Portuguese). 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  19. "Académica sem Halliche mas com Ivanildo para a receção ao Guimarães" [Académica without Halliche but with Ivanildo to host Guimarães] (in Portuguese). Notícias de Coimbra. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  20. "Rafiq Halliche arrives in Doha". Qatar Stars League. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  21. "Algeria 0–4 Egypt". BBC Sport. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  22. Rafik Halliche – FIFA competition record
  23. "Algeria World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  24. "Koreans crushed by impressive Algeria". FIFA. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  25. Rafik Halliche at National-Football-Teams.com
  26. "Algeria celebrate second Afcon title after beating Senegal". BBC Sport. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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