Algeria’s Pre-World Cup 1st Training Camp Starts Now

I hope they could move over the injuries and prepare in the best way to the word cup,

I like the decision Saadane made to have them somewhat excluded from the fans. That will help them focus more in what they need to do…Goodluck to all of us wa beshifaa inshallah

Wallah ila shewektelna lhamna….thanks Omar.

I was watching the Algeria – Serbia match. Wow, really bad – especially at the beginning. One good thing, Lacen who I thought may be overrated has good positional awareness and covers for Belhadj. But the right side is a real problem. The team is still not playing to their strengths – I good go through the whole team… They play better for their clubs than for the national team. I can’t believe they played with 3 defensive midfielders. Yebda is great when he stays in the middle of the pitch and doesn’t go up – Portsmouth v Totenham he made his presence felt, whenever he plays for Algeria, he plays as an offensive midfield and it doesn’t work – he’s almost taking the place of playmaker – and thats not his job. Ziani needs to be given more freedom and NOT put on the wing. Djebbour can’t play alone up front as he’s a striker, and he needs more support – which means you can’t lay him alone in 4-5-1, has to be Ghezzal. So Ghezzal has to turn provider for an offensive midfield and wingers – like Zamora for Fulham. Until Algeria switch to 4-4-2 and bring on Djebbour. Inshallah khair.

This guy is funny – I like the bit at the end – tshoof al match: at-dukh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlhFGXk438w&NR=1

Wow – reassuring that some algerians know whats going on…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsZZ6kIP-_4&NR=1

استر ماستر الله

كبير وجايح

Oh come on – he was funny – and the point is everyone can see what Saadane can’t see. Because he’s a chaoui and will never change. We will see what happens against Ireland. Selectioneur, he’s OK – coach OMG – God help us all. Even after CAN, playing Ziani on the left wing…

Great article Omar.

Come on Sami, him being Chaoui has nothing to do with his “stuberness” معزه والا طارت
The guy is just sticking to his guns this time, compare that to 1986 episode.

Whether we like it or not, the guys got us to the world cup, so let’s give him a break…….. for now, and let him do his job.

guy*

I have been meaning to ask you about this, Sami. What do you think is wrong with having Ziani on the left with Belhadj as a fullback. It did the job versus Ivory Coast, as both Belhadj and Ziani had one assist each. Even though Ziani is much ore better on the right, he is a right midfielder, I think he does a good job on the left.

Good news :

le Comité Exécutif de la CAF qui s’est réuni vendredi 14 mai au Caire , sur proposition de son Président Issa Hayatou, a décidé à l’unanimité de prononcer une amnistie générale de toutes les sanctions en cours, à l’exception de celles qui auraient été prononcées pour une agression physique à l’encontre d’un arbitre ou d’un officiel.

Ce qui signifie que l’international Nadir Belhadj qui était encore sous le coup d’une suspension pourra jouer dans les compétitions internationales.
Le Comité Exécutif de la Confédération Africaine de Football a décidé également, à la demande du Président de lever la suspension du Togo pour les deux prochaines Coupes d’Afrique des Nations Orange. La sanction avait été prononcée le 30 Janvier 2010 à Luanda à la suite du départ inopiné de la délégation du Togo le jour du coup d’envoi de la compétition.
Suite à la levée de la sanction, le Togo est réintégré dans les éliminatoires de la Coupe d’Afrique des Nation 2012

http://www.dzfoot.com/news-6461/cm-2010-levee-de-suspension-pour-nadir-belhadj/

Common misconception and steriotyping in algeria:

Chaouia stubborn we m3assekriyen stupid…

That is wrong just very wrong…lol are we ever going to change…

As per Saadane, the man is doing his job so every algerian on this blog needs to respect him for that. Elsaan twil we dra3 walou, I bet you the guy on the video can’t even play soccer…lol and he somehow thinks he can do Saadane’s job better than him.

L’Algerienne, what part of the west are you from???

Have you ever seen Ziani disposessed? He is fast, can accelerate, has a low center of gravity, holds the ball up well. Yes he can play well as a winger, frankly I think he’d make a good striker too, but the point is he’s the only guy on the pitch who has a high level understanding of the game and you don’t play someone like that as a winger. Ivory Coast worked thats true, but what about the other games, egypt and serbia? algeria never threatened and ziani on the wing was the most significant change in my view. Think of it this way, you need a solid line down the middle Bougherra and Yahia, Ziani, Yebda(or whoever), Ghezzal. The minute you start putting guys who can be shoulder barged off the ball, you lose the middle of the field, its dangerous.

Alhamdoullah,

I am really happy for TOGO, they really didn’t deserve that punishment on top of what happened to them.

Wahran

Isn’t Ziani a lefty?

خىار ناس

خيار الناس

Great for Belhadj, now all we need is chaouchi to be cleared and I will sleep better at night…lol

Rabbi eykhalik khoya

Chouchi is already cleared
he missed the Nigeria game plus the two games against Libya.

He’s right footed. Capello had the same issue when he played Gerrard on the left wing and Lampard in the middle. didn’t work – now he tries to play them together, but still didn’t work, so he subbed lampard out.

Chouchi is already cleared
he missed the Nigeria game plus the two games against Libya.

God help us!

Even better…Alhamdoullah, about chaouchi that is.

You know Fateh Saleh who was walking to South Africa for the game, where is he at right now. I did not hear anything about him accept for the fact that Cameroon granted him a 24hour visa only which obviously wasn’t enough for him to cross.

That dude should have walked to Mecca and Medina – the team needs dua more than someone with tired legs!

Very funny Sami…lol but to do that he would have to go through Egypt…lol tired legs are better than a dead body (joking). Give him some credit he’s doing something great for his team to show the rest of the world how much we love our country. Plus Dua can be given from any place not just mecca and medina….lol

England , USA are well known,no body Denny there level Slovenia made it over Russia
i watch England,USA, Slovenia qualification to the world cup,
believe me guys, we have a good chance to make it to the next level if we bring our best play us group
can we make it ? yes we can

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60dEJRtWtGQ&feature=player_embedded

it look like yesterday, i still have same feeling when a watched this youtube
enjoy guys

Inshallah, our players will pull something like that or even better. Thanks for the video. All my prayers have been about algeria lately, I forgot about my self anf my family when I pray…lol I can’t believe this, I am just like my grandmother, rabbi yerhamha, she prayed to Allah like her life depended on algeria winning or loosing a game. It was really funny watching her but I became just like her…lol

The idea of playing a right footed player on the left wing is that he will cut in and move across the field and provide. I think Roma play a right footed player on the left wing and a left footed player on the right wing. Its so the player cuts across – like Boudebouz on the right. The risk is the player is easier to disposess (because he can’t shield the ball as effectively). Suits some players more than others, and some team’s style of play more than others. Personally I like to keep it simple.

Can anyone tell me what formation Algeria is playing here and the squad sheet / subs used?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ86fRkQPkg&feature=related

There’s something I wanted to say for a while, but I wasn’t too sure. I don’t think Djamel Abdoun should go to this world cup. He’s young, he can go in 2014 if its appropriate, but he’s just not good enough to play on either wing. I’ve seen him provide for the strikers and the level just isn’t there. With Bezzaz I always felt that although he played in D2 – he could easily make the transition to D1 in France. Powerful accurate left foot, excellent decision making – knows when to cross, when to pass back, when to take a shot. Abdoun is not at that level, Matmour, Bouazza and Boudebouz all deserve to go ahead of him. In my heart I’d like Abdoun to go to the world cup, but my mind says he gets cut. Hes just not ready yet and not integrated into the team. LHA on, Abdoun off.

Why do people think Mesbah is good?
What position does Metref play?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCX9bke95Mc&feature=related

Sami have you heard of Monday morning quarterbacking ??

hi guys,

nice to hear chaouchis punishment is over.
but believe, i cant see chaouchi nor geouaoui as the teams number one……i have a feeling Mbolhi gonna make it, what i totally support….i have a good feeling on this guy, i dont know why, but i think if he gets the starter ticket in the WC, than a new goali era gonna begins….
the real good goalkeeper we had was Osmani, the goali of the 1990 acon champion team, a real impressive person with his giant bearth. but since than i didnt see one on his level….sure geouaoui had some good days, but he is pretty inconcistent. as chaouchi is talented, but if only talent would count, than algeria would have won the cup several times…fact: talent is not enough.
i think mbolhi got the potetial to be the next great keeper….serba7, 3osmani, mbol7i….who knows

It’s true. The best example being FC Barcelona, with Leo Messi, dispite being left footed he is played on the right becuase he has the ability to cut in and score goals, the same with Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester he would sometimes play on the Left I believe. But these players are the best in the world, and are probably as good with the left as they are with the right.

Back to Ziani on the left. I think for Ivory coast is was the best position for Ziani. Merely because Belhadj can help him create an attack. Meghni-who is more technical then Ziani- Has the ability to create good chances on his own, and can hold a side by himself, without the help of the injured and out of competition Antar Yahia, who didn’t go up much versus the ivory coast. Idealy I would have Ziani on the Right while Boudebouz on the left this time. Hopefully by then we would have figured out the new right back player, even though I think Saadane will just go for the usually starting 4 Belhadj-Halliche-Bougherra-Antar, especially after the news that Belhadj will be allowed to play the first game in the WC.

The game you provided the video for was played in BLida.
I believe the starting XI was as follows: (3-5-2)
Lounes Gaouaoui
Bougherra-Hallich-Antar
–Mansouri—-Lemmouchia
Ziani–Matmour–Belhadj
–Ghezzal—-Djebbour

I remember that in this game Ziani started as the Right wing back, While Matmour playing behind the strikers. In the second half Saadane had them switch places, with led to Matmour’s opening goal. I don’t remember the subs though.

Salam

Can anyone tell me the report where it says chaouchi’s been cleared? Because the CAF amnesty excludes those given for violent conduct against referees.

Uthman,

Regarding Mbolhi’s capability, you’re not the only one who sees him like that. I was at my parents’ place and my dad told me that he will most likely be our #1 goal keeper in the algerian squad. He is really good. I hope Saadane gives him a chance, I like Chaouchi too, not only for his talent but the guy seems to be very determined to do his job and win no matter what injuries he has. Geouaoui, on the other hand, I like him but I get nervous when he’s on.

Kazi,

Regarding Chaouchi, the guys on here seem to be sure that he was cleared. But, I can’t find it anywhere. Does anyone have a link for that. Not that I don’t believe you guys.

From what you’ve put down, Ziani would be on the right wing with Matmour in the middle of the field, and Belhadj left wing. So when Ziani was put in the middle for the second half it led to all the goals. Thats interesting, kind of what I’ve been saying for a while?

I don’t think you guys understand – Ziani is the only world class player we have. The rest are good or very good, but ziani is like the heir of zidane. Really he should be playing for france as the new number 10, but because he decided to play for algeria – algeria qualified for the world cup its that simple.

Belhadj and Yebda both out for FA Cup Final. Should be match fit for world cup.

For all Lemmouchia’s anger management problem, he really is a great defensive midfield – what I didn’t realise is he’s 28 years old which means he’s really at his peak. I hope he plays (and keeps it together) – it really makes a difference having him around.

God does not want Chaouchi to play in the world cup. Accept it! Alhamdulillah. We really needed divine intervention there. With Chaouchi we would have set a new record for goals conceded in a world cup. No wonder egyptians love him, if hedary headbutted a ref and got himself sent off – I’d love him too.

Great defensive midfielders: Lemmouchia, Lacen, Yebda, Guedioura. That is relief at least.

Offensively: Boudebouz is a great addition, hopefully he can provide goals during run of play / couner attack. He looks like a decent det piece specialist as well. Rather have him than Belhadj – so Belhadj can take it easy and wait on the edge of the box ready to put the ball back into the box or track back.

I hope you mean Djamel Zidane, and not Zinedine Zidane. I like Ziani, don’t get me wrong, but he is far from World-class and further from Zizou, especially at the moment. In his defense I will say he was extremely unlucky to leave Olympic Marseille, because 1)he was ignored at Wolfsburg 2) with Didier Deschamps at the helm, OM have helped themselves to the Ligue 1 title and a cup. Not bad for his first season at OM.

I think the Goal keepers are pretty clear to me. It’s Gaouaoui, Chaouchi, and M’bolhi. My logic behind this is that Lounes is the most Experienced Goalkeeper of the 4 and on a good day can do really well, plus he has a very strong physique and can punch away crosses, which is a very crucial thing to have against the English and American teams. Chaouchi, because being the 2 most experience, and has lots of talent, unfortunately in the AFCON, he was injured and couldn’t really do well. Except for the disaster against Malawi, that has no explanation. I can’t think of a reason, to pick Rais M’bolhi (I wouldn’t say because Ferguson thinks so) but, Zemmamouch wasn’t that impressive against Nigeria. I don’t know how he does every week with Mouloudia, so Mbolhi will probably beat him if he gets chosen by SAF for Man U.

I concur about Djamel Abdoun. I will say this again, I didn’t like him versus Serbia, not even versus Ivory Coast!!

Compare the impact Bouazza had to the game in Cabinda, and what Abdoun did. Bouazza scored a goal, defended well, made good space, gave fantastic passes. while Abdoun was virtually absent. Even in Serbia, he failed to link up well with his team mates, Ziani and Djebbour. It’s him, Fouad Khadir and Injured Mourad Meghni who will be competing for a place, unless injuries occur. If non of the 3 make it, expect Hadj Aissa to creep in.

Belhadj is having a flipping stormer. His balls have been pinpoint, and no doubt, if the heads of the giant Yebda and Ghezzal were onto that then both crosses would definitely bring a goal.

We all know the incidents that led chaouchi to ATTEMPT to headbutt the referee that day…come on give him a break…we’re not all perfect and he did make a mistake..but that doesn’t make me not like him, and be thankful for having him benched. The is good and frankly even though I don’t approve of his act on that day (completely unprofessional), I don’t think that there was a single algerian on that day who did not want to headbutt that stupid ref. Heck, I wanted to do more than that if I had a chance…lol (joking). The guy was a retard and we all know that, so I don’t want something like that to stop Chaouchi’s career from advancing. I hope he maes it, Inshallah.

They should have brought Belhadj on earlier. I noticed they didn’t use him as much, kept persisting with the right wing. Belhadj could easily have had 2 assists in this game.

Ziani, wonderful player and very professional. Extremly talented. However, can not be compared to Zidan (the legend)

For the 10th time – Chaouchi lets goals in at his near post. The far post where a good (or even average) goalkeeper dives or a defender heads corsses out. Near post is goalkeepers responsibility. Chaouchi leaves a lot to be desired. Good reflexes aren’t enough – he’s naive, doesnt know when to stay on his line, when to come out. Comes out when theres a crowd of players, stays on his line after its obvious the freekick isn’t aimed at goal. Really annoys me. Gaouaoui is more solid all around. Better trained and more reliable. I hope Mbholi is as good, he seems to have the best of both – good reflexes and good discipline.

With regard to the ref – who cares? old news, I would have done the same – after the match. and full on the face

I believe with more coaching and hopefully discipline he will be better Inshallah. Gaouaoui’s inconsistance makes me very nervous.

Everyone remembers Zizou from 2006, but in 1998 in his mid 20s (Ziani is 27) he hadn’t fully developed yet as a player. Ziani has a footballing brain. Thats the difference. How many asists does Meghni have? Don’t get me wornd I hope Mourad makes it to south africa – but what position? Number 10 – youre risking a lot. You can’t put 2 playmakers next to each other, so where? If there was a way for Meghni to simplify his game – run a bit more instead of just trying to make the hollywood pass, and work in a support role for Ziani and understand Ziani better. But then Guedioura can fulfill that role better and track back to defend. And he is solid and hard to disposess.

And one more thing…I don’t know any egyptians who love Chaouchi, they hate his gut especially after he tried to kick Gueddo in the leg (he definately was a mess that day ….lol).

Ziani is talented and so driven. That guy never gives up or looses hope. his teammates should try to feed off of him.

You want to see more of this during the world cup do you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOR2pfgPQ3g

Look at how Bougherra looks at Chaouchi. The 3rd goal Chaouchi tried to catch instead of punching out. It fell to a Malawi player.

Watch egypt vs algeria in CAN. 2 goals could easily have been saved. near post. this guy is a mess. you’re still dreaming of sudan – time to get real.

Both of you have very good points. L’algerienne, you have the point that although he is a good keeper, with intense training and therapy , he could be a potentially world class goalkeeper. The ability is there, just the knowledge of how to play the game and calmness is required. That’s where Sami’s point comes in, he is definitely in need of education of how to keep calm and to understand how the game is being played around him.

Gaouaoui is not solid since his injury. The goals that were let in against Serbia showed that he makes silly decisions. I accept, they aren’t made as much as Chaouchi does, but in proportion, they are much worst, nearly always leading to a goal. This is evident against Egypt where the first shot could easily have been held with a bit more force as opposed to letting Zaki get another shot, and that ridiculous flapping of the hands against Serbia.

M’Bohli’s sounding like a rather good prospect, considering Man Utd are very keen on him. And I guess winner of the best gk in Bulgarian league award is some achievement.

Transfer news:
“Players of the Algerian national team, ‘The Foxes’, are attracting immense interests from a number of European clubs even before the World Cup kicks off.

According to newspaper reports, left-back Nadir Belhadj, who presently plays for newly-relegated Portsmouth of the English Championship, is wanted by top-flight team Bolton Wanderers.
It is believed that Bolton manager Owen Coyle is willing to pay a figure of around £5million to land the hard working defender, whom Portsmouth are willing to sell in order to help repay their massive debts.

Midfielder Karim Matmour is said to be a target of Italian Serie A side Fiorentina, who are awaiting permission from his current team, German Bundesliga outfit Borussia Moenchengladbach, to begin negotiations with him.

Another Bundesliga-based Algerian, Antar Yahia, is looking for a new club as his current team, VFL Bochum, were relegated at the weekend. Yahia is believed to have had offers from a number of Bundesliga teams.

Striker Abdelkader Ghazzel, who is hoping to secure a contract with Roma after the World Cup, has the opportunity to impress the club this weekend, if he is able to find the net and guide his current club Siena to a win over Inter on Sunday.

Should Roma win their final game of the season away to Chievo, a Siena success would mean that Roma would be crowned Italian champions.”
Goal.com

And yes that is my commnt underneath the article

I commented below that article – but did you see this one?

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/05/14/1925220/philippe-troussier-interested-in-coaching-algeria-post-world

This guy has a good track record.

Yeah I saw that comment and I thought it might be you. You an avid reader as well Sami?

Does anyone think that this point is correct:
“Without Capello, England would return to the way they were, an indisciplined collection of very talented players, happy with only the sufficient amount required to get them by.”

Yeah, most Algerian newspapers have been buzzing about Saadane’s replacement,Troussier, for sometime. He has world cup experience and most importantly African experience. My only concern is that if Saadane decides to leave, then what happens to Zohier Djelloul and the other Assistant coach Lamine Kabir? I hope they are retained by the FAF, as they know the national team players, and the Algerian football leagues better then any foreign coach.

Yes – and I ticked your comment Kazi

I realised that the Ziani-Meghni issue is the same as the Gerrard-Lampard problem. Capello just took Lampard off when he saw it didn’t work. I am starting to think that it can perhaps work if Meghni plays behind Ziani with Ziani doing 1-2s with the wingers and threading the ball through to strikers. If Capello couldn’t figure it out (and Erikson b4 him), I very much doubt I can. Problem is Meghni will just not fully recover it seems. Lasio fans are disappointed that he never seems match fit. Again – wrong league for him. Should play in Spain. Italian defenders are notorious – check out Materazzi’s best of – I once saw him ignore the ball and knee a player in the stomach. It was so bad, I don’t know how he stayed on the pitch.

I see Ziani sometimes get frustrated. He’ll pass then run up and instead of giving him the ball back, someone will pass it back to defence – you should see Ziani’s face when that happens: like ‘what did I just put myself though that for?? Didn’t you see me running??’. Or when he tells Matmour to run in the Mali match: ‘Don’t just look at me – run man!!’.

Anyone know who is better Medjani or Bellaid?

My chosen list of 23 from the 30 chosen: (3+8+9+3)
Goalkeepers:
• Fawzi CHAOUCHI
• Rais Ouheb M’BOHLI
• Lounes GAOUAOUI
Defenders
• Nadir BELHADJ
• Antar YAHIA
• Madjid BOUGHERRA
• Rafik HALLICHE
• Habib BELLAID
• Mohamed Rabie MEFTAH
• Hocine METREF
• Carl MEDJANI
Midfielders:
• Karim ZIANI
• Karim MATMOUR
• Lazhar HADJ-AISSA
• Mourad MEGHNI
• Hassan YEBDA
• Mehdi LACEN
• Adlene GUEDIOURA
• Riyad BOUDEBOUZ
• Djamel MESBAH
Attackers:
• Rafik DJEBBOUR
• Abdelkader GHEZZAL
• Rafik SAIFI

Zemmamouche has been left behind due to naivety and nervousness.
Abdoun is a player for the future but in comparison with the current set is not up to the level IMO.
Not at all a fan of Amri, was never gonna get in for me.
Kadir, was a difficult one for me, but I chose Mesbah over him, even though Mesbah plays in Serie B, he is younger and possesses similar, if not better talents than Kadir.
Laifaoui has been left behind purely due to the fact that he has no real impact of any sort on a game, defensively or offensively. Love him for his dedication and commitment though.
Lemmouchia is too much of a loose cannon. A fantastic player and it pains my heart to say this, but he is just too loose. However, if from now until 4th of June he can prove he is ready, then by all means, I will place him in. Just don’t ask who for.
Mansouri……… I feel the name alone suffices as explanation. Great in his previous years for Les Verts but no longer able to influence the team in any shape or form.

I agree Abd, Djelloul has been fantastic for us and really hope he can continue his great work. You never know, Saadane started out as assistant in the first world cup. Djelloul is assistant in this one. Is it silly to think that maybe he will return in the future to lead Algeria to another WC as Sheikh Saadane has?

Only Chaouchi can pull this off. The kick was very precise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4JxPHB9keI

The kick was awesome and just perfect. Thanks to Matmour who ruined it and got a yellow card. love Matmour but did he have to that? it could have been a perfect goal thanks to Chaouchi

Mainly agree with the list – I would swap Cedric for Chaouchi. We don’t need 8 defenders, I’d take one off for Lemmouchia. That’s it. Being realistic, Mesbah will probably give way to Mansouri. If Medjani/Bellaid are any good – you have the option of playing one of them with antar yahia, and play bougherra on the right wing – try getting past him there! That makes up a little for Mansouri and bougherra can easily take the ball up and upply some dangerous crosses. Or win throw ins/corners.

She’s lost for words…:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-p9u4MLmRE&feature=related

Hahaha, L’Algerienne, did you hear the way the commentator was begging Chaouchi not to do that XD

Cedric wasn’t chosen though Sami. And I still wouldn’t swap them I don’t think. I thought we don’t need 8 defenders either. I guess but it would be hard to pick from them, but if it were the case, I think Meftah would go and swap for Lemmouchia, purely for the lack of form.

Mesbah is a talent I have been following for quite some time. He is an excellent player, and quite young too. He is brilliant to watch and can orchestrate the game from almost anywhere. Him vs. Mansouri should be a no brainer, yet I’m pretty sure La Phantome will be going instead.

I don’t speak french, but that reporter should be penalized for uttering anything in that language. It seems to be a prevalent problem with all ENTV reporter or show presenters they all stutter!!

Speaking of Mesbah, here is his video from Dzfoot, as he just arrives in Geneva:

http://www.dzfoot.com/news-6471/en-l-arrivee-de-djamel-mebsah-a-geneve-video/

Sami, Medjani is a bit of a unknown quantity for me, but experience with Liverpool and a raving report from Saifi must count to something.

Bellaid is a good one. One of the firm starters in the France youth squads, notoriously known for featuring some of the best players France can produce without using them in the Senior Squad *Ahem* Nasri and Benzema *AHEM* Why weren’t they picked *AHEMAHEM*

Anyway, he’s young, and is very determined in a tackle. His ability at going up the pitch leaves people wanting however. By no means a Yahia or Bougherra, but a good cover in case 5-3-2 is employed.

…lol Kazi I did but you have to agree with the video, the kick was right on target..At least for that one time, he took a chance and it was a good one. The Commentator was just nervous and wanted to have him play it safe. Chaouchi’s call was unexpected, but good.

Off to a wonderful weekend. Nice chatting with all of you.

Assalamou Alaikoum wa rahmatou Allahi wa barakatouh.

Wa Alaykoum salaam, wa rahamatou Allahi wa barakatouh.

OMG – L’Algerienne: This is not an exhibition match raising money for UNICF – Zizou isn’t on the field. This is a quarter final of African nations. To be honest my respect for Matmour increased when I saw him holding that guys shorts – real determination. If he bulked uplike Malouda – he’d be a world class player.

Wa Alaykoum salaam, wa rahamatou Allahi wa barakatouh. Have a great weekend.

Age test. Anyone remember this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF2pppQt-98&feature=PlayList&p=2A9F61E13B16BA98&playnext_from=PL&index=31&playnext=2

someone’s youtube comment on bougherra, I think we all agree:

Young,STRONG,Quick feet, smart defender, reads the game well and v comfortable on the ball..Does not lose possession of the ball..Can bring the ball out and a defensive playmaker..I rate Madjid B

AWWW Sami! are you that old? hell yes I remember. early 80s…

Bougherra. totally agree on him indeed. he’s definitely my favorite player. I like the new algerian player profile… total BULL yet very technical… and the future looks bright. guedioura, yebda, bouguerra, bouazza.. they’re big dudes.

yes that chaouchi trick was just pathetic. as much as I really really like the guy and think he’s could have a bright future, I almost cried when he did that. that tells you a lot about his mentality too. Derraji was right to cry and beg him not to do that. you’re 3-2 after what? 100 mins playing? and you’re playing cote d’ivoire? yes, if we’re beating them 5-1, you MAY do that and I’ll still criticize.

btw, l’algerienne, when I say chaouchi has fans in egypt, it’s not like people walk around with silkscreened tshirts displaying his sweet mug. come on… people dislike him if we speak in all honesty BUT he makes A LOT of people smile. they like him like they liked those unique characters that are south american goalkeepers = cilavert, campos, higita.

Chaouchi came out of nowhere and made egyptians cry in om durman. he was a total hero, so everyone noticed him. then his haircuts, antics, etc… drew the attention. that’s it.

I just hope he never does THIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHNwbi654ns

I-N-Z-A-N-E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! especially in a country where you get killed by 26 bullets on yr frontdoor because you accidently scored an auto-goal. une petite pensee a Escobar 1994 – RIP.

HIGITA IS RAD!

so yeh. back to fawzi: the proof is how he was welcomed at the cairo airport last week (he spent 6 hours going and coming from Zambia). policemen and ordinary guys asked for photos with him.

I can officially declare that Im 100% put off by El-Heddaf. l’EN ate well, slept well, shat, joked, farted, bla bla bla bla>>>> you have to go through tons of junk to filter out one interesting piece of news. A people tabloid…

however, now meghni looks like he’ll be out. why isnt hadj aissa in switzerland???

have a nice weekend l’algerienne. and all the crew too.

Ess Setif have an important league match versus JSK. I hope they do well and win the game, as it would pretty much put them in the drivers seat. I think in terms of acclimatization to high altitudes, Setif is at least 1100m above sea level, this must help player like Hadj Aissa and Lemmouchia.

I would disagree about Chaouchi coming from no where, After all, at one point he was one of the most expensive league players ever in Algeria. Even at the age of only 25 and occupying the post of goal keeper, that’s kind of an accomplishment.

look what he does here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN6lZ7-1NCQ

I think in international football this would definitely be a yellow at least.

Lemmouchia, Hadj-Aissa, Metref and Meftah have been granted permission to play the JSK-ESS match today. Gonna be amazing!

Hope Ghezzal scores and wins today versus Inter. Watching the game, it seems Ghezzal has taken some hair-cut tips from Ballotelli.

abd: “came outta nowhere….” for egyptians. not for algerians!

chaouchi is a RIOT! look a yr video!!! unbelievable! he’s just too much…

who made the Oliver Kahn comparison? that was very pertinent as far as using all that energy positively to frighten opponents.

Inter vs Siena for free:

http://www.atdhe.net/19381/watch-siena-vs-inter-milan

Yes the egyptians had there fair share of jubilation when they heard that the second keeper was going to play. Especially when this was his first official cap.

I like how Maicon and Samuel mark Ghezzal during set pieces

American ads are really funny. I can see why its the land of opportunity – I have to leave the UK…

Ghezzal has been given the green light by his manager to roam the field. Sometimes in defence, sometimes on the wing, forward (almost scored when his buddy drilled it past the face of goal – too much pace on it). Ghezzal 52 minutes saved a potential goal from Milito.

Same as Ziani in the midfield, just let him roam and create. Ghezzal – let him roam and cause problems for the opposition all over the pitch. He has good instincts.

As soon as Zanetti had the ball I thought for the first time in the match – this is really dangerous. Goal Milito, 1-0 Inter. Defence gave him way too much space.

defence were one split sec. late…

ghezzal IS EVERYWHERE INDEED!!

Ghezzal is just playing as a winger. He is just doing a wingers job, and that’s to occasionally track back and defend. So far he has down well the stop lots of crosses from Ballotelli and Maicon. maybe so can be our future Right back??

Ekdal is the left winger (and keeps getting disposessed). Ghezzal is roaming the midfield, getting into space, moving the ball around the pitch.

If Chakouri is on the level of team-mate Guedioura I’d play him. Ghezzal at RB is a waste of his talents, come on man, the guy’s a forward. He’s better at holding up the ball and supplying the striker. Inter is very strong defensively which is why you don’t see Ghezal get a pass unless its a short pass from someone who’s in trouble. Siena just cant find each other on the field and Inter are closing them down everywhere – always pressing them into making a mistake. And thats why theyre one of the best teams in the world. Also because of their patient build up.

If you watched the first half Ghezzal was tracking back to deal with Maicon’s advances, on the left. But after Reginaldo was introduced he is now a central midfielder.

Ghezzal just lost the ball to Zanetti, and Inter nearly scored. Ghezzal looks a little tired. I have yet to see Ghezzal paired with Macaroni as the 2 strikers. Ghezzal has been used less as a striker for his team, and in this particular game versus inter, he was reduced to a move defensive role then ever.

Thats because of posession – 74% Inter in the first half… what do you expect him to do – hang around the inter defence while his teeam keep conceding?

But yes – I agree Siena have been using him in support role for a while – as they should Capello has called up Heskey for that reason. Run amok for 90 minutes, harass the defence and set up Rooney.

Ekdal was no where near the left side, it was Ghezzal, and I have to say he did a good job dealing with Maicon.

Exactly, I don’t expect Ghezzal to hang Around Inter Defence, that was Macaroni’s job, before he was subed. I believe that if Ghezzal moved up during the game, he might have done something.

Can anyone please tell me where I can watch ESS vs. JSK?
El thalitha decided to not bring it.

ESS 1 – JSK 1
Metref scores again for ESS. Amazing considering he is a defender. Get that kind of form for Algeria and he’s a definite show at the WC.

I think Metref tends to play as a midfielder, though I don’t know where he played in this particular game. His 2 goals at the Algerian Cup final were fantastic.

Salaam Guys. I was just thinking about how in the Egypt blog they were discussing young players for the future in Egypt. It then gave me the idea to uncover some of our own personal gems.
* = Indicates that nationality still not chosen.
Algerian Players of the Future:

Youcef Ghazali – 22 – Striker
Abdelhakim Bezzaz – 17 – Midfielder
Brahim El Khalil Bekakchi – 18 – Defender
Ahmed Cheheima – 18 – Defender
Mohamed Lamine Omrani – 18 – Striker
Ziri Hammar – 17 – Midfielder
Sofiane Feghouli – 20 – Midfielder *
Yacine Brahimi – 20 – Attacker/Midfielder *
Ryad Boudebouz – 20 – Midfielder
Amine Linganzi – 20 – Midfielder
Amir Saayoud – 19 – Attacker/Midfielder
Yannis Tafer – 19 – Striker *
Ishak Belfodil – 18 – Striker *
Soufian Benyamina – 20 – Midfielder
Abdenour Merzouki – 18 – Goalkeeper
Billel Khida – 18 – Defender
Mohamed Ilyes Cherchar – 18 – Defender

My pick of the bunch? Well, it would have been between Feghouli and Brahimi, however, due to the fact that neither have actually stated that they will play for Les Verts, I have opted for other choices.
Now this is extremely hard, but I have selected a final 4:
(Drum roll please)
Soufian Benyamina, Ryad Boudebouz, Amir Saayoud and Abdelhakim Bezzaz. Not many of you may know of Soufian Benyamina, but in truth, he is actually Karim Benyamina’s younger brother. And this is just to show the level of how good he is: his brother has admitted Soufian is miles better than he is. Definite one to watch. The next two are there for obvious reasons. Both are incredibly talented footballers, Boudebouz is already in the Algeria squad and will Insha Allah be travelling to SA with the rest of the squad. Saayoud on the other hand is growing quickly and is set to return to Al Ahly as a firm starter in the eyes of many fans. However, by far, my favourite has to be Abdelhakim Bezzaz. Now, I have watched many players, Henry, Messi, Ronaldo…this dude isn’t on their level. However, I have also watched the likes of Reyes, Forlan, Zidan, Pires, Petit and Busquets. He is most definitely capable of reaching that level. The dude is completely ridiculous in terms of talent. He’s only a couple of months older than me and I already know he can thrash Jonathan Zebina half way around the pitch and back. Perhaps the most unsung hero of all of Algerian football. And you know what…this is the level I am going to: He is going to be better, than Ziani, Belhadj, Meghni and Hadj-Aissa….COMBINED!!!! Watched him at the WC, and, although we lost every match, he never had a below-good game, always fantastic. Just poor finishing was the problem. Kinda reminds you of a certain senior team don’t you think?

Oh, I mustn’t forget Zidane in the list Bezzaz isn’t like. Zidan is Egyptian one.

wait umm i have a question, here they say that Belhadj and Chaouchi won’t be able to play.. but they got their cards during the african cup. I thought CAF sanctions don’t affect the FIFA tournaments.

where’s Abdelmoumen Djabou?

Hicham, he’s 23, if you want, I could give you a list of 23 and 24 yr olds as well? No doubt he’s a good player, just not as young as the aforementioned ones.

Saddouq al Haj. Seems very technically capable and good playmaker.

akhh… thought he was around 20.

where does Bezzaz play?

Right midfield. Hicham, the dude is amazing. A bulky Meghni.

what club?

Sami, no doubt an extremely Talented player masha Allah. But as one comment says:
“This kid better put some meaton his bones.”

Still not on Bezzaz’s level

Hicham, Bezzaz plays for FAF Academy. Not affiliated with a club. However, if you want a club to watch for players of the future, watch Paradou AC. I know they’re D2 but they may still get promoted and their Academy is a jewel. 13-15 yr olds that regularly beat 20+ teams.

And that reminds me of another good young player:
Yacine Belaid – 22 – Midfielder.

Ennahar online is so alarmist. This is from africansoccerunion:

Algeria
Finally, the member of Federal Office and Manager of Algerian team Walid Sadi contacted the Algerian striker Rafik Djebbour on Friday night in order to know the reasons for not responding on Coach Rabah Saadane’s calls.

Djebbour has told Sadi that he tried to phone the national team’s technical crew but he failed.

Coach Saadane and his technical crew felt better when they learned that Djebbour would attend the team’s training camp in Crans Montana, especially since he is considered as one of the good players expected to show an amazing performance during the WC.

Djebbour presented apologies to the coach Rabah Saadane who told Echorouk previously that he did not understand why Djebbour do not response to his calls.

Rafik Djebbour solved the problems in his club Ayeck Athens that threatened him of stopping the contract if he joined the Algerian team before May 19.

Although Rabah Saadane asserted that the players must be present before May 17, but he may allow Djebbour to stay in Athens until Monday.

It seems that Rafik Djebbour kept the stick of the centre, as he tried not to upset coach Rabah Saadane and do not waste his future with his club Ayeck Athens.

Algeria’s team striker Rafik Djebbour said, in a brief statement to Echorouk, he would reach the training camp on Sunday or Monday after he received the green light from his club Ayeck Athens.

“I will join the Desert Warriors on Sunday or Monday”, he says.

Djebbour claims he missed the phone number of coach Rabah Saadane; “I missed coach Rabah Saadane’s phone number that is why I was unable to call him”, he adds.

God sake. They’re making it sound like a bloody soap opera.

Have you heard Mehdi Meniri? Bloody sour prick. “They’re not proper Algerians. They’re only coming because of the WC.” Boohoo, you’re just pissed because you’re not going and when you played for Algeria it was at it’s all time worst. No wonder Saadane doesn’t even mention your name!

In his defence, I can understand how he feels. You want to represent your country more than anything, give 100% and you watch some, as you put it, soap opera, about some guy who isn’t sure if he’ll play for algeria, maybe I will, maybe I won’t. And seriously, 1 or 2 players really don’t look bothered on the pitch. They put a day’s work in only when it suits them. I mean people DREAM about going to a world cup – and they’re happy to jog around? And lets face it – he’s right, some of them are there for cash.

there we go again with identity… guys. it’s really simple. Algeria is as opportunist as Bellaid or whoever.

I honestly dislike Bellaid. but I know Im not objective. the whole tunisia refusal and his (somehow honest – you have to hand it to him) declarations make me cringe. but we have to go past all this. the guy is here for a reason. he’s algerian and would be a good sub. better than other non selected candidates (at least according to the boss – the national coach).

so Algeria is using all the possible ressources to have a good team.

the echos from crans montana claim that the atmosphere is good and new players are well welcomed. I think the fact that most are ‘real’ professional AND from a similar background (enfants d’immigres) helps A LOT in the harmony targetted by Saadane.

Ive been really thinking hard about all this since our prvious exchanges. I came to a conclusion. may be stupid; but I’ll say it anyway:

I think in 20-30 years from now… there will possibly be no National teams anymore. just clubs representing countries with their share of professionals.

Inter or Bayern might be champions soon. how many italians or germans are there respectively? yet, they definitely are italian and german teams and represent their countries football.

and this brings us to algerian football’s drama. I honestly believe that our biggest achievment is Raouraoua. I have so much faith in him, it’s nuts. look at everything he’s done so far, his power and influence. and it’s clear he wants to rise again with local football by raisings specifications and standards of club and league management. he gave us back our dignity. we’re really coming from pretty faaaar back. no one knew or cared about Algeria at this point. that’s why I dont blame Puma.. it’s just a mistake – no conspiracy theory horseshit – we’re transparent to their young marketing executives. hah.. it’s like talking to anyone about Uruguay as a world football power.. many people dont even know they won two cups (one of them IN Brazil).

he’s also offering the BEST there is for the national team. if this WC is not a disaster, Im sure Feghouli, etc.. will join algeria.

1- because of the feedback they’ll get from the likes of boudebouz. esp. regarding cash, facilities and other pros issues.

2- the benzema and nasri affair

3- because they could be GODLIKE by doing half of what ZZ did.

the future looks bright to me on ALL levels.

Allah ye3teeh el sa7a.

I wish you hadn’t said Godlike man.

godlike is NOT Allah 3alih el Salat wel Salam!

is just an expression describing the current insanity and worship that’s going on right now.

but apologies if that offended you.

********Allah Sob7ano wa ta3ala

we LAHO salat

Boudebouz is 5′7” – Ok, I’m back to Guedioura for RB. He’d obviously be more comfortable as DM but in absence of anyone else – it would be him. He’s better to secure the right flank.

Sami, I accept that point, but the point I’m getting at is that Alot of D1 players in Algeria have a better chance of getting to the EN than he does. No one wants him because he was such a massive flop for us during the early part of the decade.

Hicham, we can have that anxiety over alot of players. However, Boudebouz is an exception. He’s been trying to get his Algeria passport since early 2009! Before anyone even cared about Algeria! So anyone who says he’s only here for the WC can khabat raso 3ala l’hit.

However, in Bellaid’s perspective, he has 3 options:
France, Algeria, Tunisia.
France: Currently in massive decline following Zidane’s retirement. Manager is going to be replaced. Bellaid may want to take a look at the outcome of Benzema and Nasri (which up until now still pisses Algerians off).

Algeria: Very much in a period of renaissance. Qualified to SA over 7 – time African champions Egypt. Manager has massive experience, knows Algerian football better than how he knows his own house. Flawed in terms of mentality. Still relatively unknown on the big stage.

Tunisia: Also in massive decline. Not at all the former force they used to be in Africa. Missed out on qualifying to SA, albeit very unluckily. Possesses great talent. However Federation is clouded in mixed messages and hidden info. Possibly one of the causes of Tunisia’s decline.

So you can see why Bellaid has opted for Algeria. We can complain about them reluctantly being Algerian but the fact remains that if they don’t perform, they’re not coming back. So we can assume (I hope) that they’ll give 110%

Players that are free from any sort of inquiry:
Boudebouz, Mesbah, Kadir and Guedioura. They have continuously stated their desire to play for Algeria (Guedioura is the exception cause he just doesn’t plain speak to the press.)

Medjani and Bellaid will have to put in excellent displays to convince everyone.

yes Kazi. I do NOT doubt Boudebouz’ and Guedioura’s motives ONE second!!

you have no idea how much I love boudebouz before properly seeing him… for real man. first, he looks like a genuinely nice guy; but most of all he chose algeria despite all current french pressure. he WANTS to play in green.

guedioura… Im seriously seduced by his “homme a part” attitude. no interviews, no bullshit. he gives no one anything. I loved his answer re: his dad’s opinion about his selection: he said something like that is between my father and I. period.

and that sole declaration was for l’ENTV.

I think the future scapegoats will probably be either medjani or bellaid. I feel it. elheddaf said today that medjani is a killer and impressed immensely.

so bellaid…

hmmm.. now Im thinking loudly.. it’ll be political for sure in the end. bellaid disturbs, so he’ll go.

one of them has to go, on paper bellaid looks better. but the other guy captained the U21 french squad. Who knows. At CB its how they read the game that counts. Bougherra/Yahia will figure it out and tell the manager I expect.

Lol “seduced” hahaha.
I guess he knows what the Algerian press are like. Smart choice.

Apparently Mansouri made sure that Bellaid, Medjani, M’Bohli, Guedioura and Mesbah hung around the group and kept them as a sort of bigger brother with the team. So far, it seems to have worked. Let’s see if he can do it with Lacen (oooh tough one).

I actually have a strong belief that Algeria will be the one’s to oust Egypt at the next CAN. Not because I am a supporter but from a genuine footballing point of view. You look at Cameroon and Ivory Coast, and you think…how old are they again? Rigobert Song looks half dead already! Ghana has a good young squad, but I think they got away at this CAN with easy matches. The ones they lost was only against proper teams (no disrespect meant to the others.) And Nigeria was well off form. I mean, Burkina Faso and Angola aren’t exactly Powerhouses are they? I look at Egypt and I think….how long till it goes off and gets crusty? I look at them and see….Aboutrika, El Hadary, Gomaa, Zaki, Abd Rabou, Al Muhammadi…they ain’t exactly what you’d call….Young. Algeria looks capable of something. It is at the opportune year as well, with nearly all Algerian players hitting or nearly hitting their prime. And one thing I completely forgot: Matmour is only 24!!! I thought he was as old as Belhadj!! That dude’s still developing!!!!

yes absolutely.

anyway the REAL test for the new boys is the purely african games which are scheduled right after south africa (friendly or CAN qualifiers). we’ll know who’s REALLY in it for the cup.

More annoyance for North African countries:
Ben Arfa and Rami have both been cut from the France squad.

That makes the total of french players who should have played for their origin come to 4:

Algeria: Benzema and Nasri
Tunisia: Ben Arfa
Morocco: Rami

One can’t help but think that if those players had joined the nations mentioned, that they would have been much better off?

I mean Nasri and Benzema would have been sure starters for Algeria. Nasri’s problem is who goes out?

Ben Arfa….no competition from anyone really.

Rami, easily into Morocco’s RB.

Look man – its all about the WILL to succeed and Algerians are just too ‘je m’en foot-iste’. They just don’t care enough. We’re too laid back. You saw CAN – the teams go into every game like its life or death. Algeria came out against malawi with ‘Aw-aahh, shams ya khoya, khalina nirj3hu ghoodwa – aaah? lazim nel3abu alyoom? mai c’est pas possible hathooma – ya7sbu rwa7hum serieux!!’

ye7esbo rwa7hom fahmin kollesh. I agree. and after all that’s the syndrome that killed algerian football. no one pulled the alarm and said WATCH OUT we’re going DOWWWWN!

i love your j’men FOOTist instead ‘foutiste’. it’ll be integrated in my linguo from today. copyright Mr Sami who’s in the UK but signs from the US.

Lol Sami, you hit the nail on the head.

You guys have heard about Ballack’s injury right? It’s a real shame that we don’t get to see him at the WC now. But, I took a different view on it. How easy will Germany be to beat knowing that their influence, Captain and main attacking force is now out? I took this as a sign, that maybe it’s Destiny for Algeria to play against and beat a demoralised Germany team, insha Allah!

This only means one thing….Algeria may insha Allah be going to the second round…if not further!!!

would group c winners play against germany’s group?

And I just realised something…..if we do make it to the quarter finals, insha Allah…we’ll most likely face either Argentina, Mexico….or FRANCE!!! What a match that would be!!!! If we play against France I am 99% sure we would beat them. Insha Allah.

yep hicham. That’s why everyone wants Algeria and Germany to qualify on opposing places, so that they face each other in the second round.

maaaaannn u make me dream…

ha ha… if only… if algeria beat france and people party; i imagine the endless debates on tv shows about national identity; bla bla bla featuring the neo-conservative soldiers such as bernard henry levi; finkelkraut or the ever-pathetic (of algerian origins) eric zemmour.

i would like to see a mexico – algeria game. it would be a very beautiful one Im sure.

Please don’t talk about that Eric Zemmour guy. Dude is too stupid to be talked about.

Anyway, I think a Mexico-Algeria match would be delightful. It would showcase two teams that are pretty much on equal ground. And more importantly: Both are Green

http://www.lebuteur.com/foot-en-vrac/actualites/benzema-et-nasri-veulent-aller-au-mondial-avec-lalgerie

Rub salt in the wound…rub salt in the wound.

yes… i thought about posting this link here… but I felt sorry for them in the end.

ma7abbitch neshmet fihom.

I think it’s official…… Mourad Meghini is out of the world cup!

Seriously, its not the end of the world. Recently he’s tended to slow down the pace of the game.
Problem with all the guys who go to italy, the game there is so slow, the best thing about it is they defend well.
I would prefer to have guedioura go up and provide cover. That means kadir is in too.
Plus meghni would be in even worse shape after england, slovenia, and US. Can you imagine meghni vs huddleston?

Can u guys rank algeria’s top 3 defensive midfield?
Guedioura
Lemmouchia
Yebda
Lacen

To me they are all roughly the same level. Very tough to decide, depends what you want I guess. big guy vs terrier?

Defensively, Guedioura is the best of the lot.
Offensively, Yebda is the best of the lot.
All round, Lacen and Lemmouchia are your best bet.

And Abd, where’s the report?

Sami, I would beg to differ. It is quite a big blow. However, it may be a blessing in disguise if it’s true, meaning it may be Hadj-Aissa who gets his place.

http://www.mbc.net/portal/site/mbc/menuitem.ff2c047b71869fec9318c4cd480210a0/?vgnextoid=ecf81d41c67a8210VgnVCM1000008420010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8f497fb9d32ee010VgnVCM100000f1010a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=mbcArticle

It’s not an Algerian site, but they are known for just copying from Algerian newspapers. I saw Meghini not playing at the WC, If he has fully healed his injury by the beginning of the real work -which starts today- then we has a very slim chance of making the final 23 squad. Saadane will probably just take Foaud Khadir and Djamel Abdoun, though the possibility of one of them swapping places with Hadj Aissa in case of injury is possible.

I think for me it’s difficult to judge the Defensive midfielders since I haven’t seen Guedioura and Lahcen play much with the team,but I know whom I want to play against the US, and that’s definitely Yebda and Guedioura.

insha Allah he’ll pull through. The hope in that though is that it follows Algerian newspapers and they aren’t always telling the truth. More Alarmist as Sami said.

As for Kadir and Abdoun, I’ll be very disappointed indeed if one of them goes instead of Hadj-Aissa.

And I fully agree with swapping Lacen for Guedioura. Guedioura seems to be on better form recently.

@ Kazi. I agree LHA rather than Meghni. Yebda and Guedioura would be good against the US. Man can’t wait for 2014. These guys would all come of age. 2018 should be good too Inshallah.

I wish I could photoshop an A-Team poster of the Algerian team, can’t make my mind up if Lemmouchia would be Murdoch or BA – actually he could be both!! Ziani as face and Saadane as the colonel?

AHAHAHA LOL!
Ghezzal’s gotta be in there, probably one of the more beastly guys in the squad.

That made me wonder….isn’t Algeria one of the best combinations of force and finesse?

You have the likes of Ziani, Boudebouz, Mesbah, Matmour, Meghni and Hadj Aissa who can just dance away from the opposition, then you have the likes of Yebda, Guedioura, Bougherra, Yahia, Halliche, Ghezzal and Lemmouchia as the big enforcers. Medjani would be another enforcer too.

Its a great squad. Even Mansouri – I criticise him a lot, but he actually adds a lot. You need someone on the team who keeps the game flowing, finds someone in space – the number of times its him who finds Belhadj on the left or puts it through to Matmour. He’s OK. Only problem is he is getting on a bit – but to be honest so are a lot of players. Its about the experience they bring to a squad. over 100 appearences for Lorient in D1 gives you a lot of experience and tactical awareness.

Boudebouz man… makes me laugh, the way he accelerates away – its like having another ziani on the pitch, you need someone like that to change the pace of a game. Algeria can now field a technical midfield or a bunch of nightclub bouncers LOOOOOLLL.

lol… nightclub bouncers is the word.

guedioura is such an honest to god fella… his modesty and values remind me of Belloumi.

top 3 DMs

Guedioura
Lemmouchia
Yebda

ouech?

“un des plus surs talents du foot francais”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naAeK2rBiP4

—————

have you guys been thinking of who could replace Saadane after the cup? I think yes as someone on here rightfully proposed Metsu (Sami?)… you’ve also all seen Troussier presented as a candidate.

that’s another issue that requires a long debate I suppose. like Algeria like Egypt, it was only national coaches that made history (khalef, mekhloufi, saadane, kermali or gohary, shehata, el wa7sh for egypt).

however, if you look closely at both countries, you’ll see that ALWAYS prior to the national coach there was an expat technician that brought in new ingredients and tactics and laid the foundations for the better.

the examples speak for themselves

hedikugti brought in 4-4-2 in egypt in the late 70s, then weisa the 3-5-2 right after that (both in Ahly). within 4 years egypt won its first first CAN in 30 years and went to the WC 2 years later.

same happened recently with Manuel Jose in the 00s bringing a new approach which instantly gave 3 CANs in a row.

in Algeria, it was Rogov pre-82 and Cavalli pre-NOW.

but a national coach has to follow and wrap up everything because he understands BEST the mentality of his compatriote players. he knows how to pull the most out of them using the already acquired base from the foreing ‘expert’.

now. at this point we need to move to the NEXT level. so yes we need a foreign calibre for the coming period (2-3 years), then an algerian should undergo the next WC qualifiers.

Zekri?

ok… just wanted to share my thoughts. sorry for the pollution.

this is what I wanted to post when I mentioned Guedioura:

http://www.dzfoot.com/news-6483/en-adlene-guedioura-mouiller-le-maillot-algerien/

he clearly mentions the post WC games.

of course Mansouri’s OK. very OK I’d even say. but tough luck for him (and great for us) there are FOUR other algerians that are lightyears better:

guedioura
lemmouchia
lacen
yebda

there’s an article this morning in elheddaf about “les milieux recuperateurs” and saadane’s headache…

and also there’s a very interesting table on page 8 displaying all the players vs their playtime and stats

With regards to foreign coaches laying the foundation for local coaches, I think it’s the opposite here. The team Cavalli coached was no where near the team Saadane has put together. Sub-par defenders like AbdRaouf Zarabi, Mehdi Meniri and to some extent Ismail Bouzid (though I think he has become a better player that we will see in the future) where taken out for the youthful Antar Yahia, Madjid Bougherra and Rafik Halliche. Local players where brushed aside for European professionals, who not only have the skills and training, but also the mentality to sit on the bench and work their way up to the starting XI. I still remember how we played a 5-3-2 versus Argentina at the Camp Nou, with 6 defenders 5 of them Center backs. We had problems in marking opposition players running in to space, we could not deal with 1-2 passes, and we seemed to be very passive in terms of defense.

Well things are very different now, we have converted to a 4-4-2 (maybe a 3-5-2 in the WC??), players like Bougherra, Antar, Halliche, Ziani, Belhadj, Matmour have matured and have become the mainstay of our national team. If anything Saadane is laying the foundation for the next foreign coach, especially with Boudebouz, Guedioura, Bellaid, Medjani, M’bolhi all given a chance for this world cup, come 2014 you will see a really great squad that might also have players like Feghouli, Amir Seyoud, etc.

Even on the domestic league level, all the major Algerian Clubs, are transforming into Professional institutions that will have more money at their disposal, less internal administrative problems for efficient management and youth products will be give more chances as new FAF regulations will enforce.

Yes, it’s safe to say that the future of Algerian football looks bright……….but, as with everything in Algeria, we show wait and judge the end product.

i agree with you abd. but you have to look at the bigger picture. cavalli sowed the seeds of the algerian football renaissance then saadane used that platform to qualify to the WC.

now saadane is rehauling and upgrading his own base for the cup.

hopefully after a decent display in south africa, we’ll have a new ‘expert’ that would prepare the next level.

but it’s a national coach that should finalize and go further.

Im a firm believer that only a national coach knows how to convey and transmit “7amass” to the players so they push the limits.

a national team is not a club – there are more parameters and factors to it. well at least for professionals who are contractually committed.

hmmmm…. except local historical clubs though as Im sure there’s loyalty, love and enthusiasm involved in MCA players for example but that’s something else.

in fact I want to get the best of both worlds I definitely dont algeria to be another nigeria, cameroun or cote d’ivoire with ‘mercenaries’ and a foreign expert coach.

May 18: All players who competed for Algeria in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers but who do not make the final 23-man squad will be invited to South Africa anyway, coach Rabah Saadane said. The Algerian football federation will pay the travel costs of the group. He said: “Our qualification for the World Cup was thanks to the efforts of many players who gave their all in national colours. We want to acknowledge the efforts of those who played a part if they cannot be part of our squad.”

There’s a movie called ‘the spanish prisoner’ in which a character (played by Steve Martin) says:
‘If someone is morally, but not legally indebted to you – then in my experience – you will get nothing. Moreover they will treat you cruelly.’
‘Why?’
‘In order to supress their own guilt’.
do you think its guilt that drove egyptians to behave the way they did, shame at how their country would be seen – so they sought to shift blame? (you can almost turn that into a rap and it seems to persist.
I don’t want this to become a main talking point, just CALMLY want views anyone may have.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/page/worldcup101-05022010/ce/us/how-african-nations-do?cc=5901&ver=us
Here is a nice article for you guys the writer thinks Algeria has the best chance of any african team to advance to the second round because of the weakness of thier group… Personally I disagree but I thought you guys would like the article…. Good luck

Sami What are you talking about? Are you talking about the stone attack a handful of ignorant thugs carried out in Cairo? They were so stupid they let the Algerian and egytian media manuipulate them into stupid actions. The attacks were exagerated by the algerian media just like the attcks in sudan were exagerated by the Egyptian media…. No gulit involved my friend…(BTW Guilt For what) There just seems to be bad blood between the teams and the fans… remember the attacks on the egyptian team in Algeria in 2001… A game that was meaningless to Algeria…. I don’t think those attacks had anything to do with guilt did they? Algeria and Egypt have economic political and military relationships… When it comes to soccer some ignorant fans get out of control… No big conspiracy or hidden moral guilt… Your looking to deep into it sometimes things are just simple…. and the simple truth is our fans don’t like each other and the ignorant ones make both countries look stupid….

sallo 3la el Nabi… come on guys.. cant we just ALL go fwd and forget about this??

abd; 3lah ttaya7 le ssyiid ya kho? khalleeeh yegool rayyoh. ma kal walou yeza33af.

Hisham this racist kid just called me Masrieli… The liitle coward can say whatever he wants from the safety of his computer… I promise this racist coward wouldn’t say it to my face… I promise…

In any event Unlike you Abd I cannot support a non arab non muslim country against an arab muslim country… So yes i will be supporting Algeria in the world cup… Will my support make a difference i don’t think so.. the Algerian team is just not that good yet. perhaps in the future but right now they aren’t very good. Inshalla they gain experience and improve…..

Not at all the direction I was hoping to take the discussion in. I just meant there seems to be a visceral hatred of ‘algerians’ in the egyptian media – clearly on govt orders. when I told an egyptian, hey your media said x, y, z about algerians – really racist stuff. he replied, well your newspapers said egypt is a small country. no concept of proportionality. and there STILL seems to be a lot of hate from the egyptian side. every article about algerians, and you see demeaning egyptian comments. i’m not bothered by it – just think its strange.

Abd,

First, you started with the Algerians with a foreign mom, and now you are trying to start another BS about Egyptians.????

You can trash talk j Egyptians all your want, but lets keep it civil.
Calling Bahaa a Miselali, is just out of line.

Whoa. Guys need to calm down. I thought this BS ended about last January! Let it be.

And Abd, I hope you’ve realised that it is you who it as fault here.

just calm it down bro

GUYS i’M REALLY SORRY – I should not have brought this up. Totally my fault, I don’t want the thanb of people calling each other names etc… so lets talk about something else please.

Will Boudebouz tak freekicks do we think?

Sami, definitely at least one. He’s vicious.

abd,

kader rouhek, ana Djazairi a 100% and i am telling you to be respectful.
والله غير انتا دراري واش حاب دير عيب معا ناس وحنا صفقولك
So coz hisham’s mother is not Algerian, so he is not Algerian enough to speak up against your BS????
Aagin, maybe you should not support the Algerian team because most of the players have a foreign mom.

We here to talk football, not about Egyptians.

boudebouz RULES at freekicks

Wow, Sami, what have you done this time..lol (kidding)

Guys, I know Bahaa from the egyptian blog, he is a very respectful intelligent man, yes he loves his country Egypt, but he wants nothing but the best for Algeria. Dzmouloudia, will agree with me on that.

Bahaa, you are more than welcome on this blog…you have great comments and do point out the obvious flaws in our team so please keep doing what you’re doing and ignore this kid, afterall, he has no respect for himslef…what would you say to someone who says this:

خبز الدار كلاه البراني و شبع ربي يهديك و يهدينا معاك

to a muslim sister, married to a muslim brother who just happens to be egyptian. Only a low class like him.

Where are my manners?

Essalamou alaikoum everybody.

Sorry, this should have been my first post…lol. My bad

That’s a famous Algerian song from a couple of years back L’Algerienne I doubt you understood what It said or meant. As trying to type “derjah” in Arabic is a task I must admit, that even I find laborious to read and write.

I don’t think abd meant it as an insult. It just came out that way as with the written word there is no accounting for tone, facial expression etc…
Let’s just leave it at that. Again apologies on my part, obviously still a sensitive issue.

Boudebouz for me is like nasri, but can take freekicks as well.

I think in time nasri and benzema will pale in comparison to the new crop of players.

I can’t wait for the world cup. I have no expectations, but its fun to dream.
Hopefully no more players playing out of position, no more injuries. If meghni being injured means ziani is back to his usual position, then there may be a silver lining.

Can’t wait to see guediora vs gerrard
Lemmouchia vs lampard
Djebbour vs terry
Matmour vs ashley cole

Hahahaha – its going to be GREAT.

Abd:)
واحد ماقاك حب المصرين
بصح عيب عليك ةقول لسيد مصرايلي
ولا تقول لهيشام
Wash ya hichem kherajtlk el misri li feek? ma tebghish 3la bladik, wallah wash?
سيد قالك بباه مجاهد درك نت رديتو مصري
.yES, YOU ARE RIGHT alot of Egyptians Insulted us, but you cannot blame 80 millions for few A$$ ….

له ةقول لبنت ناس
خبز الدار كلاه البراني و شبع ربي يهديك و يهدينا معاك
لاه مشي مسلم ولا كفرتو مصرين على جال بالون
علا كلي حال سمحلي الي غلطت فيك

yeh man. that egypt/algeria thing is truly becoming annoying. when u look at it, its just sooo pathetic really.

anyone knows why ziani left the camp? im fearing a disaster with him and meghni gone… i doubt hed leave to sign a contract as some papers reported and i hope none of his family’s passed away. i’d be sorry for him and sorry for algeria as it would affect him.

sami and everyone, i’d really like to hear yr opinion re: the future coaches and schemes i imagined if possible.

Sami You have nothing to apologize for… You brought up a topic that adults can debate. Its not your fault there is a disrespectful hateful little person on here…. Thank you Nazim,Hisham, Um Fuad and I appreciate your comments…. Sorry if this kid pissed me off and I answered rudely…

I have to admit, I am starting to understand Saadane a lot better.
Brringing Mesbah in particular and Kadir into the squad means he was very much aware of what the team was lacking.
Ultimately you want to play with only 1 DefMid and have a left or right sided midfield to widen the attack. He just didn’t find the individuals till now. I think even he can see mansouri is lacking but is loyal to him because the guy fought on the pitch all these years surrounded by D2 players.

In the end I don’t want to be one of these guys who just wants to win at any cost. I respect him for showing loyalty to the older players and telling people not to have big expectations, that its too soon for the team to evolve.

Thanks Kazi for your comments as well…

Good luck ya shabab

2 games out of cairo + 100K CHF

——————————-

i hope zaher loses his job and i also hope this affair fades away

hisham,

With all due respect, 2 games out of cairo ( plus 700,000 EP, come on?? it that all what FIFA was able to come up with?????

I actually view it as a victory to Zaher.
On the other hand, FIFA is Setting a Precedent, its telling us that its ok to stone visiting team, what’s 100,000 swiss Franc???and instead of playing Cairo stadium, they can play in Bourdj al Arab near Alexandria.

I guess next time around, we can beat the shit out of any Egyptian team, and all we have to do is pay 100,000 swiss francs يابلاش
and we can play the next ten games in Annaba or even Blida:)
SHAME ON YOU FIFA.

100k or one billion makes no difference man… what i look at is that egypt lost a lot in terms of reputation besides zaher who came out as a one big liar.

he officially says: now he’ll have more time to prepare the om dorman file!!!!

ubuesque…

should have at least deducted 3 points from the next WC qualification games.

All the sources i have seen are Egyptians, because at first, the reports were saying that FIFA will take a decision in 10 days.

dzfoot

Guess you are right

Im actually pretty happy this happened before the cup.

just like 83, 89 and 2001, things will go fine. the african CL games will go with some tension on and outside the pitch but no one will care outside and it’ll all die out slowly as usual with the odd volleyball or basketball final.

until the next episode. that is 2013; um fuad u can have a happy married life and the rest of u can sleep tight.

What a horrific excuse of a punishment. This is ridiculous. I agree with Nazim, I would have much rather had Egypt get deducted 3 points on next WC qualification. 100′000 Swiss Francs is nothing for a Football Federation.

I agree, it’s a victory for Zaher. Egypt got off lightly, he keeps his job, he’s chuffed like a fat cat with a fish market for dinner.

I was hoping the Egyptians would be banned from the next 2014 Qualifiers or at least have points deduced. Anyways, I think that for half a year we kept those people on the edge of their seats and they got pretty scared especially that goof called zaher and that little puppy jamel moubarek. I just hope for egyptians sake they don’t repeat this again, because the next time the consequences will be more then they can handle.

@Sami: I though Mesbah was bought in as a replacement for Babouch, who was Belhadj’s understudy? He is a good left midfielder and can also function as a left winger I believe. Though recently he played as a left back for his club. Luckily Medhi Lahcen also played as left back for his club too. Against who? Against Seville!

Knowing Saadane being a cautious person, we will probably play with 2 defensive mids. But EL heddaf mentioned that there is a possibility of that rising to 3 versus England. They say Saadane has something cooked for Capello.

Ibki yal masri, Ibki yal masri, L’Algerie Kalife!!!

Abd:
Baabouche? Belhadj’s understudy!!!! The dude is in his early 30’s!!! He is by no means Belhadj’s understudy. He was just a back up, and not a great one at that.

Mesbah on the other hand is a very talented player who can play anywhere on the left.

Saadane now looks like the same man against Egypt in Cairo. He looks scarily concentrated. He’s thinking ahead in lightyears. I agree that he’s cracked slovenia and has got a little something planned for england.

Guys come on… 3 points why? did they take 3 points from algeria in 2001?Those attacks took place in the middle of the game. The game was stopped for several minutes. Algeria only got a fine then.Is an attack on algerian players more than an attack against Egyptian players??? This is consistent with what FIFA Has done in the past… Usually a fine and a slap on the wrist…..

Now that its over hopefully we can put these shameful events behind us…

Inshalla the Algerian team can put this behind them and beat slovenia and the USA and get to the second round and no one will remember this ugly chapter……… I agree Zaher should be fired if for nothing else for STILL denying anything happened…

Well that’s what I meant Kazi. In the unfortunate event he gets injured we had….drum roll…… Babouch from ?Mouloudia?. I agree there is a reason why he is not playing this WC.
I like Mesbah, he can be like our Marcelo from Real Madrid!! A left midfield, forced to play left back

I am just loving Saadane’s clam demeanor, it just lifts me with confidence. It’s like he is a magician with a trick up his sleeve. In his head it’s all figured out but he is just waiting for the moment to shock every body!

Ibki yal masri, Ibki yal masri, L’Algerie Kalife!!!

Its a shame a handfull of stupid ignorant thugs can cause the people of two great countries to have this much hate for each other… Very sad.

Bahaa, in all fairness, had we had our way, both of us would have accepted a deduction of 3 points in both occasions. But as you say, we need to move on and forget the grim end to the year.

Zaher would not be welcome to stay I don’t think. And who’s decision is it to get him sacked?

@Hicham,

Trust me Hicham, my marriage was not affected by that at all…yes we discuss it a lot, but we both respect each other’s feelings and nationality so much that it never affected us. I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful egyptian man who loves my country just almost as much as egypt. Sometimes, we just laugh at it. When he sees someone like “Zina”, the egyptian actress he switches the channel because he knows how I feel about her…lol Stupid things, I know, but it makes me respect him even more so ….Alhamdoulillah. I did hear from a relative of mine that some couples got divorced over this…I hope it’s just a rumor, because since when soccer has anything to do with a marriage?lol.

@Abd,

in Wahran, the proverb that you used for me is very condescending li bnet el ness.

To give you a little bit of a background. I moved to the states with my parents, we were legal from day one. I had the most algerian traditional marriage in the state…therefore I married a man that my father really admired. It was all with their permission wa 3la e tarika el islamia wel hamdoullah…save that kind of talk for other type of women not me.

Abd is a bit mischevous that’s all, doesn’t mean any harm. Must be a western algerian thing – Im from the east, a town soon to be renamed Yahiatown. Apparently Antar Yahia’s having the traditional marriage to Ziani’s sister (she must love being called that) in Souk Ahras after the world cup. I’m thinking of attending. I’m off to Dubai this week for a few days, so I won’t be going to the Algeria-Ireland friendly (I had VIP tickets too). But I know a nice Algerian restaurant in Deira, and I’ll be watching it there Inshallah. Lets hope Saadane allows everyone to play a bit.

um fuad
I am a ‘product’ of a marriage like yrs so i know it never gets disturbed by such silly events. it was just a tease from me. do3aba wa fukaha… kanet samta??

anecdote: i went to the algerian consulate to do some papers on december 3rd – 2 weeks after khartoum – when i asked about the hundreds of divorces that were announced in algero-egyptian marriages, they said they married 25 couples since nov 14th.

sahety yakhti. my dad is from tiaret btw. or frenda to be more specific. so I often visited ouahranewhen we went there. amazing place. besa7 ana zlid el 3asima

——-

have u seen this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uap0PAoYk6E

habloni ta3 sa7. sh7al TKAL!!! cant they leave them to concentrate a bit? its depressing!

Sami,

Why does have to be a “Must be a western algerian thing”seriously guys,do we have to add regionalism to list

I don’t appreciate being this blogs punching bag, for every body with issues and latent anger. I hope people would grow up and stop hurling direct insults my way.

@L’Algerienne:
My intent wasn’t to insult you by mentioning those words. I strictly toke them from Reda Taliane’s song Khobz Edar Yaklo L’ebarani. I had no intention to insult you, or violate and tread into your personal life. What you do with your life is in no way my business and I have no authority to judge you in anyway. I am also deeply sorry you got offended.

Ibki yal masri, Ibki yal masri, L’Algerie Kalife!!!

Next time around, we will have to use the self-defense procedures

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMiOiRclfcU&feature=related

I am going to wahran this summer and I will be landing in algiers. I lots of friends and family members from there. I really can’t wait. It’s been 2 years for me.

Lucky you L’Algerienne, i am not going this year, use to spend every summer in coralaise and bomo

@DZMouloudiaMCO
who do you think you are? the blog police? I’ve been letting your remarks slide for a while… but now, its war! Now… if I can just find a corner flag to hit you with…hahaha

That video was ridiculous – and no one got hurt really. Not like taking a coach ride and having rocks in one window out the other as the AP reporter and FIFA doctor put it – before the match too, and no sleep the night before. Fights on the pitch happen even in EPL. Or definately championship. OK the guy with the cornerflag was ridiculous, but they took it off him. Plus I didn’t see what led to it, or who contributed.

Look at how good this kid was – he was about 20 then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzrWvdvGk0w&feature=related

@L’algerienne
enjoy wah-wah-wahran… If the govt would invest more in that place, it would be amazing. traffics an issue though, esp in summer, but beautiful place.

Look at this at the end, greeks cheering rafik… djebbour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaCwXRcx-Fs&feature=related

0:27 Is Meghni doing this deliberately or is he just happy to see someone?

Sami
Bring it on my friend:) but let me find a rock to throw it at you, but wait……….. i am not an Egyptian, am i allowed to do that??? Yaaa baltagi ;)

LOL then you can blame me for trying to make you look bad for putting tomato ketchup on my head! hey I forgot to post this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wthEkFJtp6c

Its all going according to plan. I like what Matmour had to say about the facilities.

Here is the new update dated 18th of may. Karim Ziani is gleaming confidence. The same way Saadane is. Despite being marginalized at Wolfsburg he is in great spirit, you have to hand it to him, he has great character

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZMJDjUmiTw&feature=player_embedded

I agree with you Sami, Wahran is beautiful, my husband fell in love with it. Like you said only if the govenment spends more in it..however, it starts with the locals, our beaches are awesome, but I can’t believe the idiots who leave their trash behind…etc.

@DZmouloudia,

Coralaise and Bomo plage, are the best. Frankly, we have a very beautiful land.

Algeria as a whole that is

Abd,

Sorry for calling you low class…it’s really not like me at all..afterall you are weld bladi. Sme7li khoya.

*by putting ketchup on my head! no excuse for poor grammer…

Sorry if this offends any egyptians, we algerians use humour to cope with the trauma of the cairo match and the rising anti-algerianism in the world.

Yes sami and there is no excuse for poor spelling >>>>> grammAr ??

especially with a spell checker….

I better say something football related:

Ziani doesn’t need to learn much more – just needs more games, and practise set pieces with the guys. We need one set piece specialist and if possible one throw in specialist a la rory delap.

I once saw Djebbour score an unbelievable freekick from distance. Very very difficult to do, with power right in the corner. When I saw it i thought, no way – that has to be luck. It was better than anything zidane could have done. I’ll try and find it. Shame he can’t seem to integrate with the team – Algeria’s forgotten how to attack for some reason. 2 guys go up, no one provides support anymore, hope they sort it out. You at least need players to pull defenders away, during the Serbia game Djebbour kept passing the ball back because there was no way through.

Joker! – I did notice and wasn’t sure. Can’t be bothered at this time of night! Goodnight all. Other night I dreamed Algeria scored 3 goals – I scored the 3rd myself. I think we’ll get a lot of support in africa.

Sami, what did you do with that corner stick of yours, try not through it at abd:) couple of rocks would do the job JK

hahaha te7seb ninja…lol

“In the months that followed the Euro 96, Jacquet honed his team’s skills in a series of friendly matches. He adopted a very defensive strategy and made fans anxious because his team never seemed to develop a definitive offensive tactic.”

This about the French team of 1998. Sounds like a particular Algerian team I know
But I really see that we need to focus on passing and moving. I have yet to see a good 1-2 pass by our players. Sure we can hold the ball at midfield and have a string of 8-10 passes, but usually without an object and no strategy. It’s true we haven’t perfected the art of building an attack, despite the wonderful midfielders we have.

I am kind of disappointed with the Irish selection for our next friendly game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland_national_football_team#Current_squad

Here are some facts about the Irish team we will face:

- no Robbie Keane, no Damien Duff, no Kevin Kilbane.
- 6 of the players from the 23 list still haven’t been capped
-Another 8 players have 1 to 3 caps

Some will say that we also have 6-7 players who still haven’t been capped. But we are a world cup bound team, I though we would face the same Irish team that embarrassed the French!

I am sure Mr. Trapattoni knows what he is doing, but this leaves no room for failure. I previously said that a draw with Irish would be great especially in front of their fans, but I now see that a win is vital.

Lol, it seems the Irish have read my earlier posts.

http://www.dzfoot.com/news-6521/irlande-algerie-trappatoni-convoque-24-joueurs/

We will definitely be facing Robie Keane, Damien Duff and John O’Shea. Should be a great game.

Hello guys, here (http://www.mixin.com/users/worldcup_algerie) is the schedule of Algeria matches… they will be great if anybody wants to add some fotos or vidéos^^