Ali Benarbia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ali Benarbia | ||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Oran, Algeria | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1995 | Martigues | 201 | (23) |
| 1995–1998 | Monaco | 90 | (8) |
| 1998–1999 | Bordeaux | 25 | (3) |
| 1999–2001 | Paris Saint-Germain | 42 | (0) |
| 2001–2003 | Manchester City | 71 | (11) |
| 2003–2005 | Al-Rayyan | 19 | (8) |
| 2005–2006 | Qatar SC | 6 | (1) |
| Total | 454 | (54) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2001 | Algeria | 7 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ali Benarbia (Arabic: علي بن عربية; born 8 October 1968 in Oran, Algeria) is a retired Algerian footballer who played as a midfielder. As of 2009, he is currently a consultant and presenter for Al-Jazeera Sports in Doha.
Ali Benarbia was born in Oran, with his family originating from Sidi Bel Abbès. When he was only a year old, the family settled in south of France. It was not long before the young Ali started kicking a ball around on the streets.
Benarbia grabbed the attention of district side ROC Narbonne at only 10 years and seven years later he signed for FC Martigues. Encouraged by his father, Benarbia wanted to have a professional career in the game but knew that it would only come through hard-work. Playing in the youth team, Benarbia was quickly promoted to the first team in 1987 and went on to help the club into the French first division after winning the second division title in 1993. He was part of the side that was promoted to Ligue 1 in 1993, operating as a midfielder.
After Martigues were relegated in 1995, Benarbia was signed by AS Monaco and two seasons later he helped the club to a league title. In season 1997–98, he was named Player of the Year in the France but still no call came from the French coach. Bénarbia had turned down several offers to play for his home country of Algeria, as he had always hoped to play for France. Benarbia also played in Jean Tigana's talented Monaco side which famously put Manchester United out of the Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford.
After three seasons with AS Monaco, Benarbia moved to Bordeaux for £1m and helped the club, where Zinedine Zidane made his name to the league title. With Benarbia playing the best football of his career, Paris Saint-Germain tabled an offer of £2m for the Algerian player only a month before the end of the season, the club accepted but the deal was kept quiet until Bordeaux had clinched the title.
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