Rafik Saïfi

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title: "Rafik Saïfi" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1975-births", "living-people", "algerian-men's-footballers", "kabyle-people", "footballers-from-algiers", "men's-association-football-midfielders", "algeria-men's-international-footballers", "2000-african-cup-of-nations-players", "2002-african-cup-of-nations-players", "2010-africa-cup-of-nations-players", "2010-fifa-world-cup-players", "naturalized-citizens-of-france", "french-men's-footballers", "ligue-1-players", "ligue-2-players", "qatar-stars-league-players", "es-troyes-ac-players", "istres-fc-players", "ac-ajaccio-players", "fc-lorient-players", "amiens-sc-players", "mc-alger-players", "al-khor-sc-players", "ib-khémis-el-khechna-players", "algerian-expatriate-men's-footballers", "algerian-expatriate-sportspeople-in-france", "expatriate-men's-footballers-in-france", "algerian-expatriate-sportspeople-in-qatar", "expatriate-men's-footballers-in-qatar", "21st-century-algerian-sportsmen"] description: "Algerian footballer (born 1975)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafik_Saïfi" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Algerian footballer (born 1975) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox football biography"]

Field	Value
name	Rafik Saïfi
image	رفيق صايفي.jpg
birth_date
birth_place	Algiers, Algeria
height	1.78 m
position	Forward, attacking midfielder
years1	1993–1994
clubs1	CM Bordj El Kiffan
caps1	18
goals1	31
years2	1994–1995
clubs2	IRB Sougueur
caps2	18
goals2	27
years3	1995–1996
clubs3	IB Khémis El Khechna
caps3	18
goals3	19
years4	1996–1999
clubs4	MC Alger
caps4	29
goals4	20
years5	1999–2004
clubs5	Troyes
caps5	110
goals5	19
years6	2004–2005
clubs6	Istres
caps6	35
goals6	4
years7	2005–2006
clubs7	Ajaccio
caps7	26
goals7	2
years8	2006–2009
clubs8	Lorient
caps8	95
goals8	26
years9	2009–2010
clubs9	Al Khor
caps9	10
goals9	2
years10	2010
clubs10	→ Istres (loan)
caps10	13
goals10	2
years11	2010–2012
clubs11	Amiens SC
caps11	50
goals11	7
totalcaps	422
totalgoals	159
nationalyears1	1998–2010
nationalteam1	Algeria
nationalcaps1	64
nationalgoals1	18
::

| name = Rafik Saïfi | image = رفيق صايفي.jpg | full_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Algiers, Algeria | height = 1.78 m | position = Forward, attacking midfielder | currentclub = | years1 = 1993–1994 | clubs1 = CM Bordj El Kiffan | caps1 = 18 | goals1 = 31 | years2 = 1994–1995 | clubs2 = IRB Sougueur | caps2 = 18 | goals2 = 27 | years3 = 1995–1996 | clubs3 = IB Khémis El Khechna | caps3 = 18 | goals3 = 19 | years4 = 1996–1999 | clubs4 = MC Alger | caps4 = 29 | goals4 = 20 | years5 = 1999–2004 | clubs5 = Troyes | caps5 = 110 | goals5 = 19 | years6 = 2004–2005 | clubs6 = Istres | caps6 = 35 | goals6 = 4 | years7 = 2005–2006 | clubs7 = Ajaccio | caps7 = 26 | goals7 = 2 | years8 = 2006–2009 | clubs8 = Lorient | caps8 = 95 | goals8 = 26 | years9 = 2009–2010 | clubs9 = Al Khor | caps9 = 10 | goals9 = 2 | years10 = 2010 | clubs10 = → Istres (loan) | caps10 = 13 | goals10 = 2 | years11 = 2010–2012 | clubs11 = Amiens SC | caps11 = 50 | goals11 = 7 | totalcaps = 422 | totalgoals = 159 | nationalyears1 = 1998–2010 | nationalteam1 = Algeria | nationalcaps1 = 64 | nationalgoals1 = 18

Rafik Saïfi (; born 7 February 1975) is an Algerian retired professional football player who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Saifi began his football career at CM Bordj El Kifane. It was there where he got a name for himself as a goal scorer at the age of 17. He went on to represent two other small teams, IRB Sougueur and IB Khémis El Khechna, before making his big move to MC Alger in his home city. There he helped the team win the Algerian league title before moving to France in 1999 at the age of 24 to join Troyes AC. He stayed with Troyes for five seasons, including the 2003–04 season after their relegation to Ligue 2.

Moving back into Ligue 1 with a transfer to newly promoted FC Istres in 2004, Saïfi played 35 matches before leaving following the club's relegation. In 2005, he joined AC Ajaccio, also newly promoted, and suffered a third relegation in four years.

Saïfi moved to FC Lorient, yet another newly promoted club, in the summer of 2006. He started the 2007–08 campaign quickly scoring 4 goals in 4 games.

Al Khor

On 9 August 2009, Saïfi joined Al-Khor on a one-year contract with the club paying a transfer fee of €500,000 to FC Lorient. Saïfi scored his first goal for the club on his league debut in a match against Al-Gharafa on 12 September 2009. On 22 October 2009, he scored his second league goal, this time against Al-Kharitiyath.

Istres

On 23 January 2010, it was announced that Saïfi would be loaned out to Ligue 2 side FC Istres until the end of the season. The move was made official on 2 February 2010.

On 4 November 2010, Saïfi signed a contract with Amiens SC.

International career

Saïfi made his debut for the Algeria national team on 5 June 1998, in a friendly against Bulgaria, coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute. On 28 February 1999, he scored his first international goal in the 2000 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia which ended as 1–1 draw. He scored his second goal in the following game, a 4–1 win in the return leg against Liberia.

Saïfi was called up by Algeria head coach Nasser Sandjak to the Algerian national team that was taking part in the 2000 African Cup of Nations in Ghana and Nigeria. In the first game against DR Congo, Saïfi started the game and was subbed off in the 70th minute, with the game ending in a goalless draw. In the second group game against Gabon, Saïfi was left out of the starting line-up and was a substitute on the bench but he did take part as he came on in the 77th minute, replacing his Troyes AC teammate Farid Ghazi. Algeria won the game 3–1. He did not take part in the final group game against South Africa. In the quarter-final against Cameroon, Saïfi was left on the bench again but came on in the 51st minute with Algeria losing 2–0. The team managed to pull a goal back in the 90th minute but lost the game 2–1.

Saïfi was a member of the Algeria team that participated in the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali and started all three group games against Nigeria, Liberia and hosts Mali. Despite the fact that Algeria failed to make it out of the group stage, Saïfi put in a "best eleven" performance and was included in the team of the tournament.

Saïfi was made his third trip to the African Cup after being included by Algeria manager Rabah Saadane in the team list for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola. He started in Algeria's first game against Malawi, a 3–0 loss, but was subbed off in the 63rd minute by Abdelmalek Ziaya. He started the second game against Mali, a 1–0 win, on the bench and came on in the 80th minute for Abdelkader Ghezzal.

After the FIFA World Cup 2010, he clearly announced through the Tunisian TV channel Nessma, that he was done with his international career.

Assault incident

After a disappointing campaign by Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in which the team received much domestic criticism, failing to make it beyond the group stage, a controversial incident occurred at the end of the USA-Algeria game in which the USA secured victory in the last minute. Saïfi spotted journalist Asma Halimi, a female reporter who had written an article criticizing him in the newspaper Competition. Saïfi and the journalist had previously been in a dispute because the journalist had translated and published an interview Saïfi had given. He slapped her across the face; Halimi responded by striking him back in the face, catching her nail on his lip. Halimi stated she would file a complaint against Saïfi with governing body FIFA and the Algerian FA.

Career statistics

International

::data[format=table title="Appearances and goals by national team and year{{NFT player|124|accessdate=}}"]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals	Total	64	18
Algeria	1998	3	0
1999	5	2
2000	10	4
2001	5	3
2002	3	0
2003	3	0
2004	3	0
2005	4	2
2006	2	1
2007	7	3
2008	5	1
2009	7	2
2010	7	0
::

:Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Saïfi goal.

::data[format=table title="List of international goals scored by Rafik Saïfi"]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 February 1999	Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia		1–0	1–1	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
2	9 April 1999	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria		3–0	4–1	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
3	3 June 2000	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria		1–0	4–0	Friendly
4	2–0
5	16 June 2000	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria		1–1	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	11 October 2000	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria		2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	1 June 2001	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria		1–0	3–2	2002 African Cup of Nations qualification
8	2–1
9	6 December 2001	Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria		1–1	1–1	Friendly
10	9 February 2005	Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria		1–0	3–0	Friendly
11	2–0
12	11 November 2006	Luynes, Aix-en-Provence, France		1–2	1–2	Friendly
13	7 February 2007	Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria		1–1	2–1	Friendly
14	2 June 2007	Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde		2–1	2–2	2008 African Cup of Nations qualification
15	9 September 2007	Independence Stadium, Bakau, Gambia		1–0	1–2	2008 African Cup of Nations qualification
16	5 September 2008	Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria		2–1	3–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
17	20 June 2009	Independence Stadium, Chililabombwe, Zambia		2–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
18	6 September 2009	Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria		1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
::

Honours

MC Alger

• Algerian Championnat National: 1998–99

Troyes

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001

Amiens

• Championnat National runner-up: 2010–11

Individual

• DZFoot d'Or: 2007, 2008
• Algerian Ballon d’Or (Ballon d’Or El Haddaf): 2008
• Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2002

References

References

1. "FIFA".
2. "Transferts : Rafik Saïfi à al Khor (Qatar) - Football algérien".
3. [http://fariqelwatani.unblog.fr/transfert-dz-20092010/ Transfert DZ 2009/2010]
4. "Goals scored by: Rafik Saifi".
5. "L'Équipe - l'Actualité du sport en continu".
6. "SAIFI est de retour - Ligue 2".
7. [http://www.amiensfootball.com/liste-des-actualites/page-article/article/signature-de-rafik-saifi.html Signature de Rafik Saïfi]
8. "Bulgarie 2-0 Algérie | Football algérien".
9. "Liberia 1-1 Algérie | Football algérien".
10. "Algérie 4-1 Libéria | Football algérien".
11. "Algérie 0-0 RD Congo | Football algérien".
12. "Gabon 1-3 Algérie | Football algérien".
13. "Cameroun 2-1 Algérie | Football algérien".
14. Duret, Sébastien. (12 February 2002). "African Nations Cup 2002 - Final Tournament Details".
15. "Mali 0-1 Algérie | Football algérien".
16. "Algerian slaps female reporter". [[Eurosport]].
17. (24 June 2010). "Saifi 'slapped female journalist'". BBC News.
18. {{NFT player. 124
19. [https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/alg-saifi-intl.html Rafik Saïfi - International Appearances]
20. "Newcastle 4-4 Troyes (Aggregate: 4 - 4)". [[UEFA]].

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