Hillal Soudani

El Arabi Hilal Soudani (Arabic: العربي هلال سوداني‎; born 25 November 1987) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Al-Fateh and the Algeria national team.

Hillal Soudani
Personal information
Full name El Arabi Hilal Soudani[1]
Date of birth (1987-11-25) 25 November 1987
Place of birth Chlef, Algeria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Winger/Second striker
Club information
Current team
 Al-Fateh
Number 22
Youth career
1998–2006 ASO Chlef
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 ASO Chlef 108 (48)
2011–2013 Vitória de Guimarães 37 (13)
2013–2018 Dinamo Zagreb 132 (69)
2018–2019 Nottingham Forest 6 (2)
2019–2021 Olympiacos 24 (9)
2021– Al-Fateh 0 (0)
National team‡
2008–2011 Algeria A 11 (5)
2010– Algeria 51 (23)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2019

Soudani made his international debut in 2010, and featured at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. As of November 2019, he has won 51 international caps and scored 23 goals, making him Algeria's sixth-highest goalscorer in history.

Club career

ASO Chlef

Born in Chlef, Soudani began his career in the junior ranks of his hometown club ASO Chlef. In May 2006, aged 19, he made his first team debut for the club as a substitute against USM Annaba in the 28th round of the 2005–06 Algerian Championnat National, coming on for Samir Zaoui in the 72nd minute.[2]

In 2008, Soudani was chosen as the 2008 Young Player of the Year by DZFoot after scoring 11 goals in 24 games in the 2007–08 season.[3]

In June 2011, Soudani went on trial with French Ligue 2 club Le Mans FC.[4]

Vitória de Guimarães

On 8 August 2011, Soudani signed a three-year contract with Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães.[5] The transfer fee was rumoured to be €800,000.[6] On 25 August 2011, Soudani made his official debut for Vitória as a 66th-minute substitute in a 2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-off round match against Atlético Madrid.[7] On 16 October 2011, Soudani opened his scoring account for the club with a brace in the third round of the 2011–12 Taça de Portugal against Moura Atlético Clube. After trailing 1–0, Soudani scored the equaliser in the 89th minute of the match to send the match to extra-time, before scoring the winner in the 117th minute.[8] On 1 April 2012, he scored his first goal in the Primeira Liga in a 3–1 win against Paços de Ferreira.[9] On 21 April, he scored a brace in a 3–2 win against União de Leiria.[10]

On 26 May 2013, Soudani helped Vitória win their first ever Taça de Portugal by beating Benfica 2–1 in the final, scoring the equalising goal in the 79th minute before Ricardo Pereira scored the winner two minutes later.[11] The following day, he travelled to Croatia to complete a medical ahead of a transfer to Dinamo Zagreb.[12]

Dinamo Zagreb

On 27 May 2013, Soudani signed a four-year contract with Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb after the club paid a €900,000 transfer fee for his services.[13]

On 6 July 2013, Soudani won the Croatian Supercup with Dinamo against Hajduk Split, also making his debut for Dinamo in the match. He made his Croatian First Football League debut six days later, scoring in a 3–1 win over Osijek. He then scored twice and assisted another goal in Dinamo's 5-0 win over Fola Esch in UEFA Champions League qualifying. Soudani won the Croatian league championship, scoring 16 goals and finishing third in the Golden Boot race behind Dinamo teammates Andrej Kramarić (18) and Duje Čop (22).

In the 2014–15 season, Soudani scored a hat-trick against Astra Giurgiu in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage. He won his second league championship with Dinamo, scoring 11 goals and assisting 15 in the league, and won his first Croatian Cup.

Soudani's Dinamo completed the league and cup double again in the 2015–16 season, however the player himself had a less successful season, battling injuries and form and finished with eight goals and four assists in the league.

In the 2016–17 season, Soudani's 95th minute extra time goal against Red Bull Salzburg sent Dinamo through to the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. Despite finishing second in the league behind Rijeka — the first time Dinamo had not won the league in 10 seasons — Soudani achieved a career-best 17 goals in the league.

Nottingham Forest

On 29 June 2018, Soudani joined English club Nottingham Forest on a three-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee.[14] In the opening four matches of the season, Soudani scored twice before he injured his knee. In October, Soudani then incurred a serious injury to his leg which kept him out of play for the remainder of Nottingham's season.[15]

Olympiacos

On 18 June 2019, Soudani joined Greek club Olympiacos on a permanent transfer.[16] By mid-November 2019, despite not being in manager Pedro Martins' plans at the beginning of the season, he had played himself into the starting 11 with his performances. In only 532 minutes of play season, he scored five goals and contributed one assist and was the team's leading scorer in Super League Greece action.[17]

On 20 February 2020, in a 1–0 victory against Atromitos, Soudani sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury which was forecast to keep him out of action for at least six months.[18]

On 25 January 2021, after being deemed surplus to requirements by Martins, he was released by mutual consent, six months before the official expiry of his contract.[19]

International career

In February 2011, Soudani was selected by head coach Abdelhak Benchikha as part of the Algerian A' National Team for the 2011 African Nations Championship in Sudan.[20] In the opening group stage match, against Uganda, Soudani started and scored a goal in the 61st minute as Algeria won 2–0.[21] In the second group match, against Gabon, Soudani scored a brace with goals in the 71st and 90th minute of the match in a 2–2 draw.[22] Despite not scoring in the remainder of the competition, Soudani finished as the top scorer in the competition with three goals.

On 14 May 2011, Soudani was called-up by Abdelhak Benchikha to the Algeria national team for the first time for a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Morocco.[23] On 4 June 2011, he made his debut as a substitute for Rafik Djebbour in the 79th minute of the match.[24]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 20 December 2020[25]
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
ASO Chlef 2005–06 National 1 1000———10
2006–07 11331—20—164
2007–08 241120———2611
2008–09 19420———214
2009–10 281244———3216
2010–11 Ligue 1 251831———2819
Total 10848146—20—12454
Vitória de Guimarães 2011–12 Primeira Liga 16422201[lower-alpha 3]0—216
2012–13 21933———2412
Total 3713552010—4518
Dinamo Zagreb
 2013–14 Prva HNL 311650—9[lower-alpha 4]31[lower-alpha 5]04619
2014–15 231130—12[lower-alpha 6]5—3816
2015–16 21853—11[lower-alpha 7]3—3714
2016–17 291710—11[lower-alpha 7]2—4119
2017–18 281741—3[lower-alpha 3]0—3518
Total 13269184—46131019786
Nottingham Forest 2018–19 Championship 620020——82
Total 620020——82
Olympiacos 2019–20 Superleague Greece 19710—1[lower-alpha 7]000207
2020–21 3 2 0 0 — 1 0 0 0 4 2
Total 22910—2000249
Career total 305141381540511310397169


  1. Includes the Algerian Cup, Taça de Portugal, Croatian Football Cup and FA Cup
  2. Includes Taça da Liga and the EFL Cup
  3. All appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in Europa League
  5. Appearance in Super Cup
  6. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in Europa League
  7. All appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International
As of matches played 14 November 2019

International goals
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 May 2012Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria3 Niger3–03–0Friendly
2 June 2, 20124 Rwanda2–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 4–0
4 15 June 20126 Gambia4–14–12013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5 9 September 2012Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco7 Libya1–01–0
6 14 October 2012Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria81–02–0
7 30 January 2013Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa12 Ivory Coast2–02–22013 Africa Cup of Nations
8 2 June 2013Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria14 Burkina Faso1–02–0Friendly
9 10 September 201317 Mali1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 5 March 201420 Slovenia1–02–0Friendly
11 4 June 2014Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland22 Romania2–12–1
12 6 September 2014Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia26 Ethiopia1–02–12015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13 1 February 2015Nuevo Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea32 Ivory Coast1–11–32015 Africa Cup of Nations
14 June 13, 2015Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria33 Seychelles2–04–02017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
15 3–0
16 September 6, 2015Setsoto Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho34 Lesotho2–13–1
17 3–1
18 2 June 2016Stade Linité, Victoria, Seychelles37 Seychelles2–02–0
19 September 5, 2016Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria38 Lesotho1–06–0
20 4–0
21 9 October 201639 Cameroon1–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
22 6 June 201741 Guinea2–12–1Friendly
23 14 November 201950 Zambia4–05–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Club

ASO Chlef

Vitória Guimarães

Dinamo Zagreb

Olympiacos

Individual

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Algeria" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. "Division 1 28e j USMAn 3-0 ASO". DZfoot. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. Soudani Espoir DZfoot 2008
  4. "Transferts : Soudani proche du Mans FC ?". DZfoot.com (in French). Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  5. Soudani é reforço
  6. Soudani quase a chegar Archived 4 August 2011 at the Portuguese Web Archive
  7. UEFA Europa League 2012 - Vitória SC-Atlético – UEFA.com
  8. Soudani, doublé décisif en Coupe du Portugal; DZFoot.com, 16 October 2011.
  9. "1er but somptueux pour Soudani en Liga portugaise !". 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  10. "Soudani brille sous les yeux de Kourichi" (in French). DZFoot. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  11. Toufik O. (26 May 2013). "Buteur en finale, Soudani remporte la Coupe du Portugal !" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  12. Walid Z. (27 May 2013). "Soudani arrive à Zagreb pour passer l'examen medical" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  13. "Novo pojačanje: El Soudani potpisao za Dinamo!" (in Croatian). GNK Dinamo Zagreb official website. 27 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  14. "Hillal Soudani: Nottingham Forest sign Algerian forward for undisclosed fee Soudani scored making it Forests'first win of the new season". BBC. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  15. "HILLAL SOUDANI, OLYMPIACOS' GOAL-HUNGRY WINGER". www.agonasport.com. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  16. https://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/news/2019/june/soudani-departs/
  17. https://www.agonasport.com/agonasport-allnews/soudanis-red-hot-form-helping-to-power-olympiacos
  18. https://www.goal.com/en/news/olympiacos-suffer-injury-blow-as-soudani-ruptures-cruciate/118ximb3qv9qa11mlzsqm0r41b
  19. www.newsit.gr https://www.newsit.gr/athlitika/telos-o-sountani-apo-ton-olympiako/3208310/. Retrieved 25 January 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. CHAN 2011 : Direction Khartoum pour l'Equipe Nationale A' Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. CHAN 2011 : UGA 0-2 ALG, les Verts réussissent leur entrée Archived 8 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  22. CHAN 2011 : GAB 2-2 ALG, deux points de perdus Archived 11 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  23. EN : Maroc - Algérie : Les 22 Algériens
  24. Maroc 4-0 Algérie Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  25. Hillal Soudani at Soccerway
  26. "Oscars Maracana 2010-2011,Soudani joueur de la saison". algerie360. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  27. "Soudani Espoir DZfoot 2008". DZfoot.com (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  28. AMagdic.com. "Trofej Nogometaš 2017 - Priopćenje za javnost". Hrvatska udruga "Nogometni sindikat" (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
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