Essaïd Belkalem

Essaïd Belkalem
Born	(1989-01-01) January 1, 1989 Mekla, Algeria
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	2008–2018
Known for	Defender for JS Kabylie, Granada, Watford, Trabzonspor, Algeria national team

Essaïd Belkalem (; born 1 January 1989) is a retired Algerian professional football player who operated primarily as a defender.

Club career

Belkalem advanced from the youth setup to the senior squad of JS Kabylie in 2008.

Throughout the 2009–2010 campaign, he featured in 20 matches and netted one goal.

On 18 July 2010, he secured the lone goal for JS Kabylie with a header in the 75th minute, leading to a 1–0 triumph over Egyptian side Ismaily during the group phase of the 2010 CAF Champions League.

In February 2013, with his contract nearing expiration in June, Belkalem declared his intention to depart JS Kabylie at season’s conclusion in order to pursue opportunities with a European club.

Granada

Upon his contract's conclusion with JS Kabylie in June 2013, Belkalem signed a five-year deal on a free transfer with Granada, competing in Spain’s La Liga.

Watford

On 12 August 2013, Belkalem moved to Championship outfit Watford on a season-long loan, donning the number 5 jersey. He made his debut during a 2–0 League Cup victory against Bournemouth on 28 August 2013 and appeared in his first league match in a 1–1 draw versus Charlton Athletic on 14 September 2013.

In June 2014, Watford opted to secure Belkalem on a permanent basis through an undisclosed agreement. After accumulating ten appearances across three seasons, he was released from his contract on 10 August 2016.

Trabzonspor (loan)

Following his permanent transfer to Watford, Belkalem was loaned out for the 2014–15 season to Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor, where he reunited with former Algeria national team coach Vahid Halilhodžić. During this spell, he participated in sixteen league matches and eight Europa League fixtures, scoring three times before concluding his loan tenure on 2 June 2015.

JS Kabylie

After spending six months unattached, Belkalem rejoined his former team JS Kabylie on 15 January 2018.

International career

Belkalem received a call-up to the Algerian U20 national team in 2007 for the first edition of the Mediterranean Trophy held in Sicily, Italy. The following year, he started in a qualifier for the 2009 African Youth Championship against Mauritania.

In August 2009, he was selected for an Algeria Under-23 national team training camp based in Algiers. By the year 2010, Belkalem earned a call-up to the Algeria A' national team for a qualifying match versus Libya.

On 12 May 2012, he received his inaugural summons to the Algeria national team ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mali and Rwanda as well as the return leg of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambia. His debut came on 9 September when he started and completed the full game in a second-round qualifier against Libya that ended in a 1–0 victory.

Belkalem scored his maiden international goal on 31 May 2014 during a friendly encounter with Armenia, contributing to Algeria’s 3–1 win. Subsequently, he was named in Algeria’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he helped the nation reach the Round of 16 for the first time.

Honours

In a 2009 DZFoot poll, Belkalem was recognized as the third most promising young player in the Algerian Championnat National, following Abderahmane Hachoud and Youcef Ghazali.