Khaled Lemmouchia

Khaled Lemmouchia
Born	(1981-12-06) December 6, 1981 Givors, Rhône, France
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	1997–2013
Known for	Defensive midfielder for Algeria national team and clubs including ES Sétif, USM Alger, Club Africain

Khaled Lemmouchia (; born 6 December 1981) is a retired professional football player who mainly operated as a defensive midfielder. Although he was born in France, he chose to represent Algeria at the international level.

Lemmouchia was part of the Algerian under-20 squad during the qualifiers for the 2001 African Youth Championship. In February 2008, he earned his initial call-up to the Algeria national football team for a training camp held in Paris. His senior international debut occurred on 31 May 2008 in a World Cup qualifying fixture against Senegal. He went on to represent Algeria at both the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2011 African Championship of Nations, accumulating 22 caps by August 2012.

Club career

Originating from Givors, Rhône, Lemmouchia started his football journey at age 16 within the Olympique Lyonnais academy, despite receiving interest from several French clubs. He progressed to Lyon's reserve team but, following the expiration of his amateur contract, did not secure a professional deal. Consequently, he joined amateur side AS Moulins. After one year, he transferred to AS Lyon Duchère, where he remained for four seasons. In the summer of 2006, he inked his first professional contract with Algerian club ES Setif.

During his tenure at ES Setif, Lemmouchia quickly established himself as an essential squad member, playing a pivotal role in clinching both the league championship and the Arab Champions League title in his debut season.

On 29 July 2011, he agreed to a one-year deal with USM Alger, making 27 league appearances and scoring once. His contributions helped the team secure third place in the 2011–12 Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 and qualify for the 2013 CAF Confederation Cup.

Later, on 13 August 2012, Lemmouchia entered negotiations with Tunisian outfit Club Africain and finalized a one-year contract on 22 August.

International career

While affiliated with Lyon, Lemmouchia declined an invitation from the France Under-17 squad to instead represent his ancestral nation, Algeria. He joined Algeria's under-20 team in 2000 for participation in the qualifiers of the 2001 African Youth Championship. He featured in two matches, including a significant 2–2 draw against Ghana that ultimately ended Algeria’s hopes of qualifying.

On 6 February 2008, coach Saâdane called him up for a training camp in Paris ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualification matches. Lemmouchia earned his senior international cap on 31 May 2008 by starting against Senegal during these qualifiers.

He was among those injured when the Algerian team’s bus came under attack by Egyptian assailants; Lemmouchia voiced frustration that the match continued despite evident security risks.

Club

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
ES Sétif	2006–07	Ligue 1	16	0	2	0	—		—		18	0
	2007–08		24	0	—		3	0	14	0	41	0
	2008–09		16	0	1	0	2	0	4	0	23	0
	2009–10		22	0	4	0	13	0	—		39	0
	2010–11		19	0	4	0	6	0	—		29	0
Total			97	0	11	0	24	0	18	0	150	0
USM Alger	2011–12	Ligue 1	27	1	3	0	—		—		30	1

Honours

ES Sétif

• Algerian Championnat National: Champions in 2006–07 and 2008–09; second place in 2009–10
• Arab Champions League: Winners in 2006–07 and 2007–08
• North African Cup of Champions: Title secured in 2009
• Algerian Cup: Champions for the 2009–10 season
• North African Super Cup: Victorious in 2010
• North African Cup Winners Cup: Champions in 2010
• CAF Confederation Cup: Finished as runners-up in 2009

External links

• DZFoot Profile