Medhi Lacen
Lacen with Algeria in 2014
Personal information
Full name Medhi Gregory Giuseppe Lacen[1]
Date of birth (1984-03-15) 15 March 1984
Place of birth Versailles, France
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
0000-2000 Versailles
2000-2002 Laval
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Laval B 62 (1)
2003–2004 Laval 4 (0)
2004–2005 Valence 35 (0)
2005–2008 Alavés 86 (0)
2006 Alavés B 2 (0)
2008–2011 Racing Santander 100 (4)
2011–2018 Getafe 178 (4)
2018–2019 Málaga 29 (0)
Total 434 (8)
International career
2010–2015 Algeria 43 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Medhi Gregory Giuseppe Lacen (Arabic: مهدي لحسن; born 15 March 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

After starting out at Laval, he spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing Alavés, Racing de Santander, Getafe and Málaga and amassing La Liga totals of 273 matches and seven goals over ten seasons.

Born in France, Lacen appeared for Algeria in two World Cups.

Club career

Born in Versailles, France, to an Algerian father and an Italian mother,[2] Lacen started his professional career with modest Stade Lavallois and ASOA Valence. For the 2005–06 season he moved to Spain, joining Deportivo Alavés which would eventually be relegated; he made his La Liga debut on 15 October 2005, in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF.[3]

After two second division campaigns as an undisputed starter for the Basques, Lacen moved to Racing de Santander on 15 August 2008, on a three-year contract.[4] He competed throughout the campaign for first-choice status with Peter Luccin, also newly signed.

In 2009–10, as Racing finished in 16th position, Lacen became an automatic first-choice (Luccin returned to Real Zaragoza from his loan). He scored three goals, including in a 3–2 home win over Xerez CD on 13 December 2009.[5]

In late February 2011, with his link to the Cantabrians expiring in June, Lacen signed a pre-contract with fellow top level side Getafe CF.[6] The move was made official on 25 May, with the player agreeing to a four-year deal with the Madrid outskirts club.[7]

Lacen scored his first goal with Getafe on 16 April 2012, netting the second in a 5–1 home defeat of Sevilla FC.[8] He was released from his contract on 31 January 2018 after appearing in 187 competitive matches[9] and, three days later, joined Málaga CF until 30 June.[10]

International career

Although French-born, Lacen had the possibility of representing Algeria through his fathers' origins. In 2006, he was called up by Jean-Michel Cavalli to the national side for a friendly against Gabon, but did not play because of an administrative problem.[11]

On 12 December 2009, the president of the Algerian FA, Mohamed Raouraoua, announced that Lacen would be called up to the Algerian squad for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.[12] However, five days later, head coach Rabah Saâdane announced that the player would not participate in the continental competition because of his wife's pregnancy.[13]

On 12 February 2010, Racing Santander's website announced that Lacen was chosen for Algeria's upcoming friendly against Serbia.[14] On 3 March he finally made his debut, in a 0–3 loss.[15]

In June 2010, Lacen was selected to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, playing all the games. During the tournament, he partnered Hassan Yebda (another defensive midfielder) as the national team failed to score a goal, earning one point.[16]

Personal life

Lacen's younger brother, Michael, was also a footballer. He represented, amongst other clubs, FC Versailles 78.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Lacen" (in Spanish). Getafe CF. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. ↑ Mehdi Lacen rejoindra l’équipe nationale (Mehdi Lacen will join the national team) Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine; TSA, 11 December 2009 (in French)
  3. ↑ El Alavés y Villarreal consiguen en empate que no les sirve (1–1) (Alavés and Villarreal get draw that does not suit (1–1)); Diario Siglo XXI, 16 October 2005 (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Lacen leaves Alavés for Racing; UEFA, 15 August 2008
  5. ↑ "Racing battle back for valuable win". ESPN Soccernet. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Mehdi Lacen devrait rejoindre Getafe (Mehdi Lacen should join Getafe); DZFoot, 26 February 2011 (in French)
  7. ↑ Lacen, "J'ai signé pour 4 ans à Getafe" (Lacen, "I've signed with Getafe for four years") Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine; DZFoot, 25 May 2011 (in French)
  8. ↑ Z., Walid (16 April 2012). "Joli premier but pour Lacen avec Getafe" [Nice first goal for Lacen with Getafe] (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Navacerrada, Juancar (31 January 2018). "Medhi Lacen deja de ser jugador del Getafe" [Medhi Lacen no longer a Getafe player] (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Lacen completes the Málaga CF squad". Málaga CF. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Mehdi Lacen sélectionné (Mehdi Lacen called). Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine; DZFoot, 3 August 2006 (in French).
  12. ↑ Raouraoua annonce l'arrivée de Lacen et Ziaya (Raouraoua announces arrivals of Lacen and Ziaya). Archived 25 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine; DZFoot, 12 December 2009 (in French).
  13. ↑ Sâadane explique ses choix et ses objectifs (Sâadane explains his picks and goals). Archived 3 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine; DZFoot (in French).
  14. ↑ Lacen convoqué pour Algérie-Serbie (amical) (Lacen selected for Algeria-Serbia (friendly))); DZFoot, 12 February 2010 (in French)
  15. ↑ Amical Algérie-Serbie: La composition algérienne (Algeria-Serbia friendly: Algeria's lineup); DZFoot, 3 March 2010 (in French).
  16. ↑ "Mondial 2010: Bilan des verts" [2010 World Cup: Green sum-up] (in French). USM Alger. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  17. ↑ Michael Lacen, au nom du frère (Michael Lacen, in the name of the brother); Le Parisien, 12 December 2009 (in French)
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