Soccer Lazio Roma Attacking Midfielder Algeria

Mourad Meghni  is a French born Algerian football player who is currently playing for S.S. Lazio in Italy's Serie A.

Meghni is a player with excellent technique, and is right-footed. In France, as a young footballer, his ability earnt him the nickname "petit Zidane".

Along with Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec he helped inspire the French Under 17 team to victory in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Trinidad and Tobago.

At the age of 13 Meghni joined the national football school at Clairefontaine there he vastly improved his technique, prior to joining the academy Meghni always played on small pitches hence he learnt quickly the necessary skills and technique that would be needed when beating a man, whilst at Clairefontaine he had a Brazilian coach who helped him improve his technique which he is now known for. Meghni remained at the national football school at Clairefontaine for three years before moving to Cannes at the age of 16.

When he was 16, Meghni decided to leave the Clairefontaine academy and sign for Cannes, but due to financial problems Cannes were immediately relegated to amateur football. Meghni had an unsuccessful time at Cannes as he was usually on the substitute bench for the reserve team, but in the summer of 2000 he was snapped up by Bologna at the age of 16 on a free transfer. Meghni views his time at Cannes as a learning experience as he was very young when he signed for the club.

As a youth player, Meghni moved from the renowned Clairefontaine academy to Bologna, where he played from the 2000-01 season to the 2004-05 season. He made his Serie A debut on January 12, 2003 in a 2-0 loss at home to Milan. Meghni then spent the 2005-06 season on loan to French Ligue 1 side Sochaux, before returning to Bologna.

While at Bologna, Meghni was never able to turn his talent into success and consistency, and as such was never a favourite among the fans. He made a statement following Bologna's relegation to Serie B, in which he declared he would never play in what he considered to be a sub-standard competition. He did spend a year in B, his last at the club, where he was a regular for the entire season, yet only found the net twice.

In the 2007-08 season, Meghni joined Lazio on a co-ownership deal for a fee of approximately 2.5 million euro. His early performances for the Biancocelesti were not impressive, and he failed to nail down a regular place in the lineup, only starting seven matches for the season. He did make his debut in the UEFA Champions League, setting up a crucial goal for Tommaso Rocchi, which gave the club their only win in the competition, at home to Werder Bremen. At the end of the season, Meghni was fully bought by Lazio from Bologna, as part of the deal taking Gaby Mudingayi to the newly promoted team.

On August 12, 2009, Meghni was selected for the first time to join the ranks of the Algerian national football team, in a game facing Uruguay (Algeria won on a score of 1-0).

Meghni's father, Ammi Ali, is of Algerian Origin while his mother, Anna, is a Portuguese national. He is married.

Source : Wikipedia