Youssef Safri

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Youssef Safri
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Personal information
Full name Youssef Safri
Date of birth (1977-01-03) 3 January 1977 (age 48)
Place of birth Casablanca, Morocco
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Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Raja Casablanca 27 (6)
2001–2004 Coventry City 91 (1)
2004–2007 Norwich City 83 (3)
2007–2008 Southampton 37 (0)
2008–2013 Qatar 90 (8)
International career‡
2000–2009 Morocco 77 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:18, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Youssef Safri (Arabic: يوسف سفري‎‎, born 3 January 1977) is a Moroccan former footballer who currently is an assistant coach for Raja Casablanca.

Career

Safri had played for Coventry City from 2001 to 2004 (scoring once against Sheffield Wednesday)[2] where he made his name in the English game after a transfer from Raja Casablanca of Morocco. This time was not without controversy however. Just days after Sunderland finalised a settlement of a transfer dispute with Celtic, Irish international and current Cork City player Colin Healy's leg was broken in a match against his former loan club, Coventry City. A brutal (but accidental) challenge by Safri in December 2003 began an unfortunate number of years for the player, spending more time in the stands than on the field. Some sections of the media berated Safri for a reckless dangerous challenge that threatened to end a young player's career.

Safri joined Norwich for an initial fee of £500,000 in the summer of 2004, after the Canaries had been promoted to the Premiership.

He is a midfielder and best known for his passing and tackling ability. He was a key player with the Moroccan national team during the 2004 African Nations Cup, and was a member of the national squad competing at 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Safri became popular among the Norwich fans towards the end of the 2004–05 campaign and during the 2005–06 season following a series of impressive performances. He scored a 35-yard strike against Newcastle United in April 2005 during the team's fight against relegation from the Premiership. Safri was linked with a move to Feyenoord in the summer of 2005, but stayed at Carrow Road.

As a tribute to the player, Norwich City supporters devised a song which was sung regularly at home games, to the tune of Status Quo's 'Rocking all over the world' -

"Here we are, here we are and here we go, Youssef's better than Juninho, Moroccan all over the world!"

Following the 3–1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle in September 2006, Safri and team-mate Dickson Etuhu were reported to have traded punches on the team bus during their return journey to East Anglia, although these reports are now thought to have been discredited.[3] After Peter Grant was appointed Norwich manager in October 2006, Safri was not a regular selection. There was speculation that he would leave the club in January 2007, fuelled by his comments in the Eastern Daily Press on 29 December 2006 in which Safri indicated that he would seek a transfer if Grant continued to use him as a substitute. Safri remained at Carrow Road until the end of the 2006–07 season, but after falling out with manager Peter Grant, Grant stated in the press on 1 August that Safri would not play for the club again.[4]

On 2 August 2007 he signed for Norwich's championship rivals Southampton on a two-year contract for a fee rumoured to be of the order of £250,000. On 24 October 2007 he was sent off in the 90th minute of Southampton's away defeat to Bristol City, for a heavy tackle on Lee Johnson, whose subsequent reaction to Safri pushing him by all accounts was exaggerated, resulting in a straight Red.[5]

On 7 July 2008 he joined Qatar Sports Club, for a fee in the region of £300,000, stating his desire to move to the Gulf as the reason behind the move.[6] At the end of 2013 season he retired and started a role of assisting coach in his first club Raja Casablanca.

Personal life

Safri is a Muslim.[7]

Honours

Raja Casablanca
Qatar SC

References

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External links

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