Farès BOUSDIRA

Farès Bousdira was born in Algeria, but naturalised with French nationality, began his professional career in 1971 with Lens. This gifted playmaker would become a lynchpin of the Lens side, and spent the majority of his career there, even making some appearances in European Cup. After Lens were relegated to the Second Division in 1978, Bousdira, who had played over 200 matches in Red and Gold, left the North of France to sign for Nice, who were a top side in the First Division at the time. On the Côte d'Azur, he would be a key player in the Nice side, and he stayed there for two seasons. In 1980, he joined Angers, who were more used to relegaton battles. At the end of his first season, Angers were ultimately relegated, and midway through the following 1981/1982 season, financial difficulties forced them to sell-off some important players, of which Farès Bousdira. In January 1982, he signed for Stade Rennais. This talented attacking midfielder became a crucial member of the Rennes side, and in 1983, the club finished as Division 2 Champions, obtaining promotion to the top flight in the process. Despite a good season from a personal perspective, he was unable to stop Rennes from returning to the Second Division. After a spending a final season in the Second Division with Rennes, he left the club in 1985, having made over 120 appearances, scoring 29 times for the Breton club. In the season that followed, he would play for Beziers and then Montceau between 1986-1987, both in the Second Division. He ended his playing days at Bourges in 1988, and went into football management, notably of teams on the island of La Réunion, where he currently lives. Also noteworthy is the fact that Farès Bousdira was the first Algerian to play for the French national team; in 1976, he played half-an-hour in an international match against Poland.