Houssine Kharja

Club career

Youth

Kharja began his career with Paris Saint-Germain's youth side and in 1998 he joined Gazélec Ajaccio.

Portugal

In 2000 he joined the Portuguese side Sporting CP.

Italy

After only one season at Sporting, he joined Ternana in 2001. He played four impressive Serie B seasons for the Rossoverdi, gaining a place in the Moroccan national team, and being loaned to Roma in 2005, with the option to buy him in a co-ownership deal for €3.6 million. Kharja played 12 matches and scored one goal during a 1–1 draw against Juventus.

At the end of the 2005–06 season, Roma decided not to extend Kharja's loan, so the Moroccan player had to return to Ternana, but he refused to go back and play because in the meantime the Rossoverdi had been relegated to Serie C1. Ternana considered him as their own player, and Lega Calcio Serie C even suspended him until 26 April 2007. After appeals, FIGC's court decided that Kharja was a free agent, and so, on 20 March 2007 he signed a three-year contract with Serie B team Piacenza. In January 2008, he was loaned to Siena for the second half of the season, with this deal being turned a permanent one on 11 July.

In June 2009, Genoa announced the club was reaching an agreement to sign the player and on 2 July the transfer from Siena was completed. Genoa got Kharja for €6.5 million, while Siena signed the remain 50% registration rights of Manuel Coppola for €1.5 million and the full rights of Gianluca Pegolo for €1 million.

It was announced on 29 January 2011, that Kharja had joined Internazionale on a loan deal with the option of Inter signing him permanently. He scored his first goal for Internazionale during his second appearance for the club against Bari on 3 February 2011. At the end of his loan spell, Inter decided not to give the player a permanent deal, and so he returned to Genoa.

On 18 August 2011, Fiorentina signed the player on a co-ownership deal, signing a two-year deal.

Qatar

On 29 June 2012, Kharja signed a two-year deal with Qatari club Al-Arabi.

He was involved in an altercation with Al Gharafa player Nenê on 19 March 2013 in a Qatari Stars Cup match. After Kharja persistently fouled Nenê for the majority of the match, Nenê was sent off in an unrelated incident after a challenge on one of Kharja's teammates. When Nenê attempted to protest the referee's decision, Kharja shoulder-blocked him, preventing him from reaching the referee. Nenê responded by elbowing Kharja in the back of the head. After a delayed reaction, Kharja attacked Nenê, who was then being restrained by teammates. This induced a brawl between the two teams.

Harsh sanctions followed after the match, with four players being fined and banned from match play as well as a member of Al Arabi's staff being fined and warned. Kharja received the harshest penalty, being fined QR 380,000 and receiving a ten-game ban, the largest penalty in the history of the Qatar Stars League. Later, on 31 March, after a 4–1 defeat to Lekhwiya in the league, Al Arabi terminated his contract as a result of the aftermath of the brawl. He later stated that he had not received notification that his contract had been terminated.

France

On 10 October 2014, Sochaux announced that Kharja had joined on a one-year contract after playing 16 years away from his native France.

Romania

In September 2015, Kharja joined Romanian defending champions Steaua București on a one-year deal. He made his Liga I debut in the 3–1 win against Concordia Chiajna, three days after signing the contract.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kharja goal.

Honours

Inter Milan

• Coppa Italia: 2010–11

Steaua București

• League Cup: 2015–16

Morocco

• Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2004

Individual

• Africa Cup of Nations Top-scorer: 2012

References

References

1. "Houssine Kharja". Goal.com.
2. (30 September 2005). "APPROVAZIONE DELLA SITUAZIONE FINANZIARIA MENSILE AL 31 AGOSTO 2005". AS Roma.
3. (28 July 2006). "KHARJA "RIMANE ALLA TERNANA"". Ternana Calcio.
4. (1 September 2006). "ECCO I CONVOCATI PER GIULIANOVA. CI SONO PURE KHARJA E JIMENEZ". Ternana Calcio.
5. (31 January 2007). "Comunicato Ufficiale N°148/C (2006–07)". Lega Calcio Serie C.
6. link. (8 October 2007)
7. (10 June 2009). "GENOA IN PRESSING SU HOUSSINE KHARJA". genoacfc.it.
8. (7 February 2009). "KHARJA E SPIRA IL VENTO DELL'AFRICA". genoacfc.it.
9. Genoa CFC Report and Accounts on 31 December 2009 {{in lang. it
10. (29 January 2011). "Transfers: Kharja joins Inter". inter.it.
11. (18 August 2011). "Kharja in viola". Viola channel.
12. (30 June 2012). "Kharja passes medical, signs two-year deal with Al Arabi". Qatar Stars League.
13. (31 March 2013). "Kharja contract 'terminated', says report". thepeninsulaqatar.com.
14. link. alkass.net. (1 April 2013)
15. "Houssine Kharja joins Sochaux {{!}} Get French Football News".
16. (18 September 2015). "Bine ai venit, Houssine Kharja!". FC Steaua București.
17. (21 September 2015). "Kharja a fost titular, la trei zile după ce a semnat cu Steaua. Fazele în care s-a văzut, în meciul cu Chiajna". [[Digi Sport (Romania)]].
18. "Houssine Kharja » Club matches".
19. "H. Kharja".
20. "African Nations Cup 2004".