Adlène Guedioura


Adlène Guedioura is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Qatari club Al-Gharafa and the Algeria national team.
Previously, Guedioura has had spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Watford, Middlesbrough, Sedan, Noisy-le-Sec, L'Entente SSG, Créteil, Kortrijk, and Charleroi.
Guedioura is known for his powerful long-range shots, earning him the nickname Rocket Factory. In the 2011–12 season, he won "Goal of the Season" for both Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is thought to be the first footballer ever to win the award for two clubs in the same season.

Early life

Guedioura, born in La Roche-sur-Yon, France, to a Spanish mother, a former Spain Women Basketball team player, Enriqueta Soreira Pons and former Algerian international striker Nacer Guedioura. He started playing amateur football with Racing Paris, in the Fifth Tier of French football. His impressive form for the club attracted attention from Ligue 2 club Sedan, who he then joined in 2004. Guedioura struggled to find any first team chances at Sedan and left the club in 2005 to join French Fourth Tier club Noisy-le-Sec. He made a total of 15 appearances for the club, scoring one goal. He then moved up to the Third Tier of French football with L'Entente SSG in 2006. He made a total of 21 appearances for the club, scoring 3 times. He then moved onto fellow French third tier side US Créteil-Lusitanos in 2007, where he scored 6 times in 24 appearances.

Club career

Early career

Guedioura moved from French Third Tier football into Belgian football in the summer of 2008, joining Belgian Pro League side Kortrijk on a two-year deal. He made a total on 10 appearances for Kortrijk. He spent just half a season with the club and moved to fellow Belgian Pro League side Charleroi in January 2009, and signed a year-and-a-half contract. He made a total of 25 appearances for the club as a captain, scoring one goal, before joining English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Within 24 hours of his arrival, he made his Wolves debut as a substitute in a goalless draw against Liverpool, soon becoming a regular starter as the club ensured their survival in the Premier League for the first time. He made his first Wolves start in the 1–0 win over Tottenham, on 10 February 2010. He scored his first goal for the club in the final game of the season to earn a victory over Sunderland, after which it was confirmed that he had signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2m.
Guedioura suffered a fractured tibia after a challenge by Aston Villa's Steve Sidwell on 26 September 2010. On 30 March, Guedioura returned for Wolves after 6 months out injured against Blackpool Reserves, playing the full 90 minutes and winning the game 2–1, with Guedioura scoring a 25-yard strike. On 9 April, Guedioura made his first team appearance after 6 months out injured for Wolves, playing 75 minutes against Premier League side Everton. On 8 May he scored his first goal of the 2010/2011 Premier League season during the 3–1 win in the local derby against West Bromwich Albion.

Nottingham Forest

On 30 January 2012, Guedioura joined Championship side Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season. Guedioura made his debut for Nottingham Forest in their 0–2 loss against Burnley on 31 January 2012. Guedioura was praised by Forest manager Steve Cotterill for his 'heart and soul' while playing for Forest, and Sky Sports described him as a "firm favourite with the Forest faithful" due to his "all-action displays". He scored his first and only goal for Forest in the 2011/12 season with a 35-yard strike in the 7–3 away win against Leeds United. The goal won Nottingham Forest's Goal of the Season award.
On 23 July 2012, Guedioura joined Nottingham Forest permanently for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £1m. He signed a three-year contract. He asked his Twitter followers if he should wear the 22 shirt or number 7 for the club. He announced the following day that he would be wearing number 7, which was confirmed by the club soon after.
Guedioura scored the winner for Nottingham Forest on the first day of the season, in a 1–0 win over Bristol City. On 10 November Guedioura scored an equalizer against Leicester City F.C. to make the score 1–1, the game finished 2–2. Two weeks later on 24 November he scored against his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers with a trade mark long range effort.

Crystal Palace

On 3 September 2013, Guedioura completed a late deadline day move to Premier League side Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year deal. He made his debut for the club on 14 September 2013, away to reigning league champions Manchester United, coming on as a 56th-minute substitute for José Campaña.

Watford

On 26 November 2014, Guedioura moved on loan to Watford until 1 January 2015. Guedioura scored a brace for Watford in their game against Cardiff City on 28 December 2014.
Guedioura returned from his loan deal in January 2015 and was used immediately by new manager Alan Pardew playing as a half-time substitute in a 2–1 win over Tottenham. Pardew went on to cite Guerdioura as a "maverick" and the calibre of player that Crystal Palace needed to avoid relegation.
Guedioura rejoined Watford on an emergency loan deal on 27 February 2015.
After two successful loan spells at Watford in the 2014–15 season, an agreement was reached between Crystal Palace and Watford for a permanent transfer on 1 September 2015. Guedioura signed a three-year deal with "The Hornets".

Middlesbrough

On 31 January 2017, it was announced that Guedioura had joined Premier League club Middlesbrough on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

Return to Nottingham Forest

On 31 January 2018, transfer deadline day, it was confirmed that Guedioura had returned to Nottingham Forest, on a contract running until the conclusion of the 2020–21 season, reuniting with former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka. He returned to the City Ground on a free transfer, after having his contract with Middlesbrough terminated by mutual consent. He made his first appearance for the club since his previous departure, on 10 February, when they lost 2–0 to an out-of-form Hull City side, with the Algerian being substituted off in the 77th minute of the league fixture.

International career

Guedioura received his first international recognition when he was included in Algeria's preliminary squad for the 2010 World Cup. He made his international debut on 28 May 2010 in a 0–3 defeat to the Republic of Ireland, before being confirmed in the final squad for the tournament in South Africa. He appeared as a substitute in all three of Algeria's group games – against Slovenia, England and the USA – during the competition where the team finished bottom of their group. On 3 September 2010, Guedioura scored the equalizer in a 1–1 home draw with Tanzania in the 2012 African nations qualifier winning Algeria their first point of the campaign.

Personal life

Guedioura is the son of former Algerian international striker, Nacer Guedioura. His younger brother Nabil Guedioura is also a professional footballer who last played for the Crystal Palace U21 development team. Guedioura is Muslim.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.3 September 2010Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria1–11–12012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.14 August 2013Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria1–02–2Friendly

Honours

Club

Watford
Algeria