Ali Benarbia

Benarbia grabbed the attention of district side ROC Narbonne at only 10 years and seven years later he signed for FC Martigues. Encouraged by his father, Benarbia wanted to have a professional career in the game but knew that it would only come through hard-work. Playing in the youth team, Benarbia was quickly promoted to the first team in 1987 and went on to help the club into the French first division after winning the second division title in 1993. He was part of the side that was promoted to Ligue 1 in 1993, operating as a midfielder.

Monaco

After Martigues were relegated in 1995, Benarbia was signed by AS Monaco and two seasons later he helped the club to a league title. In season 1997–98, he was named Player of the Year in the France but still no call came from the French coach. Bénarbia had turned down several offers to play for his home country of Algeria, as he had always hoped to play for France. Benarbia also played in Jean Tigana's talented Monaco side which famously put Manchester United out of the Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford.

Bordeaux

After three seasons with AS Monaco, Benarbia moved to Bordeaux for £1 million and helped the club, where Zinedine Zidane made his name, to the league title. With Benarbia playing the best football of his career, Paris Saint-Germain tabled an offer of £2 million for the Algerian player only a month before the end of the season. The club accepted but the deal was kept…

Benarbia was first approached by the Algerian Football Federation in 1986. In a rare interview with Algerian website LeButeur published in 2009, Benarbia said that he never refused to play for Algeria. He stated that he was unhappy with the lack of professionalism within the national team and wanted the Federation to provide assurances for professional footballers' safety. During the time of Benarbia's playing career, Algeria struggled with political situations such as the 1986 oil price collapse, Black October and the Algerian Civil War. He made his debut in a 2002 African Cup of Nations Group 4 qualifying game against Burkina Faso in September 2000. He represented Algeria a total of seven times, participating in; three World Cup qualifying games, two Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifiers and two friendlies.

Ali Benarbia was born in Oran, Algeria, with his family originating from Sidi Bel Abbès. When he was only a year old, the family settled in south of France. It was not long before the young Ali started kicking a ball around on the streets.

FC Martigues

Division 2: 1992–93 Monaco

Division 1: 1996–97 Trophée des Champions: 1997 Bordeaux

Division 1: 1998–99 Paris Saint-Germain

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001 Manchester City

Football League First Division: 2001–02 Individual

French Division 1 Player of the Year: 1998–99 PFA Team of the Year First Division: 2001–02 Manchester City Player of the Year: 2001–02