Hillal Soudani

El Arabi Hilal Soudani (Arabic: العربي هلال سوداني; born 25 November 1987) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.

Hillal Soudani

Soudani with Algeria in 2014
Personal information
Full name	El Arabi Hilal Soudani[1]
Date of birth	(1987-11-25) 25 November 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth	Chlef, Algeria
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Winger, second striker
Team information
Current team	Maribor
Number	2
Youth career
1998–2006	ASO Chlef
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2011	ASO Chlef	108	(48)
2011–2013	Vitória de Guimarães	37	(13)
2013–2018	Dinamo Zagreb	132	(69)
2017	Dinamo Zagreb II	1	(0)
2018–2019	Nottingham Forest	6	(2)
2019–2021	Olympiacos	24	(9)
2021	Al Fateh	13	(2)
2021–2023	Damac	45	(14)
2023–	Maribor	37	(17)
International career
2010–2021	Algeria A'	12	(4)
2010–2021	Algeria	56	(24)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Algeria FIFA Arab Cup Winner 2021 Qatar
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 December 2024

Soudani made his international debut for Algeria in 2010, and featured at the 2013, 2015 and 2017 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Overall, he won 56 international caps and scored 24 goals, making him Algeria's eight highest goalscorer.

Club career

ASO Chlef

Born in Chlef, Soudani began his career in the junior ranks of his hometown club ASO Chlef. In May 2006, aged 19, he made his first team debut for the club as a substitute against USM Annaba in the 28th round of the 2005–06 Algerian Championnat National, coming on for Samir Zaoui in the 72nd minute.^[3]

In 2008, Soudani was chosen as the 2008 Young Player of the Year by DZFoot after scoring 11 goals in 24 games in the 2007–08 season.^[4]

In June 2011, Soudani went on trial with French Ligue 2 club Le Mans FC.^[5]

Vitória de Guimarães

On 8 August 2011, Soudani signed a three-year contract with Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães.^[6] The transfer fee was rumoured to be €800,000.^[7] On 25 August 2011, Soudani made his official debut for Vitória as a 66th-minute substitute in a 2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-off round match against Atlético Madrid.^[8] On 16 October 2011, Soudani opened his scoring account for the club with a brace in the third round of the 2011–12 Taça de Portugal against Moura Atlético Clube. After trailing 1–0, Soudani scored the equaliser in the 89th minute of the match to send the match to extra-time, before scoring the winner in the 117th minute.^[9] On 1 April 2012, he scored his first goal in the Primeira Liga in a 3–1 win against Paços de Ferreira.^[10] On 21 April, he scored a brace in a 3–2 win against União de Leiria.^[11]

On 26 May 2013, Soudani helped Vitória win their first ever Taça de Portugal by beating Benfica 2–1 in the final, scoring the equalising goal in the 79th minute before Ricardo Pereira scored the winner two minutes later.^[12] The following day, he travelled to Croatia to complete a medical ahead of a transfer to Dinamo Zagreb.^[13]

Dinamo Zagreb

On 27 May 2013, Soudani signed a four-year contract with Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb after the club paid a €900,000 transfer fee for his services.^[14]

On 6 July 2013, Soudani won the Croatian Supercup with Dinamo against Hajduk Split, also making his debut for Dinamo in the match. He made his Croatian First Football League debut six days later, scoring in a 3–1 win over Osijek. He then scored twice and assisted another goal in Dinamo's 5–0 win over Fola Esch in UEFA Champions League qualifying. Soudani won the Croatian league championship, scoring 16 goals and finishing third in the Golden Boot race behind Dinamo teammates Andrej Kramarić (18) and Duje Čop (22).

In the 2014–15 season, Soudani scored a hat-trick against Astra Giurgiu in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage. He won his second league championship with Dinamo, scoring 11 goals and assisting 15 in the league, and won his first Croatian Cup.

Soudani's Dinamo completed the league and cup double again in the 2015–16 season, however the player himself had a less successful season, battling injuries and form and finished with eight goals and four assists in the league.

In the 2016–17 season, Soudani's 95th minute extra time goal against Red Bull Salzburg sent Dinamo through to the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. Despite finishing second in the league behind Rijeka — the first time Dinamo had not won the league in 10 seasons — Soudani achieved a career-best 17 goals in the league.

Nottingham Forest

On 29 June 2018, Soudani joined English club Nottingham Forest on a three-year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee.^[15] In the opening four matches of the season, Soudani scored twice before he injured his knee. In October, Soudani then incurred a serious injury to his leg which kept him out of play for the remainder of Nottingham's season.^[16]

Olympiacos

On 18 June 2019, Soudani joined Greek club Olympiacos on a permanent transfer.^[17] By mid-November 2019, despite not being in manager Pedro Martins' plans at the beginning of the season, he had made his way into the starting 11 with a series of good performances. In 532 minutes of play, he scored five goals and contributed one assist and was the team's leading scorer in Super League Greece.^[18]

On 20 February 2020, in a 1–0 victory against Atromitos, Soudani sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury which was forecast to keep him out of action for at least six months.^[19]

On 25 January 2021, after being deemed surplus to requirements by Martins, he was released by mutual consent, six months before the official expiry of his contract.^[20]

Maribor

On 12 June 2023, Soudani signed for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor on a two-year contract.^[21] He made his debut on 13 July, starting in a 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round match against Birkirkara; however, he sustained an injury in the first half and was substituted out.^[22] After more than two-month absence due to injury, Soudani returned to the squad on 24 September, making his league debut in a 1–0 home defeat to Koper.^[23]

International career

In February 2011, Soudani was selected by head coach Abdelhak Benchikha as part of the Algerian A' national team for the 2011 African Nations Championship in Sudan.^[24] In the opening group stage match, against Uganda, Soudani started and scored a goal in the 61st minute as Algeria won 2–0.^[25] In the second group match, against Gabon, Soudani scored a brace with goals in the 71st and 90th minute of the match in a 2–2 draw.^[26] Despite not scoring in the remainder of the competition, Soudani finished as one of the top scorers in the competition with three goals.

On 14 May 2011, Soudani was called up by Benchikha to the Algeria national team for the first time for a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Morocco.^[27] On 4 June 2011, he made his debut as a substitute for Rafik Djebbour in the 79th minute of the match.^[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 May 2024^[29]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
ASO Chlef	2005–06	National 1	1	0	0	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2006–07		11	3	3	1	—		2	0	—		16	4
	2007–08		24	11	2	0	—		—		—		26	11
	2008–09		19	4	2	0	—		—		—		21	4
	2009–10		28	12	4	4	—		—		—		32	16
	2010–11	Ligue 1	25	18	3	1	—		—		—		28	19
	Total		108	48	14	6	—		2	0	—		124	54
Vitória de Guimarães	2011–12	Primeira Liga	16	4	2	2	2	0	1[c]	0	—		21	6
	2012–13		21	9	3	3	—		—		—		24	12
	Total		37	13	5	5	2	0	1	0	—		45	18
Dinamo Zagreb	2013–14	Prva HNL	31	16	5	0	—		9[d]	3	1[e]	0	46	19
	2014–15		23	11	3	0	—		12[f]	5	—		38	16
	2015–16		21	8	5	3	—		11[g]	3	—		37	14
	2016–17		29	17	1	0	—		11[g]	2	—		41	19
	2017–18		28	17	4	1	—		3[c]	0	—		35	18
	Total		132	69	18	4	—		46	13	1	0	197	86
Dinamo Zagreb II	2016–17	2. HNL	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
Nottingham Forest	2018–19	Championship	6	2	0	0	2	0	—		—		8	2
Olympiacos	2019–20	Super League Greece	19	7	1	0	—		1[g]	0	—		21	7
	2020–21		5	2	1	0	—		4[g]	0	—		10	2
	Total		24	9	2	0	—		5	0	—		31	9
Al Fateh	2020–21	Saudi Pro League	13	2	2	0	—		—		—		15	2
Damac	2021–22	Saudi Pro League	25	8	0	0	—		—		—		25	8
	2022–23		20	6	1	0	—		—		—		21	6
	Total		45	14	1	0	—		—		—		46	14
Maribor	2023–24	Slovenian PrvaLiga	27	15	3	1	—		1[h]	0	—		31	16
Career total			393	172	45	16	4	0	55	13	1	0	498	201

1. Includes Algerian Cup, Taça de Portugal, Croatian Cup, FA Cup, Greek Cup, King Cup, Slovenian Cup
2. Includes Taça da Liga, EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Croatian Super Cup
6. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League
7. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
8. Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

Goals and appearances by year Year Apps Goals 2010 1 0 2011 2 0 2012 6 6 2013 11 3 2014 9 3 2015 8 5 2016 3 4 2017 6 1 2018 4 0 2019 1 1 2021 5 1 Total 56 24

Goals by competition Competition Goals Africa Cup of Nations qualification 12 Friendlies 5 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments 2 FIFA World Cup qualification 4 FIFA Arab Cup 1 Total 24

Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Soudani goal.

List of international goals scored by Hillal Soudani

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	26 May 2012	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	3	Niger	3–0	3–0	Friendly
2	2 June 2012	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	4	Rwanda	2–0	4–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3					4–0
4	15 June 2012	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	6	Gambia	4–1	4–1	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5	9 September 2012	Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco	7	Libya	1–0	1–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6	14 October 2012	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	8	Libya	1–0	2–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7	30 January 2013	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa	12	Ivory Coast	2–0	2–2	2013 Africa Cup of Nations
8	2 June 2013	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	14	Burkina Faso	1–0	2–0	Friendly
9	10 September 2013	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	17	Mali	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	5 March 2014	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	20	Slovenia	1–0	2–0	Friendly
11	4 June 2014	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	22	Romania	2–1	2–1	Friendly
12	6 September 2014	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	26	Ethiopia	1–0	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
13	1 February 2015	Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea	32	Ivory Coast	1–1	1–3	2015 Africa Cup of Nations
14	13 June 2015	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	33	Seychelles	2–0	4–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
15					3–0
16	6 September 2015	Setsoto Stadium, Maseru, Lesotho	34	Lesotho	2–1	3–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
17					3–1
18	2 June 2016	Stade Linité, Victoria, Seychelles	37	Seychelles	2–0	2–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
19	5 September 2016	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	38	Lesotho	1–0	6–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
20					4–0
21	9 October 2016	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	39	Cameroon	1–0	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
22	6 June 2017	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	41	Guinea	2–1	2–1	Friendly
23	14 November 2019	Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria	50	Zambia	4–0	5–0	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
24	1 December 2021	Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar	53	Sudan	4–0	4–0	2021 FIFA Arab Cup

Honours

ASO Chlef

• Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2010–11

Vitória Guimarães

• Taça de Portugal: 2013

Dinamo Zagreb

• Croatian First League: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
• Croatian Cup: 2015, 2016, 2018
• Croatian Super Cup: 2013

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2019–20
• Greek Cup: 2019–20

Algeria

• FIFA Arab Cup: 2021^[30]

Individual

• Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Footballer of the Year: 2010–11^[31]
• DZFoot d'Or Young Player of the Year: 2008^[32]
• DZFoot d'Or: 2013
• Football Oscar Best Prva HNL player: 2018
• Football Oscar Team of the Year: 2014, 2017, 2018
• Prva HNL Player of the Year (Tportal): 2017
• African Nations Championship top scorer: 2011 (3 goals)
• Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 top scorer: 2010–11 (18 goals)
• Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers top scorer: 2017 (7 goals)
• Croatian First Football League top scorer: 2017–18 (17 goals)
• Croatian First Football League top assist maker: 2014–15
• Slovenian First League Player of the Month: April 2024,^[33] May 2024^[34]
• Slovenian First League Team of the Season: 2023–24^[35]

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Algeria" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
2. "FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021: List of players: Algeria" (PDF). FIFA. 4 December 2021. p. 1. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
3. "Division 1 28e j USMAn 3–0 ASO". DZfoot. Archived from the original on 5 May 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
4. "Soudani Espoir DZfoot 2008". Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
5. "Transferts : Soudani proche du Mans FC ?". DZfoot.com (in French). Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
6. "Soudani é reforço". Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
7. Soudani quase a chegar Archived 4 August 2011 at the Portuguese Web Archive
8. UEFA Europa League 2011/12 – Vitória SC – Atlético de Madrid – UEFA.com
9. Soudani, doublé décisif en Coupe du Portugal Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine; DZFoot.com, 16 October 2011.
10. "1er but somptueux pour Soudani en Liga portugaise !". 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
11. "Soudani brille sous les yeux de Kourichi" (in French). DZFoot. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
12. Toufik O. (26 May 2013). "Buteur en finale, Soudani remporte la Coupe du Portugal !" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
13. Walid Z. (27 May 2013). "Soudani arrive à Zagreb pour passer l'examen medical" (in French). DZFoot. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
14. "Novo pojačanje: El Soudani potpisao za Dinamo!" (in Croatian). GNK Dinamo Zagreb official website. 27 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
15. "Hillal Soudani: Nottingham Forest sign Algerian forward for undisclosed fee Soudani scored making it Forests'first win of the new season". BBC. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
16. "HILLAL SOUDANI, OLYMPIACOS' GOAL-HUNGRY WINGER". www.agonasport.com. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
17. "Nottingham Forest FC".
18. "Soudani's red-hot form helping to power Olympiacos". Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
19. "Olympiacos suffer injury blow as Soudani ruptures cruciate ligament | Goal.com".
20. "Τέλος ο Σουντανί από τον Ολυμπιακό". newsit.gr. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
21. "Soudani za novo vijol'čno dimenzijo" [Soudani for a new purple dimension] (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
22. "Hud udarec za Maribor, ki bo do nadaljnjega brez Hilala Soudanija". 24ur.com (in Slovenian). 18 July 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
23. "Hillal Soudani » PrvaLiga 2023/2024". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
24. CHAN 2011: Direction Khartoum pour l'Equipe Nationale A' Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
25. CHAN 2011: UGA 0–2 ALG, les Verts réussissent leur entrée Archived 8 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
26. CHAN 2011: GAB 2–2 ALG, deux points de perdus Archived 11 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
27. "EN: Maroc – Algérie: Les 22 Algériens". Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
28. Maroc 4–0 Algérie Archived 9 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
29. Hillal Soudani at Soccerway
30. "Algeria beat Tunisia to win FIFA Arab Cup 2021". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
31. "Oscars Maracana 2010–2011, Soudani joueur de la saison". algerie360. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
32. "Soudani Espoir DZfoot 2008". DZfoot.com (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2017.
33. "April je bil mesec nogometaša iz Alžirije: Hillal Soudani 'pometel s konkurenco' in bil izbran za naj igralca 1. SNL preteklega meseca". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 3 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
34. "Drugič zapored in zadnjič v sezoni: Igralec meseca maja v Prvi ligi Telemach je postal Hilal Soudani". Planet Nogomet (in Slovenian). 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
35. "SPINS XI: Objavljamo imena najboljših nogometašev in trenerja sezone 2023/2024 v Sloveniji". spins.si (in Slovenian). 18 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.

External links

• Hillal Soudani at Soccerway.com
• Hillal Soudani at WorldFootball.net
• Hillal Soudani at Soccerbase.com
• Hillal Soudani at National-Football-Teams.com
• Hillal Soudani at kicker (in German)