Kamel Ghilas

Kamel Ghilas

Ghilas in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Kamel Fathi Ghilas [1]
Date of birth	(1984-03-09) 9 March 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth	Marseille, France
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2003	Vitrolles	6	(1)
2003–2006	Cannes	86	(22)
2006–2008	Vitória Guimarães	59	(18)
2008–2009	Celta Vigo	33	(13)
2009–2012	Hull City	13	(1)
2010–2011	→ Arles-Avignon (loan)	19	(2)
2011–2012	→ Reims (loan)	35	(14)
2012–2014	Reims	24	(0)
2013	Reims II	8	(4)
2014	Charleroi	5	(0)
Total		288	(75)
International career
2007–2012	Algeria	19	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kamel Fathi Ghilas (born 9 March 1984) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Club career

Early years

Born in Marseille, France, ^[1] Ghilas started his career in amateur football, with ES Vitrolles. At the age of 19 he joined AS Cannes in the Championnat National, quickly breaking into the first team and featuring mostly as a winger.

Ghilas established himself as a starter in the 2004–05 season, going on to lead the team in scoring by netting seven times in 31 appearances. The following year he contributed with 13 as the French Riviera club narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 2, finishing two points behind FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin for the third and final spot.

Vitória Guimarães

Ghilas signed for Vitória S.C. from Portugal in the summer of 2006, penning a two-year contract. ^[2] In his first year he ranked first in goals scored in his team, helping to a return to the Primeira Liga after one year out. ^[3]

Ghilas made his debut in the competition on 19 August 2007, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Vitória de Setúbal. ^[4] He scored six times in a further 20 league appearances to help the side finish a best-ever third and qualify to the UEFA Champions League; however, following a contract dispute, he left the Minho Province club as a free agent. ^[5]

Celta

On 12 July 2008, RC Celta de Vigo announced the signing of Ghilas from Vitória, ^[6] with the player penning a three-year contract worth €300,000 a year. ^[7] He scored his first goals for the Galicians on 28 September in a 2–1 home win over CD Tenerife, in what was the season's first win. ^[8]

On 28 July 2009, a fee of £1.7 million was agreed for Ghilas to transfer to Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League – the move was set to be completed pending on the player agreeing personal terms and passing a medical. However, the transfer broke down in the 11th hour, with conflicting reports on the grounds: the English claimed he had failed the medical, whereas the Spaniards claimed that Blackburn had attempted to renegotiate the transfer fee and player's wages at the last minute; they attempted to disprove Rovers' claims by playing him in a friendly the following day. ^[9]

Hull City

On 13 August 2009, Ghilas agreed terms with Hull City, signing a four-year deal for which Celta was paid roughly £2 million. ^[10] He made his debut for his new team nine days later, scoring in a 1–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the 61st minute after being fed a through ball from Jozy Altidore. ^[11]

However, Ghilas failed to perform for the East Yorkshire side subsequently, being loaned to French clubs AC Arles-Avignon ^[12] and Stade de Reims. ^[13] He made his debut for the latter on 15 August 2011, netting in a 2–1 win over AS Monaco FC. ^[14]

Late career

Ghilas lining up for Reims in 2012

After scoring 14 goals in the 2011–12 campaign, being an essential offensive unit as Reims returned to Ligue 1 after more than three decades, Ghilas joined the club on a permanent deal. ^[15] On 30 January 2014, he moved teams and countries again, joining Belgian Pro League's R. Charleroi S.C. for six months. ^[16]

International career

Although born in France, Ghilas opted to represent Algeria, making his international debut on 2 June 2007 in an 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Cape Verde. Five months later he scored his first goal, in a 3–2 friendly win over Mali.

Personal life

Ghilas' younger brother, Nabil, was also a footballer and a forward. He too played in France, Portugal and for Algeria. ^[17]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Vitrolles	2001–02	CFA	6	1
	2002–03	CFA 2	0	0
	Total		6	1
Cannes	2003–04	Championnat National	18	0
	2004–05		31	7
	2005–06 [18]		37	15
	Total		86	22
Vitória Guimarães	2006–07	Segunda Liga	29	12
	2007–08	Primeira Liga	30	6	2	0
	Total		59	18
Celta Vigo	2008–09 [19]	Segunda División	33	13	0	0	–		33	13
Hull City	2009–10 [20]	Premier League	13	1	1	0	2	0	16	1
Arles-Avignon (loan)	2010–11 [18]	Ligue 1	19	2	1	0	0	0	20	2
Reims (loan)	2011–12 [18]	Ligue 2	35	14	1	0	0	0	36	14
Reims	2012–13 [18]	Ligue 1	23	0	1	0	0	0	24	0
	2013–14 [18]		1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		24	0	1	0	0	0	25	0
Reims II	2011–12 [18]	CFA 2	8	4	–		–		8	4
Charleroi	2013–14 [20]	Belgian Pro League	5	0	0	0	–		5	0
Career total			288	75	6	0	2	0	296	75

1. Includes Coupe de France, Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey, FA Cup, Coupe de France
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Taça da Liga, League Cup, Coupe de la Ligue

International

List of international goals scored by Kamel Ghilas

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 November 2007	Stade Robert Diochon, Rouen, France	Mali	2–2	3–2	Friendly
2	26 March 2008	Stade Maurice Bacquet, Paris, France	DR Congo	1–1	1–1	Friendly
3	11 February 2009	Stade Mustapha Tchaker, Blida, Algeria	Benin	2–1	2–1	Friendly

References

1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 165. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
2. "Ghilas assinou por 2 anos" [Ghilas signed for 2 years]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 June 2006. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
3. "Ghilas: "Não estou cansado"" [Ghilas: "I am not tired"]. Record (in Portuguese). 28 March 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
4. "Vitória começa Liga Bwin com empate caseiro (1–1)" [Vitória start Bwin League with home draw (1–1)] (in Portuguese). Guimarães TV. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
5. "Direcção desiste da renovação de Ghilas" [Board of directors give up on Ghilas renewal]. Record (in Portuguese). 20 May 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
6. "El Celta se adelanta al Arsenal y ficha a Kamel Ghilas" [Celta get ahead of Arsenal and sign Kamel Ghilas]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 July 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2008.
7. "Ghilas no Celta de Vigo para tentar a subida" [Ghilas in Celta de Vigo to attempt promotion]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
8. "El Celta consigue su primera victoria" [Celta get first win]. Marca (in Spanish). 28 September 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
9. "La venta de Ghilas se rompe" [The sale of Ghilas breaks down]. Atlántico Diario (in Spanish). 31 July 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
10. "Reading's Hunt signs for Hull, Ghilas follows". ESPN Soccernet. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
11. "Hull City 1–0 Bolton Wanderers". ESPN Soccernet. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
12. "Tigers offload Ghilas on loan". Sky Sports. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
13. "Hull sign Austrian winger Martin Pusic following trial". BBC Sport. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
14. "Verts: Première réussie pour Ghilas contre Monaco" [Greens: First strike for Ghilas against Monaco] (in French). DZFoot. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
15. "Ghilas leaves Hull for Reims". Yahoo Sports. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
16. "L'international Algérien Kamel Ghilas attaquant au Sporting" [Algerian international forward Kamel Ghilas at Sporting.] (in French). Sporting Charleroi. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
17. "Nabil Ghilas: "Je veux faire mieux que mon frère"" [Nabil Ghilas: "I want to do better than my brother"] (in French). Le Buteur. 28 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
18. "K. Ghilas". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
19. Kamel Ghilas at BDFutbol
20. "Kamel Ghilas » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 4 August 2022.

External links

• Kamel Ghilas at DZFoot.com (in French)
• Kamel Ghilas – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
• Kamel Ghilas at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Kamel Ghilas at BDFutbol
• Hull City official profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 March 2012)
• Kamel Ghilas at Soccerbase
• Kamel Ghilas at National-Football-Teams.com
• Kamel Ghilas – FIFA competition record (archived)