Seif Benrabah

Goalkeeper - USM Khenchela
20 Jan 2027
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Seif Benrabah

21 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Alexis Guendouz

There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Ryad Boudebouz yet — 7.99

At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.99 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Match

6 unbeaten for JS Kabylie

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation JS Kabylie did not have in the autumn.

Match

Another one collected away from home

3 on the bounce on the road for JS Kabylie. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.

Match

JS Kabylie get the job done against CR Belouizdad

A 1‑0 win over CR Belouizdad, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The dugout

Reda Benchaa gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

A row about effort at JS Kabylie

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jaredi Teixeira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Loan watch

Seif Benrabah has seen enough of USM Khenchela

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at JS Kabylie, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.

Player ratings

Mohamed Réda Hamidi was immovable

16 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

In brief

Back issues
17 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Ryad Boudebouz leads the rout of MB Rouissat

5‑0, and Ryad Boudebouz took the headlines on an afternoon when everything JS Kabylie tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

A brace, and Aimen Mahious takes the afternoon — 8.64

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Aimen Mahious provided it, and the 8.64 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Ryad Boudebouz scores twice — 8.43

Two goals and a mark of 8.43 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Kabylie

Mohamed Réda Hamidi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Abdennour Iheb Belhocini was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.17. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Akim Zedadka at his very best

Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at JS Kabylie.

The dugout

Reda Benchaa gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Loan watch

Seif Benrabah wants to come home

“I did not go to USM Khenchela to sit and watch. I want to come back to JS Kabylie and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.

The dugout

A satisfied Faouzi Mrezigue

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 5‑0, Faouzi Mrezigue could afford to be generous.

In brief

13 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Chastening afternoon for JS Kabylie

A 0‑4 beating by MC Alger was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Alexis Guendouz keeps JS Kabylie in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

A falling-out at JS Kabylie

Aly Abeid and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Boardroom

Doors closed at JS Kabylie

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

Jaredi Teixeira falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Loan watch

Seif Benrabah wants to come home

“I did not go to USM Khenchela to sit and watch. I want to come back to JS Kabylie and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Faouzi Mrezigue: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Squad

JS Kabylie are still strangers to each other

6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Akim Zedadka

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

9 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Ryad Boudebouz leads the rout of Paradou

4‑0, and Ryad Boudebouz took the headlines on an afternoon when everything JS Kabylie tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

Both of them Ryad Boudebouz's — 8.25

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.25, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Match

JS Kabylie make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now JS Kabylie have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Kabylie

Mohamed Réda Hamidi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Aly Abeid in the eights

A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Loan watch

Seif Benrabah has seen enough of USM Khenchela

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at JS Kabylie, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

JS Kabylie are still strangers to each other

6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

The dugout

A satisfied Faouzi Mrezigue

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 4‑0, Faouzi Mrezigue could afford to be generous.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Christopher Samangwa

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

4 Edition

The USM Khenchela Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mohamed Guemroud hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what USM Khenchela can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at USM Khenchela

Réda Boumechra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Ahmed El Sheikh falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Mehdi Boucherit

USM Khenchela asked and MC Alger said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Transfer targets

USM Khenchela try to borrow Rayane Abdelmadjid Mahrouz

USM Alger have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Squad

Mohamed Zaalouk is a square peg at USM Khenchela

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

In brief

3 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Terms done: Seif Benrabah is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and USM Khenchela waiting with a shirt. Nobody at JS Kabylie is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

JS Kabylie say no — this time

The offer from USM Khenchela for Lahlou Akhrib was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Oumar Diakité rejects the move

JS Kabylie had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Stade de Reims, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Transfer targets

JS Kabylie bid $480.0K for Christopher Samangwa

The offer went to USM Khenchela this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Transfer targets

No deal for Abdallah Bendouma at that price

JS Kabylie offered $480.0K; Paradou said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Transfer targets

JS Kabylie rebuffed over Gustavo Barros

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. FC Villefranche have kept their man, and JS Kabylie go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

3 Edition

The USM Khenchela Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Seif Benrabah due for a USM Khenchela medical

Everything agreed with JS Kabylie, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Réda Boumechra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at USM Khenchela this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ammar Oukil falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Adel Bouzida

USM Khenchela asked and Paradou said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Eyes on Christopher Samangwa again

The phone has started ringing about Christopher Samangwa again, and this time the name on the line is JS Kabylie. USM Khenchela are listening politely and promising nothing.

Transfer targets

USM Khenchela try to borrow Mehdi Boucherit

MC Alger have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Squad

The formation has left Dramane Kamagaté behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. USM Khenchela will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

Squad

Somebody is after Zakaria Mansouri’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Zakaria Mansouri suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. USM Khenchela have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

Market

Mohamed Zaalouk arrives on loan

USM Khenchela have taken Mohamed Zaalouk on loan from Al Ahly — cover where cover was needed.

In brief

2 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Not going: Seif Benrabah stays at JS Kabylie

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” MB Rouissat had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Boardroom

JS Kabylie go back to the board over Abdallah Bendouma

The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $500.0K — a club that wants Abdallah Bendouma enough to be asked twice.

Transfer targets

Oumar Diakité due for a JS Kabylie medical

Everything agreed with Stade de Reims, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Transfer targets

An offer of $480.0K for Abdallah Bendouma

JS Kabylie have gone to Paradou with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Squad

Aimen Mahious signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Aimen Mahious commits to JS Kabylie for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Kabylie

Mohamed Réda Hamidi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

One of our own: Ismail Brahimi joins the JS Kabylie first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ismail Brahimi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Omar Bensebaini steps up from the JS Kabylie academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Omar Bensebaini has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

JS Kabylie promote Said Ounas from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Said Ounas has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief

1 Edition

The JS Kabylie Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Ryad Boudebouz signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ryad Boudebouz commits to JS Kabylie for another 2 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at JS Kabylie

Aly Abeid and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Transfer targets

JS Kabylie rebuffed over Akram Bouras

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and JS Kabylie go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

Seif Benrabah attracts admirers

The name of Seif Benrabah has come up in conversations JS Kabylie were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Market

JS Kabylie and Ryad Boudebouz are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

49 months and counting on Billal Messaoudi

Still no offer on the table, and Billal Messaoudi’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

Squad

Jaredi Teixeira falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

JS Kabylie ask about Oumar Diakité

A loan enquiry to Stade de Reims: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Tylel Tati is in the works

JS Kabylie have made the call to FC Nantes. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief