Rafik Halliche

Born in Algiers, Halliche began playing football at the age of seven with CREPS Ben Aknoun. After seven years with the club he joined the junior ranks of NA Hussein Dey, making his senior debut on 30 January 2006 in a league match against Paradou AC, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute.

On 30 March 2008, Halliche made his debut for Nacional, coming on at half-time in a 2–0 home league win against U.D. Leiria. He would go on to make two more appearances as a starter before going back to Benfica at the end of the loan, which was then extended for the entirety of 2008–09 and also the following campaign.

Halliche made his debut for Algeria on 31 May 2008 against Senegal, replacing Anthar Yahia in the 75th minute. On 18 November 2009 he started in the decisive tie-breaker against Egypt for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, as the national side won 1–0 in Sudan and returned to the FIFA World Cup 24 years after their last presence.

On 16 August 2010, Halliche was reported to be linked with a move to Premier League club Fulham, for £1.3 million. The following week, Benfica confirmed the sale of the player, who signed a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Halliche was picked to represent Algeria in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, playing all the matches and minutes as the national side only conceded two goals in the group stage, but finished last in their group after failing to score once. He was also selected to the following edition by coach Vahid Halilhodžić, as captain, and contributed decisively to a 4–2 group win over South Korea on 22 June, heading home from a corner kick for his country's second goal.

On 6 December 2011, Halliche went on a week-long trial with Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, but nothing came of it. On 31 August of the following year, Fulham confirmed that the player's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.

Halliche returned to Portugal on 31 August 2012, signing a two-year deal with Académica de Coimbra. During his spell, he battled for first-choice status with Aníbal Capela and João Real.

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