Adelaide United have confirmed the signing of French-born Algerian attacking midfielder Karim Matmour on a one-year deal.
SUMMARY
►Matmour joins the Reds ahead of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season and will bring plenty of experience to the team, after spending 10 seasons in Germany.
►The 32-year-old amassed over 275 Bundesliga appearances across both the German first and second divisions with 1860 Munich, SC Freiburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
►Matmour also experienced a brief spell in Kuwait before moving to then Championship side Huddersfield Town in the latter half of the 2015/16 season.
►He has received 30 senior caps for Algeria, scoring two goals and represented his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup – starting all three group stage matches.
KURZ ON MATMOUR SIGNING
“I’m delighted and extremely glad that Karim signed for Adelaide and we’re really looking forward to him joining our team,” Reds boss Marco Kurz said.
“We have secured an excellent player with a great personality and someone who will be an asset to the team.
“Karim is a very experienced player and has played nearly 300 games in the German Bundesliga and second division.
“And he can play every offensive position on the field, possesses great pace and technically is very strong.
“He’s also good at laying on assists for his teammates as well as scoring goals.
“Now we have one foreign position left in the team and we will take our time in finding the right player for this place in the squad.
“The European transfer window closes at the end of August and this provides us with more options because European clubs have completed their squads.”
MATMOUR EYEING NEW CHALLENGE
“For me this is a new experience and I am very excited to play here for this club and in this country,” Matmour said.
“If I am honest, I did not know so much about the Hyundai A-League, but in the last two or three weeks I have asked many friends.
“One of my best friends is Jason Davidson, who plays for the Australian national team, and I asked him about this team and the league and he told me only positives.
“I know Marco (Kurz) from Germany and he has a very big reputation and is a very good coach.
“He has a good style and good ideas for football and that’s why for me this a good combination.”
►Matmour’s club career has so far yielded a total of 33 goals and 43 assists in 317 matches in all competitions.
