Quick Facts
Biography
Sofyane Cherfa (Arabic: سفيان شرفة; born 13 August 1984) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays for CS Constantine as a central defender.
Club career
Early career
Born in Toulouse, France, Cherfa played youth football with AS Monaco FC, but only appeared for its reserve team as a senior. After playing with CS Louhans-Cuiseaux in the lower leagues he signed with Ligue 2 club Stade de Reims in the 2007 summer, before going on to represent also in the competition CS Sedan Ardennes and LB Châteauroux.
Omonia
In 2011, Cherfa joined AC Omonia in the Cypriot First Division, after fellow league side Ermis Aradippou did not have the financial means to complete the transfer. He scored his first goal as a professional on 29 October of that year, in a 2–0 away win against Olympiakos Nicosia, and also contributed with six appearances in the season's Cypriot Cup, which ended in conquest as in the previous year.
In the 2012 summer transfer window, after being deemed surplus to requirements, Cherfa was loaned to Panthrakikos F.C. from Greece. At the end of the campaign he returned to Omonia, who had just lost fellow stoppers Christos Karipidis and Savo Pavićević to other clubs, but Panthrakikos contested that the agreement ended sooner than it should have.
After failing to negotiate a new contract with a smaller wage, due to Omonia's financial situation, Cherfa was made to train alone, and was eventually linked to OFI Crete even though the former side stated it did not have the intention of releasing him. After the club failed to perform in their UEFA Europa League campaign, both defensively and overall, a new round of talks started, and he eventually put pen to paper to a new three-year deal.
Constantine
On 15 January 2016, four days after being released by Panthrakikos, Cherfa signed a two-year contract with Algerian club CS Constantine.
International career
In April 2005, Cherfa was called up to the Algerian under-23 team for a mini training camp in France.
Personal life
Cherfa's younger brother, Walid, was also a footballer. A defender, he too played most of his career in France.
Club statistics
- As of match played 2 January 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Louhans-Cuiseaux | 2005–06 | Championnat National | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 2 | |
| 2006–07 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | |||
| Total | 59 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 5 | ||
| Reims | 2007–08 | Ligue 2 | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Sedan | 2008–09 | Ligue 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Châteauroux | 2009–10 | Ligue 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| Omonia | 2011–12 | Cypriot First Division | 22 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| Total | 49 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 4 | ||
| Panthrakikos | 2012–13 (loan) | Superleague Greece | 29 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 37 | 1 | |
| 2014–15 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 251 | 10 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 283 | 12 | ||
Honours
- Omonia
- Cypriot Cup: 2011–12