Jaouad Zairi (born 17 April 1982) is a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a winger. He played for the Morocco national team between 2000 and 2009, making 34 appearances and scoring six goals.

Early life

Zairi was born into a large family in Taza, Morocco. At the age of 2, his family moved to Mâcon, a small French city. In 1997, he moved to FC Gueugnon.

Club career

Zairi joined the French Ligue 2 team FC Gueugnon at the age of 15. In the summer of 2001, he joined FC Sochaux and played for them until 2008. In January 2006 he was loaned to the Saudi club Al-Ittihad. He moved to Portugal and played for one year with Boavista F.C. (2006–2007). He returned in France and played another year with FC Nantes (2007–2008). He moved to Greece and played for Super League Greece side Asteras Tripolis for the 2008–09 season. On 25 April 2009, Olympiacos announced Zairi would join for the 2009–10 season. He won the 2010–11 Super League Greece with the club. After two seasons with Olympiacos he was informed by Olympiacos' manager Ernesto Valverde that he was not to renew his contract with the club and that he was free to leave. In July 2017, he made an appearance for Indonesian club Persija Jakarta in a friendly match against Espanyol.

International career

Zairi made a debut for Morocco national team in 2000. He played in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004 when Morocco made it to the finals but lost to their North African rivals Tunisia. Zairi also played for Morocco at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

International goals

Honours

Olympiacos Morocco