Profiling those Saddlers that came and went in the blink of an eye...
AS WE embark upon a year of celebration to mark Walsall FC’s 125th Anniversary, a lot will, quite rightly, be said about the most popular players or those who have made the most appearances for the club over the years.But what about those players that came and went in the blink of an eye? They may have only appeared on a handful of occasions, but nevertheless, have made a contribution to the history of this great club of ours.
We will be highlighting some of the forgotten Saddlers from the Bescot Years, continuing with a former Juventus man...
Sofiene Zaaboub was a skilful and talented performer who arrived at Banks’s Stadium from League One rivals, Swindon Town in July 2008. He had a slow start to his Saddlers’ career but burst into life following the appointment of Chris Hutchings as manager at the turn of 2009.
He provided many assists, with the likes of Troy Deeney and Jabo Ibehre in particular profiting from his marauding wing-play.
After 32 outings for the club, he failed to agree a new deal at the end of the 2008/09 campaign, he went on to have unsuccessful trial spells with the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Hamilton Academical before joining Southend United in the summer of 2010.
In 2011 he moved to Algeria to serve ES Setif, where he remains.
Zaaboub’s early career saw him turn out for Montereau and Saint-Etienne in his homeland before moving to Italy with Juventus, where he had a brief spell, and then Modena.
His journey continued with Real Jaen in Spain and Belgian outfit, FC Brussels before he arrived on these shores with Swindon Town where he enjoyed a productive time.