Issame Charaï (born 11 May 1982) is a Belgian-Moroccan football coach and former player who is the head coach of Belgian club Westerlo.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 May 1982 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Merksem, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Westerlo (head coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Berchem Sport | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Berchem Sport | 37 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Lierse | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Geel | 18 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | K.V. Mechelen | 46 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Sint-Truidense | 29 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | KVK Tienen | 25 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | ASV Geel | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Al-Faisaly (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Al-Faisaly (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Beerschot (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Sint-Truidense (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | OH Leuven (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Morocco U23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Rangers (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Westerlo | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Coaching career
editAl-Faisaly
editAfter his playing career ended in 2012, he immediately became an assistant coach at Al-Faisaly under newly appointed Belgian manager Marc Brys who Charaï previously had worked together with at Berchem Sport.[citation needed] The duo left Saudi Arabia at the end of 2013.
Beerschot
editSint-Truidense
editAt the end of May 2018, Brys was announced manager of Sint-Truidense and took Charaï with him again as his assistant.[2] On 26 November 2019, Brys and his staff, including Charaï, was fired.[3]
OH Leuven
editMorocco Under-23's
editOn 8 July 2023, Charaï led Morocco's under-23 national team to U-23 Africa Cup of Nations success by beating Egypt in the final.[5] Due to his AFCON success the U23's qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Rangers
editCharaï was an assistant manager at Scottish club Rangers under Philippe Clement, and remained at the club following Clement's departure in February 2025.[6]
On 13 June 2025, it was announced that Charaï had "mutually agreed" to leave Rangers.[7]
Westerlo
editOn 17 June 2025, Charaï was hired as a head coach by Belgian Pro League club Westerlo.[8]
Personal life
editBorn in Belgium, Charaï is of Moroccan descent and holds dual Belgian-Moroccan citizenship.[9]
Honours
editMorocco U23
References
edit- ↑ OFFICIEEL: KFCO Beerschot-Wilrijk haalt ex-publiekslieveling terug, voetbalnieuws.be, 11 July 2016
- ↑ MARC BRYS PRESENTED AS STVV'S HEAD COACH[permanent dead link], stvv.com, 21 May 2018
- ↑ OFFICIEEL: MARC BRYS ONTSLAGEN BIJ STVV, voetbalbelgie.be, 26 November 2019
- ↑ "Charaï: "Marc en ik vullen elkaar perfect aan"". ohleuven.com. 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ↑ "morocco-win-maiden-totalenergies-u-23-africa-cup-of-nations-title-with-victory-o". morocco-win-maiden-totalenergies-u-23-africa-cup-of-nations-title-with-victory-o.
- ↑ "Barry Ferguson 'thought Rangers manager job would never come'". BBC Sport. 24 February 2025.
- ↑ "Issame Charaï departs Rangers". rangers.co.uk. 13 June 2025.
- ↑ "Issame Charaï new head coach of KVC Westerlo" [Issame Charaï nieuwe hoofdcoach van KVC Westerlo] (in Dutch). K.V.C. Westerlo. 17 June 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ↑ "Coupe du monde 2022 : Belgique-Maroc, « le match des frères et des sentiments »". 27 November 2022 – via Le Monde.
External links
edit- Issame Charaï at WorldFootball.net