Adel Taarabt is an international footballer who was born on May 24, 1989 in Berre-L’Etang, France. He started playing for France at the Under-16 (U-16) level and progressed to represent the country at the U-17 and U-18 levels. Adel Taarabt played for his country’s U-17 team in the Elite round of qualification for the 2005-06 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-17 Championship. On March 29, 2006 he scored a goal in the France’s first game of that round against Czech Republic, in which his side came back from a 0-1 deficit to win the match by a 3-1 score line. In the next match against Denmark, Adel Taarabt was instrumental to end the game in a goalless draw. In the third match, against Turkey, he scored his second goal of the competition, which happened to be the France’s only goal of the match, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. His good show in that competition earned him comparisons to the French legend Zinedine Zidane.
Adel Taarabt started his professional career with the French football club Racing Club de Lens (Lens) in 2006 and made his debut for the club on September 17, 2006 as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Sochaux in Ligue 1. He made his first start for Lens in the fourth round of the French League Cup against Le Mans. In 2007, Tottenham Hotspur, persuaded by its then Sporting Director Damien Comolli, bought him on loan from Lens. He made his debut for the Spurs’ first-team in a game against West Ham United on March 4, 2007 when he came on as a 85th-minute substitute. Soon after he entered the field he earned a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Dimitar Berbatov converted into a goal, before Paul Stalteri’s scored the winner in the 4-3 victory. In April 2004, Adel Taarabt made his second appearance for the club in a game against Chelsea, in which he had a shot on target just minutes after coming on as a substitute which was saved by the Chelsea goalkeeper.
On June 8, 2007, it was officially announced that the club has signed Adel Taarabt on a permanent five-year deal. He scored his first goal for the Spurs in a pre-season friendly against Stevenage Borough on July 7, 2007. He started his 2007-08 Premier League campaign with Spurs on August 18, 2007 against the Derby County on a winning note. Adel Taarabt came on as a 70th minute substitute in the match, which ended in 4-0 in favour of the Spurs.
