decided to part ways with Ziani. Turkish club Rivaspor had made a bid but could not negotiate a contract with Ziani, as Ziani had put in a condition which Rivaspor rejected. Ziani revealed the condition merely as having Madjid Bougherra have a trial with the club to display his qualities as they had both travelled to Turkey and Ziani would have liked a compatriot with him at the club as he was only 19 at the time. When Rivaspor rejected the condition, both Ziani and Bougherra left Turkey together. Lorient In the summer of 2004, Ziani was loaned out to FC Lorient. In the next two seasons he would become Lorient's top player and would lead them to promotion to Ligue 1. He was voted as the top player in Ligue 2 for the 2005–06 season. Sochaux In the summer of 2006, Ziani signed a three-year deal with FC Sochaux and reunited with his first coach at Troyes Alain Perrin. While at Sochaux he played as they won the 2007 Coupe de France Final. The game finished 2–2 and went to penalties, and he scored his penalty in the shootout as his side emerged victorious. Marseille The following summer, Ziani saw increasing attention from other French clubs, namely Olympique de Marseille. This interest culminated on 29 June 2007, when news broke that Ziani had finalized his move to Marseille for a transfer fee of $11 million. Karim scored his first goal with Marseille in a match against Valenciennes. He became a familiar face in Eric Gerets' starting eleven. VfL Wolfsburg On 7 July 2009, it was announced that Ziani had signed a four-year contract with Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. During December 2010 and January 2011, a number of clubs showed interest in signing Ziani, these were Newcastle United, AS Monaco, FC Lorient, VfB Stuttgart, Everton, and Birmingham City. On 14 January 2011, it was reported that Ziani had moved to Turkish high-flyers Kayserispor on an initial six-month loan deal, with an option to sign him permanently at the end of the season. On 8 July 2011, Wolfsburg and Ziani reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract. El Jaish On 20 July 2011, Ziani signed a three-year contract with Qatari club El Jaish. On 18 September 2009, Ziani made his Qatar Stars League debut for El Jaish as a starter in a league game against Al Khor. Although he failed