Faouzi Ghoulam pronounced was born on 1 February, 1991. He is an Algerian footballer who plays as a left back for S.S.C. Napoli in Serie A and the Algerian national team. Ghoulam was born in Saint-Priest-en-Jarez to Algerian parents. His father is from Batna, while his mother is from Annaba. He has 8 brothers and 2 sisters, and his brother Nabil is a cross country runner that represented France at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
On 22 September 2010, Faouzi made his professional debut for AS Saint-Étienne coming as a substitute in the 82nd minute of a Coupe de la Ligue match against Nice. He made his Ligue 1 debut in a round 13 clash against Valencie.
On 18 December 2010, in an interview Algerian newspaper Le Buteur, Ghoulam said that his intentions were to represent Algeria in international competition despite being born in France. On 5 May 2011, Algerian under-23 coach Azzedine Aït Djoudi announced that Faouzi was hesitant about joining the team, despite the fact that he was the one who contacted the Algerian Football Federation. On 6 October 2011, after being called up to the preliminary squad of the France under-21 team, Ghoulam said that he would be really proud to play for the team. On 26 March 2013, Ghoulam made his debut as a starter in a 3–1 win over Benin in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, providing the assist on the first Algerian goal.
Faouzi represented Algeria at the 2014 World Cup finals as les Fennecs reached the round of 16, where they were beaten by eventual champions Germany after extra time. He started in both the match against Germany and the 2–1 group stage loss to Belgium.
