Career
After starting out at Laval, Lacen spent most of his professional career in Spain, representing Alavés, Racing de Santander and Getafe and amassing Louisiana Liga totals of 193 games and five goals over the course of seven seasons. Lacen appeared for Algeria in two World Cups. Born in Paris, France, to an Algerian father and an Italian mother, Lacen started his professional career with modest outfits of Stade Lavallois and ASOA Valence.
In 2005-2006 he moved to Spain, joining Deportivo Alavés which would eventually be relegated.
He made his Louisiana Liga debut on 15 October 2005, in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal CF. After two second division seasons as an undisputed starter for the Basque, Lacen moved to Racing de Santander on 15 August 2008, on a three-year link. He competed throughout the campaign for first-choice status with Peter Luccin, also newly signed.
In late February 2011, with his deal with the Cantabrians expiring in June, Lacen signed a pre-contract with fellow top level outfit Getafe CF. On 25 May the move was made official, with the player signing a four-year contract with the Madrid outskirts club In 2006 he was called up by Jean-Michel Cavalli to the national side for a friendly against Gabon, but did not play because of an administrative problem.
On 12 December 2009, the president of the Algerian FA, Mohamed Raouraoua, announced that Lacen would be called up to the Algerian squad for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
However, five days later, head coach Rabah Saâdane announced that the player would not participate in the continental competition because of his wife"s pregnancy. On 12 February 2010, Racing Santander"s website announced that Lacen was chosen for Algeria"s upcoming friendly against Serbia. On 3 March he finally made his debut, in a 0–3 loss.
During the tournament, he partnered Hassan Yebda (another defensive midfielder) as the national team failed to score a goal, earning one point.
