Hatem Trabelsi facts for kids
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 25 January 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ariana, Tunisia | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Right-back | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | CS Sfaxien | 103 | (13) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Ajax | 99 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Manchester City | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 222 | (16) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2006 | Tunisia | 66 | (1) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Hatem Trabelsi (Arabic: حَاتِم الطَّرَابُلْسِيّ, romanized: Ḥātim Aṭ-Ṭarābulsiyy; born on January 25, 1977) is a former professional footballer from Tunisia. He was a skilled right-back player. Trabelsi played for well-known clubs like CS Sfaxien, Ajax, and Manchester City. He also proudly represented the Tunisia national team in three World Cups. He played 66 games for his country before he stopped playing international football in 2006.
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Hatem Trabelsi's Club Career
Trabelsi was born in Ariana, Tunisia. He grew up in Sfax and started his football journey with his hometown club, Sfaxien. At first, he played as a forward, which means he was an attacking player.
However, Sfaxien had many injured players, especially in defence. So, Trabelsi stepped in to play as a right-back. He did so well in this new position that he decided to become a defender permanently. In 2001, Trabelsi moved to Europe. He joined the famous Dutch club Ajax.
In 2003, Ajax wanted to keep Trabelsi for three more years. They used an option in his contract to extend it. Trabelsi disagreed with this decision and even went to court, but he lost the case. For a short time, he refused to play for the club because of this disagreement.
Before the 2004 season, there was talk of Trabelsi moving to the English team Arsenal. A transfer fee of about £4 million was agreed upon. It seemed like he would definitely join Arsenal. Some video games even showed him as an Arsenal player! But, there were problems with how much salary Trabelsi wanted. So, the deal fell through, and he went back to Ajax. He then signed a new two-year contract with them.
In 2006, Trabelsi was linked to several English clubs. He eventually joined Manchester City for free on August 10. He had some injuries and issues with his work permit, which is a document allowing him to work in England. This meant he couldn't play his first game until a month later. He made his debut as a substitute against Reading on September 11.
Trabelsi scored his first goal for Manchester City against their big rivals, Manchester United. He hit the ball with his left foot, and it went past their goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar. Even though he scored, Manchester City lost the game 3–1. Later, Trabelsi lost his regular spot as right-back to younger players like Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha. He didn't play any games after March and left Manchester City at the end of the season.
In November 2007, Trabelsi almost signed a contract to play for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. The deal was worth about $1 million for one year, but it didn't happen in the end.
Hatem Trabelsi's International Career
Trabelsi started playing for the Tunisia national team in May 1998. This was just before the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He also played in every game for Tunisia in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
A big moment for him was playing in the 2004 African Nations Cup. Tunisia won this important tournament! After Tunisia was knocked out of the 2006 World Cup by Ukraine, Trabelsi decided to stop playing for his country. He was 29 years old and had played 61 games for Tunisia. He scored his only goal for the national team in 2006 during a friendly match against Ghana.
How Hatem Trabelsi Played Football
Before the 2006 World Cup, Hatem Trabelsi was seen as Tunisia's most important player. People often said his best qualities were his speed and how quickly he could move. Some people did question his effort at times, but his pace and agility were always highly praised.
Hatem Trabelsi's Football Achievements
Trabelsi won many awards and trophies during his career:
CS Sfaxien
- CAF Cup: 1998
- Arab Club Champions Cup: 2000
Ajax
- Eredivisie (Dutch League): 2001–02, 2003–04
- KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup): 2001–02, 2005–06
- Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Super Cup): 2002, 2005
Tunisia
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2004
Individual
- Officer of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia: 2003
See also
In Spanish: Hatem Trabelsi para niños
