Hatem Trabelsi

Hatem Trabelsi

Personal information
Full name	Hatem Trabelsi
Date of birth	(1977-01-25) 25 January 1977
Place of birth	Aryanah, Tunisia
Height
Position(s)	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2001	Sfaxien	103	(13)
2001–2006	Ajax	175	(6)
2006–2007	Manchester City	20	(1)
2007	Al-Hilal FC	12	(5)
Total		310	(25)
International career
1998–2006	Tunisia	66	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hatem Trabelsi (Tunisian Arabic: حاتم الطرابلسي‎, Ḥātem Ṭrabelsī; born 25 January 1977 in Aryanah, Tunisia) is a former Tunisian footballer. A right-sided defender or midfielder, he has played for CS Sfaxien, Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester City and Al-Hilal Riyadh. He has represented the Tunisian national team in three World Cups, gaining a total of 66 caps before retiring from international football in 2006.

Club career

Trabelsi grew up in Sfax, and started his football career with his home town club Sfaxien, where he initially played as a forward. An injury crisis at Sfaxien resulted in Trabelsi playing as a stop-gap right-back, leading to him converting to defence and becoming the team's regular right-back. In 2001 Trabelsi moved to Europe, signing for Dutch club Ajax.

During the pre season of 2004, Hatem was given a trial period at Arsenal by Arsène Wenger. Seemingly, he impressed the Gunners and a fee between Ajax and the English champions was agreed. With the transfer looking imminent, even Pro Evolution Soccer 4 included Trabelsi for Arsenal. However, due to personal reasons Trabelsi never fully signed with Arsenal and soon returned home to Ajax.

In 2006 Trabelsi was linked with moves to several English clubs, and joined Manchester City on a free transfer on 10 August. Injury and work permit problems prevented him from making his debut until a month into the season, a substitute appearance against Reading on 11 September.

He scored his first Manchester City goal against Manchester United with a left foot shot to beat Edwin van der Sar. Manchester City still lost the game 3–1. Trabelsi lost his right-back place in the side to Micah Richards and Nedum Onuoha. Trabelsi did not play a game after City's 1–0 win at Newcastle United in March, and he was released at the end of the season.

After six months without a club, he signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal Riyadh in November 2007.

Attributes

Trabelsi was described as Tunisia's star player in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup. His strongest attributes are generally regarded to be his pace and his agility, though critics have sometimes questioned his commitment.

International career

Trabelsi made his international debut in May 1998, shortly before the 1998 World Cup. He also played in all of Tunisia's matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2004 African Nations Cup, which Tunisia won. Following Tunisia's elimination from the 2006 World Cup after a 1–0 defeat to Ukraine, Trabelsi announced his retirement from international football at the age of 29, with 61 caps and one goal. He scored his only goal for the national team in 2006 in a friendly match against Ghana.

Honours

Club

Ajax

• Eredivisie (2): 2001–02, 2003–04
• KNVB Cup (2): 2001–02, 2005–06
• Johan Cruijff Shield (2): 2002, 2005

International

Tunisia

• African Cup of Nations (1): 2004

External links

• Hatem Trabelsi career statistics at Soccerbase