Karim Haggui (; born 20 January 1984) is a Tunisian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. His last club was

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. It is the oldest football club in continental Europe after Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. The tea ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Kasserine Kasserine (, Tunisian Arabic: ڨصرين ') is the capital city of the Kasserine Governorate, in west-central Tunisia. It is situated below Jebel ech Chambi ( جبل الشعانبي), Tunisia's highest mountain. Its population is 114,463 (2020). ...

, Haggui started his career in 1998 with

AS Kasserine The Avenir Sportif de Kasserine (), known as AS Kasserine or simply ASK for short, is a Tunisian football club based in Kasserine. The club was founded in 1948 and its colours are green and white. Their home stadium, Kasserine Municipal Stadium, ...

in his home town, eventually moving to Etoile du Sahel two years later and starting his professional career there in 2003. He only spent one season as a professional with Etoile du Sahel and moved to French club

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

in the summer of 2004.

RC Strasbourg

Haggui made his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

debut in Strasbourg's first game of the 2004–05 season, a 2–1 away defeat at

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

on 7 August 2004, coming on as a substitute. He did not play very much in the first half of the season, but eventually managed to find his place as a regular in the final few months of the campaign, making a total of 20 Ligue 1 appearances in his first season with Strasbourg. The club also won the French League Cup that season and qualified for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He started his second season with Strasbourg as a regular, scoring his only two Ligue 1 goals with a brace in the club's 4–2 defeat at home to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 24 September 2005. After appearing in 11 consecutive league games since the beginning of the season, he lost his place as a regular, nevertheless managing to make a total of 23 appearances in the league that season. He also appeared in six UEFA Cup matches before Strasbourg were knocked out by

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in the round of 16, scoring the opening goal in their 5–0 win at home to

Grazer AK Grazer Athletiksport Klub (; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section was once among Austria's most popular clubs, enjoying s ...

on 29 September 2005.

Bayer Leverkusen

Strasbourg were relegated to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

following their 19th-place finish in the 2005–06 Ligue 1 season and Haggui decided to join

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

in the summer of 2006 on an undisclosed fee. Haggui made his Bayer Leverkusen debut on 29 July 2006 against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

in the German League Cup, playing the entire match which Leverkusen lost 9–8 on penalties. He once again played the entire match on his Bundesliga debut in Leverkusen's first match of the 2006–07 season, a 3–0 win at home to

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

on 12 August 2006. He experienced mixed fortunes in his first season with Leverkusen, playing regularly for the majority of the season, but also receiving a total of 11 yellow cards in the league and delivering a couple of poor performances, most notably against

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

in April 2007, where he was substituted only 23 minutes into the game after being directly responsible for two of Bochum's three goals in the opening 22 minutes. He finished the season with a total of 24 Bundesliga appearances. His first and only goal for Leverkusen that season came in their 2–1 away defeat at

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

in the UEFA Cup, a match where he was later sent off following his second yellow card. He appeared in a total of nine UEFA Cup matches before Leverkusen were knocked out by

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...

in the quarter-finals. He once again played regularly for Leverkusen in his second season with the club, eventually scoring his first Bundesliga goal when he netted the opening goal in their 2–0 win at home to Bochum on 15 September 2007. He added another Bundesliga goal to his tally when he opened the scoring in Leverkusen's 4–1 win at home to

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

on 16 March 2008. He once again finished the season with a total of 24 Bundesliga appearances. In the UEFA Cup, he appeared in 11 games before Leverkusen were knocked out by eventual winners of the competition, Zenit St. Petersburg, in the quarter-finals. His only UEFA Cup goal that season came when he scored the fourth goal in Leverkusen's 5–1 win at home to

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

in the third round. However, he lost his place in the team in his third season with Leverkusen, only appearing in 11 Bundesliga games throughout the season. He did, however, manage to score his third Bundesliga goal when he opened the scoring in Leverkusen's 5–2 win at home to

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern for ...

on 30 August 2008, his first game that season. He also appeared in two games during Leverkusen's run to the final of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

, but was left an unused substitute in the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

final which they lost 1–0 to

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

Hannover 96

On 1 June 2009, just two days after the German Cup final, Haggui decided to leave Leverkusen on a free transfer and signed a two-year contract with Bundesliga rivals

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

. Haggui made his competitive debut for Hannover on 2 August 2009 in their 3–1 defeat at

Eintracht Trier SV Eintracht-Trier 05 e. V., commonly known as Eintracht Trier (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was established on 11 March 1948 through the merger of Westmark 05 Trier ...

in the first round of the German Cup, playing all 90 minutes. He also played the entire match on his Bundesliga debut for the club, in a 1–0 defeat at

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

on 8 August 2009. He scored his first competitive goal for Hannover in their 5–2 Bundesliga win at home to

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

on 3 October 2009, netting Hannover's third goal of the match. Haggui scored two own goals in a 5–3 loss to

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

on 12 December 2009, thereby defeating his own team. In August 2010, Haggui returned to the pitch for his second season as a starter with Hannover 96.

VfB Stuttgart

On 2 September 2013, Haggui signed a two-year deal with

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, for an undisclosed fee.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

For the 2015–16 season Haggui moved to

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

FC St. Gallen

On 15 August 2016, he joined

on a two-year contract.

International career

Haggui has been a member of the

Tunisian national football team The Tunisia national football team, controlled by the Tunisian Football Federation (TFF), represents Tunisia in men's international association football competitions. On a continental level, the team competes under the Confederation of African ...

since 2003, making his international debut on 20 August 2003 in their friendly match against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. His first major tournament with the team was the

2004 African Cup of Nations The 2004 African Cup of Nations was held from 24 January to 14 February 2004 in Tunisia. It was the 24th edition of the biennial international men's football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Tun ...

on home soil in Tunisia. Haggui, who was the youngest member of the Tunisian squad at the tournament, appeared in all of the team's six matches on their way to the title. In the semifinals, he conceded a penalty which gave

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

the lead, but then he scored the decisive penalty as the team won 5–3 in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

to book a place in the final, which they won 2–1 against

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In 2004, he was also part of the Tunisian squad at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, appearing in all three of the team's group matches before they were knocked out of the tournament following a third-place finish in their group. Haggui made his second appearance at the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

during the 2006 finals in Egypt, appearing in all of Tunisia's four matches at the tournament. He also scored the equaliser in the quarterfinal match against Nigeria, but Tunisia eventually lost the match 6–5 on penalties and were knocked out of the tournament. The same year, he also made his

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

debut at the 2006 finals in Germany, appearing in all of Tunisia's three group matches before they were knocked out in the first round after finishing third in their group. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying, he made a total of seven appearances and scored two goals in Tunisia's opening match of the campaign, a 4–1 win at home to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

on 5 June 2004. In 2008, Haggui appeared in all of Tunisia's four matches at the

in Ghana. At the tournament, Tunisia were knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing 3–2 to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

, with Haggui forced to leave the pitch with an injury after 38 minutes.

Honours

Bayer 04 Leverkusen *

runner-up: 2008–09 Tunisia *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

References

External links

* * *
Karim Haggui
at Leverkusen who's who {{DEFAULTSORT:Haggui, Karim 1984 births Living people Tunisian men's footballers Naturalized citizens of Germany Tunisian expatriate men's footballers Tunisia men's international footballers AS Kasserine players Étoile Sportive du Sahel players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Hannover 96 players VfB Stuttgart players Fortuna Düsseldorf players FC St. Gallen players Olympic footballers for Tunisia Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Swiss Super League players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland People from Kasserine Governorate Men's association football defenders Africa Cup of Nations–winning players