Selim Benachour ( ar, سليم بن عاشور, Salīm bin ʻĀshūr; born Slim Ben-Achour on 8 September 1981) is a football coach and former professional player who played as a

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in France, he represented Tunisia at international level.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Born and brought up in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, Selim Benachour learned to play his trade at the

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

academy. Benachour began his professional club career with

in 2001 and stayed in the club until 2005. After his two loan transfers, he went back to PSG after this, playing on and off for them over the next two seasons. Overall he earned 28 caps for his childhood club, scoring one goal. With PSG, he appeared in 28 league matches and scored a goal, alongside winning the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professio ...

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 ...

Out on loan from PSG

He was given twice on loan from

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A ...

in 2002 and

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

in 2003. He was sent to

Championnat de France The French Rugby League Championship is the major rugby league tournament for French professional and semi-professional clubs. French Championships or French Championship may also refer to: French national championships * Division 1 Féminine ...

amateur (4th tier) club

on a season long loan spell. He played regularly for the Martigues first team, scoring one goal in 28 appearances. Next season he was sent on loan to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, 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 Ligu ...

side

ES Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, the highest level of France's football league system, and plays its home matches at the ...

, who had just narrowly avoided bankruptcy and were just trying to survive for the time being. Benachour had trouble getting into their team, making 9 appearances over the season, scoring twice.

Vitoria

In 2005, he left France and moved to Portugal, signing with

Vitória Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

, where he enjoyed one successful season at the club.

Rubin Kazan

The next season, he signed a contract with the Russian side

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...

, where he played for two seasons and appeared in 23 league matches, scoring 3 goals. He was in Kazan's 2006 La Manga Cup winning squad.

Al Qadsia

After two seasons with Kazan, he moved to Kuwait and signed for

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

side Al Qadsia and played there until 2009. With Qadsia, he won the

2008–09 Kuwaiti Premier League The 2008–09 Kuwaiti Premier League season was the 47th since its establishment. The first matches of the season started on Saturday 4 October 2008. The league has also been extended so that clubs will play each other three times this season. Me ...

Malaga

In 2009, he signed with the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

side Málaga. On 13 September 2010 he was not registered to play in La Liga and was released by the club, with one year still left on his contract.

Maritimo

On 21 January 2011, he returned to Portugal and signed a contract with the Marítimo until the end of the 2011–2012 season.

APOEL

On 16 June 2012, Benachour signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot club

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. On 23 August 2012, he scored his first goal with APOEL in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

play-off round The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

match against Neftchi Baku in

Dalga Arena Dalga Arena ( az, Dalğa Arena) is a multi-use stadium in Mardakan settlement of Baku, Azerbaijan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 6,500 people and opened by Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini on 6 June 2011. T ...

, equalising the score in the 83rd minute, in a match which ended with 1–1 draw. He became a champion with APOEL after helping his club to win the

2012–13 Cypriot First Division The 2012–13 Cypriot First Division was the 74th season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It began on 1 September 2012 and ended on 19 May 2013. AEL Limassol were the defending champions. APOEL won the championship two matchweeks befor ...

. During the 2013–14 season, he appeared in two

2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage The group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was played from 19 September to 12 December 2013. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage. Draw The draw was held on 30 August 2013, 13:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. Th ...

matches for APOEL and won all the titles in Cyprus, the

Cypriot League The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

, the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club te ...

and the

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...

Mumbai City

On 28 July 2015, he signed for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club

Mumbai City FC Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

managed by his former teammate

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known ...

. With Mumbai, he appeared in 11 matches with 3 assists and 1 goal, as the club finished 6th in the

2015 Indian Super League season The 2015 Hero Indian Super League was the second season of the Indian Super League, a professional football league played in India since 2014. The season features eight teams. The regular season kicked off on 3 October and ended on 6 December, ...

Martigues

After the end of his stint with Mumbai, he came back to France in 2016 and signed with

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

side

FC Martigues Football Club de Martigues, known as FC Martigues or just Martigues, is a French professional football club which plays in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France. The club plays at the Stade Francis Turcan, which ha ...

. From 2016 to 2018, he appeared in 15 league matches with Martigues, scoring 2 goals.

International career

He was widely considered one of Tunisia's best players, an elegant playmaker with range of passing and great vision, and played for Tunisia's national squad in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

. However, he was not included in the squad for the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

in Germany, in which

Tunisia national football team The Tunisia national football team ( ar, منتخب تونس لكرة القدم; ) represents Tunisia in men's international association football. The team is a member of both FIFA and CAF, the Confederation of African Football. It is govern ...

were knocked out in the first round. He was part of the national squad, that emerged as the champions of the 2004 African Cup of Nations, defeating

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. Sources suggest he turned down the chance to play for the

France national football team The France national football team (french: Équipe de France de football) represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is ...

in favour of the

. He made his international debut on 11 January 2002 against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

in a friendly match which ended as their 1-0 defeat. Between 2002 and 2010, he earned 44 caps for Tunisia and scored 2 goals.

Managerial career

Overall, he made over 250 appearances at senior level throughout his career before retiring and in 2016, Benachour became the Head Coach at Martigues FC U17, where he won the Provincial Cup and then came runners-up in the league before moving up to the U19 team. Later he joined

Foresta Suceava Asociația Club Sportiv Foresta Suceava, commonly known as Foresta Suceava or simply as Foresta, is a professional football club from Romania, based in Suceava, Suceava County and founded in 1946 as Locomotiva Ițcani. Previously, the club cha ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

as manager and guided the club to a 5th place finish. He then occupied the post of Technical Director as well as briefly the Head Coach role at

Olimpia Grudziądz Olimpia Grudziądz is a Polish football club from Grudziądz. The club was formed on 30 June 1923. Currently, Olimpia plays in the III liga, following their relegation from the II liga in the 2020–21 season. On 1 March 2022, thanks to defea ...

in Poland’s top division. Moving to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the UEFA A licence holder Benachour took up the position of under-18s manager at

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

in September 2020. He became caretaker first team head coach of Oldham Athletic on 24th November 2021, following the departure of

Keith Curle Keith Curle (born 14 November 1963) is an English football Manager (association football), manager and former professional player, who is the current manager of EFL League Two, League Two side Hartlepool United F.C., Hartlepool United. He playe ...

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Country

;Tunisia *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

: Champions (1):

Club

;Paris Saint-Germain *

: Champions (1):

;Qadsia *

: Champions (1): 2008–09 ;APOEL *

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...

: Champions (2):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 2013–14 *

: Champions (1): 2013–14 *

: Champions (1): 2013

Personal life

Benachour was born in

, France, and is

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

. He speaks fluent French, English, Spanish and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

References

External links