Yassine Chikhaoui (; born 21 September 1986) is a former Tunisian professional

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 last played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Tunisian club

Étoile du Sahel Étoile may refer to: Places ;France * Charles de Gaulle – Étoile, station of the Paris Métro * Étoile-Saint-Cyrice, commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in France * Étoile-sur-Rhône, commune in the Drôme department in France * L'Éto ...

Club career

Étoile du Sahel

Chikhaoui became captain of

at the age of 19. He was the youngest player to take up this role in the club. He achieved a lot of success with Étoile du Sahel and won the

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

with them.

FC Zürich

Chikhaoui was signed by FC Zürich on a five-year contract on 23 May 2007. During the

2008 Africa Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confede ...

, it was reported that many clubs had scouts present to watch Chikhaoui play. Unfortunately, after impressing at the African Cup of Nations he was forced to take time out to get a recurring knee problem treated. On 26 April 2009, he completed his recovery by returning to play for the Zurich first team. Weeks later he cemented his comeback with a goal and contributed, as a late substitute, to helping his team win and stay top in the title race. He was part of the

2013–14 Swiss Cup The 2013–14 Swiss Cup was the 89th season of Switzerland's annual football cup competition. The competition started on 14 August 2013 with the first game of Round 1 and ended in May 2014 with the Final. The winners of the competition qualified f ...

-winning team and afterwards signed a new three-year contract until 2017. In the 2014–2015 season, he was appointed as the club's captain.

Al-Gharafa

On 3 August 2015, Chikhaoui's transfer to

Al-Gharafa Sports Club Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

was announced.

International career

Chikhaoui was called up to the Tunisian national team to participate in the

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

at the age of 19.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Chikhaoui goal.''

Honours

Étoile du Sahel *

Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1, formerly known as the Tunisian National Championship between 1956 and 1994, is the highest-level association football, football tournament in Tunisia and is organized by the Tunisian Football Federation and t ...

: 2006–07 FC Zürich *

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

: 2008–09 Individual * Tunisian Footballer of the Year: 2014 *

Team of the Year: 2014–15

Personal life

Yassian is a practicing Muslim and was known to hold a prayer rug with him whenever he goes with the team

References

External links

1986 births Living people Tunisian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Tunisia men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Swiss Super League players Étoile Sportive du Sahel players FC Zürich players Al-Gharafa SC players Al Ahli SC (Doha) players Tunisian expatriate men's footballers Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland {{Tunisia-footy-forward-stub