Mehdi Nafti
Encyclopedia
Mehdi Ben Sadok Nafti is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, as a defensive midfielder.
During his professional career, he played in four different countries in representation of five teams, namely Toulouse
Toulouse FC
Toulouse Football Club is a French association football club based in the city of Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium Municipal located within the city. The first team is managed by...
, Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
and Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
.
Club career
Nafti made his professional debuts with hometown's Toulouse FCToulouse FC
Toulouse Football Club is a French association football club based in the city of Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium Municipal located within the city. The first team is managed by...
, being sparingly used during his three-year spell with the club, and also playing several games with the reserves. His best season was 1999–2000, as he appeared in 13 games (one goal) to help the team return to Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
after one year of absence.
In the 2000 summer, Nafti joined Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
and, as in his previous club, started his stint appearing for the B team
Racing de Santander B
Real Racing Club de Santander B, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1926, it is the reserve team of Racing de Santander, and currently plays in Tercera División - Group 3, holding home games at Instalaciones de La Albericia,...
. In the 2000–01 season, he played in just three games for the main squad, which was eventually relegated, then proceeded to become a very important midfield element for the Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
ns in the following three seasons, whilst collecting 35 yellow cards and three red
Ejection (sports)
In sports, an ejection is one of several disqualifying actions assessed to a player or coach by a game official , usually for unsportsmanlike conduct....
.
Nafti was signed on loan by Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
in the last minutes of the January 2005 transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...
. Often referred to as "Nasty" due to his fiery nature and tendency for cautions, he was primarily signed to replace the outgoing Robbie Savage
Robbie Savage
Robert William "Robbie" Savage is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside...
, and finished the season strongly for the Blues, which led to a permanent deal being agreed in the summer.
Nafti's 2005–06 season came to end before it had even begun, with a severe injury to his cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee...
s in a friendly with Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...
in early August 2005. He recovered sooner than expected and still appeared in the last matchday, a 0–1 loss at Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
, but Birmingham suffered relegation.
After having appeared in 32 games in 2006–07 to help Birmingham return to the Premier League, Nafti scored his first competitive goal for the club in a 4–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, which has been promoted to Football League One after finishing third in Football League Two in the season 2010–11. The club's nicknames are "The Chairboys" and "The Blues", and they play...
in August 2008, for the season's League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. In June 2009, after Birmingham chose not to renew his contract, he signed a two-year contract with Aris Thessaloniki
Aris Thessaloniki F.C.
Aris Football Club , also known as God of war and the Yellows, is a Greek football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia. Formed in 1914, the club was a founding member of Macedonian Football Clubs Association as well as the Hellenic Football Federation, they currently compete in...
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
On 12 September 2009, Nafti scored the only goal of the home match against PAS Giannina F.C. to put Aris top of the Greek League after three matches, and finished his debut season with four goals in 22 games, with the team finally ranking fifth.
During the January 2011 transfer window, 32-year old Nafti left Aris and returned to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, signing a 18-month contract with Segunda División
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
club Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, from where the nickname Pucela is derived....
.
International career
A Tunisian internationalTunisia national football team
The Tunisia national football team , nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage , is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round...
since 2002, Nafti represented the nation in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, helping it win the 2004 edition, played on home soil. He then appeared in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Awards:-Goal scorers:5 goals Adriano4 goals Luciano Figueroa John Aloisi Michael Ballack...
, playing against Australia (2–0 win) and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
(0–3 loss).
Nafti was selected for the squad that competed in the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup 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 won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, appearing in all three games as Tunisia exited in the group stage.