Mehdi Nafti

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Mehdi Nafti
Personal information
Date of birth	November 28, 1978 (1978-11-28) (age 29)
Place of birth	Toulouse, France
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Birmingham City
Number	12
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997–2000 2000–2005 2005 2005–	Toulouse Racing Santander → Birmingham City (loan) Birmingham City	25 (1) 75 (3) 10 (0) 59 (0)
National team2
2002–	Tunisia	41 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:26, 12 May 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 13 May 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Mehdi Nafti (Arabic: مهدي نافطي‎) (born November 28, 1978 in Toulouse) is a French-born Tunisian football player.

He was signed on loan by Birmingham City in the January transfer window of 2005 from Racing de Santander. Often referred to as "Nasty,"^[1] due to his fiery nature and tendency for cautions, he was primarily signed to replace the outgoing Robbie Savage, whose acrimonious departure infuriated Birmingham fans. Nafti finished the season strongly leading to many fans looking for a permanent acquisition. This happened in the closed season with Nafti signing a permanent deal with the club.

Nafti's 2005/6 season came to end before it had even begun, with a bad injury to his cruciate ligaments which people assumed would rule him out of contention for the blues until the 2006/2007 season. However, on the last day of the 2005/2006 season, Nafti surprised most Birmingham fans and made his return for the club against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok stadium. Although Birmingham were already relegated, this return came as some good news for all Blues fans as Nafti would go on to become a vital part of the team in 2006/2007 as they returned to the Premier League, at the first time of asking.

[edit] References

1. ^ Clarkson, Ian. "Football: I'm called nasty for a reason", Sunday Mercury, 2005-02-20. 

[edit] External links

• Mehdi Nafti career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Tunisia squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Boumnijel • 2 Essediri • 3 Haggui • 4 Yahia • 5 Jaziri • 6 Trabelsi • 7 Guemamdia • 8 Nafti • 9 Chikhaoui • 10 Ghodhbane • 11 Santos • 12 Mnari • 13 Bouazizi • 14 Chedli • 15 Jaïdi • 16 Nefzi • 17 Ben Saada • 18 Jemmali • 19 Ayari • 20 Namouchi • 21 Saidi • 22 Kasraoui • 23 Melliti • Coach: Lemerre