Mehdi Nafti

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Mehdi Nafti

Nafti in action for Birmingham in 2005
Personal information
Full nameMehdi Ben Sadok Nafti
Date of birth (1978-11-28) 28 November 1978
Place of birthToulouse, France
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current clubCádiz
Youth career
Toulouse
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1997–2000Toulouse25(1)
2000–2001Racing B21(0)
2000–2005Racing Santander110(3)
2005→ Birmingham City (loan)10(0)
2005–2009Birmingham City70(0)
2009–2011Aris34(4)
2011–2012Valladolid51(1)
2012–2013Murcia30(0)
2013–Cádiz13(0)
National team
2002–2010Tunisia44(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:42, 18 November 2013 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Mehdi Ben Sadok Nafti (Arabic: مهدي النفطي‎; born 28 November 1978) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays for Cádiz in Spain as a defensive midfielder.

During his professional career he played in four different countries in representation of five teams, namely Toulouse, Racing de Santander and Birmingham City.

Nafti gained 44 caps for Tunisia, representing the nation at the 2006 World Cup and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Club career

Born in Toulouse, France, Nafti made his professional debuts with hometown's Toulouse FC, 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 after one year of absence.

In the 2000 summer Nafti joined Racing de Santander in La Liga and, as in his previous club, started his stint appearing for the B-team. 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 Cantabrians in the following three years, whilst collecting 35 yellow cards and three red.

Nafti was signed on loan by Birmingham City in the last minutes of the January 2005 transfer window.[1] Often referred to as "Nasty"[2] due to his fiery nature and tendency for cautions, he was primarily signed to replace the outgoing Robbie Savage, and finished the season strongly for the Blues, which led to a permanent deal being agreed in the summer.[3]

Nafti's 2005–06 campaign came to end before it had even begun, with a severe injury to his cruciate ligaments in a friendly with Deportivo de La Coruña in early August 2005.[4] He recovered sooner than expected[5] and still appeared in the last matchday, a 0–1 loss at Bolton Wanderers,[6] 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 in August 2008, for the season's League Cup.[7] In June 2009, after Birmingham chose not to renew his contract,[8] he signed a two-year contract with Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in Greece.[9][10]

On 12 September 2009, Nafti scored the only goal of the home match against PAS Giannina F.C. to put Aris top of the Superleague Greece after three matches,[11] and finished his debut season with four goals in 22 games,[12] with the team finally ranking fifth.

During the January 2011 transfer window, 32-year-old Nafti left Aris and returned to Spain, signing a 18-month contract with Segunda División club Real Valladolid.[13]

International career

A Tunisian international 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, playing against Australia (2–0 win) and Germany (0–3 loss).

Nafti was selected for the squad that competed in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, appearing in all three games as Tunisia exited in the group stage.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Birmingham recruit Nafti on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
  2. ↑ Clarkson, Ian (20 February 2005). "Football: I'm called nasty for a reason". Sunday Mercury (Birmingham). Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Birmingham complete Nafti signing". BBC Sport. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Nafti set to miss entire season". BBC Sport. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Nafti continues comeback trail". BBC Sport. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Bolton 1–0 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
  7. ↑ "Wycombe 0–4 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2009. 
  8. ↑ "Squad rebuilding begins". Birmingham City. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Mehdi Nafti signed Aris FC". Aris FC. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
  10. ↑ Walker, Andy (10 June 2009). "Released Birmingham City player Nafti signs for Aris in Greece". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Win 1–0 over PAS Ioannina". Aris FC. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  12. ↑ "Στατιστικά Παικτών: ΑΡΗΣ" [Player statistics: ARIS] (in Greek). Superleague Greece. Retrieved 11 March 2011. 
  13. ↑ "El Real Valladolid ficha al medio centro Nafti" [Real Valladolid signs central midfielder Nafti] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011. 
  14. ↑ Mehdi Nafti – FIFA competition record

External links

Cádiz CF – current squad
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