Adel Sellimi

Adel Sellimi (Arabic: عادل السليمي; born 16 November 1972) is a Tunisian former football player and current manager.

Adel Sellimi

Personal information
Date of birth	(1972-11-16) 16 November 1972
Place of birth	Tunis, Tunisia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1982–1990	Club Africain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1996	Club Africain	144	(61)
1996–1998	Nantes	40	(2)
1998–1999	Real Jaén	48	(32)
1999–2002	Freiburg	108	(27)
2002–2003	Club Africain	51	(29)
2003–2004	Baniyas
International career‡
1992–2002	Tunisia	80	(20)
Managerial career
2010	Club Africain (assistant)
2010–2011	AS Gabès
2012–2013	Tunisia (assistant)
2013–2014	AS Marsa
2018	Al-Markhiya SC
2018	Al-Khor SC
2019–	Tunisia (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 February 2008 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 April 2007

He drew inspiration from the 1978 World Cup team who became the first African nation to win a World Cup match. At the age of 10, he joined his first club, Club Africain of Tunis, and he stayed there for the next 14 years, picking up two Tunisian league titles and one Tunisia Cup along the way.

He earned his first cap in September 1993, during a match against Germany.

Tunisians grew to appreciate his discretion in life outside football as a modest and determined professional. On the pitch, he distinguished himself at the international level during the 1996 African Cup of Nations finals in South Africa as one of the best players of the tournament. Sellimi became a household name throughout the country, a skillful and talented bright spark who carried the team to the final of the tournament for only the second time in their history. Sellimi struck twice in the semi-final against Zambia and was widely considered one of the best players in the tournament.

Following another impressive performance at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta., the player was signed by French Ligue 1 club FC Nantes Atlantique, However, his relocation to France marked the beginning of a long dry spell. Despite being christened "The Lung" by Nantes fans due to the distance he covered during matches, he never truly settled in at his new team. In his debut season, he scored two goals in 30 games and failed to replicate the success he had at home in Tunisia. Sellimi departed Nantes for Real Jaén in the Spanish second level after another unsuccessful season in 1997/98. With his new team, he played first-class matches and mastered his form. His talents and efforts earned him a call-up to the 1998 World Cup squad, where he flashed decent performances against England and Romania.

2. Bundesliga side Freiburg took a gamble on Sellimi and partnered the player with other Tunisian internationals, anchorman Zoubeir Baya and fellow striker Mehdi Benslimane. He took a long time to find his true form, and many at Freiburg considered him a mistaken purchase during his first year. However, he proved his detractors wrong in the best possible way in the 1999/2000 season. Sellimi just could not stop scoring goals and even headed the Bundesliga goal scoring list going into the winter break.

A disappointing 2001 led to Sellimi missing out on the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali and several international friendlies after a fall-out with former national coach Henri Michel. But the Frenchman's replacement with Ammar Souayah coupled with the national team's goal drought brought about Sellimi's recall. The 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan turned out to be Adel Sellimi's swansong in premier football competitions, and he retired from international football shortly after the tournament at the age of 31. He returned to Club Africain shortly afterwards.

After retiring, Sellimi became a manager, working in Tunisia and Qatar.

International goals

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

List of international goals scored by Adel Sellimi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 October 1992	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Benin	5–1	5–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
2	20 August 1993	Stade Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	1–2	Friendly
3	26 July 1994	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Tanzania	1–0	2–0	Friendly
4				2–0
5	15 July 1995	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Senegal	3–0	4–0	1996 African Cup of Nations qualification
6	31 January 1996	Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa	Zambia	1–0	4–2	1996 African Cup of Nations
7				4–1
8	2 June 1996	Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali, Rwanda	Rwanda	1–0	3–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
9				2–0
10	16 June 1996	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Rwanda	2–0	2–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
11	27 April 1997	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Liberia	1–0	2–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
12	25 February 1998	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Russia	1–2	2–3	Friendly
13	19 May 1998	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Kenya	2–0	2–0	Friendly
14	3 June 1998	Parc des Sports, Avignon, France	Iceland	1–0	3–1	Friendly
15				3–0
16	24 January 1999	Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Alger, Algeria	Algeria	1–0	1–0	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
17	10 April 1999	National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda	Uganda	2–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
18	23 January 2000	National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Nigeria	2–4	2–4	2000 African Cup of Nations
19	10 May 2002	Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia	Saudi Arabia	1–0	2–1	Friendly
20	20 May 2002	Iwate Athletic Stadium, Morioka, Japan	Malaysia	4–1	4–3	Friendly

External links

• Adel Sellimi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Adel Sellimi at Olympedia