The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Tunisia

This page contains a list of the greatest Tunisian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 66 of which were born in Tunisia. This makes Tunisia the birth place of the 48th most number of Soccer Players behind Slovenia, and Ireland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Tunisian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Tunisian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Tunisian Soccer Players.

1. Sadok Sassi (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 51.50, Sadok Sassi is the most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Sadok Sassi (Arabic: الصادق ساسي), nicknamed "Attouga" (born 15 November 1945 in Tunis) is a Tunisian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Club Africain and the Tunisia national team. He played both matches for the Tunisia national team at the 1963 African Cup of Nations. In a sixteen-years career, Sassi earned an impressive five league titles, eight cups, including three for Tunisia and the Maghreb. In 1972, he was goalkeeper for the African team at the mini-World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The national team's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for many years, he missed Tunisia's first World Cup appearance in 1978 through injury, and was replaced by Mokhtar Naili. Sassi earned a total of 116 international caps; however, only 87 matches were considered as A-international by FIFA. He was awarded the African Football's Silver Order of Merit by CAF. After retiring he has worked as a General Manager for Club Africain.

2. Abdelmajid Chetali (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 50.09, Abdelmajid Chetali is the 2nd most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Abdelmajid Al-Chetali (Arabic: عبد المجيد الشتالي; born 4 July 1939) is a Tunisian football coach and former player who played 70 games with the national team and scored four goals. He also participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He is considered one of the characters who shaped and prolonged the legend of the Étoile Sportive du Sahel (nicknamed Majda). He received only one yellow card during his career. As a manager, he led them in their first ever World Cup appearance in 1978, where Tunisia became the first African team to win a World Cup match, beating Mexico 3–1, and making FIFA increase the number of World Cup slots in the African continent from one to two. During his managerial career, he was in charge of two national teams: the Tunisian and Bahraini national football teams. He also managed his home club Étoile du Sahel and achieved good results with it.

3. Mohamed Akid (1949 - 1979)

With an HPI of 48.30, Mohamed Akid is the 3rd most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Mohamed Ali Akid (5 July 1949 – 11 April 1979) was a Tunisian football forward who played for the Tunisia national team. He was part of the Tunisian squad that participated in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Akid also played for CS Sfaxien and Al-Riyadh. The official version was that Akid was struck by lightning during a training session at his Saudi Arabian club Al-Riyadh on 11 April 1979. The circumstances surrounding the death have fuelled a controversy between his surviving family and the authorities. After revolution, his family has requested for an autopsy to determine the cause of his death. The autopsy on 18 July 2012 confirmed the presence of two shots in his body and the son of Akid confirmed the implication of the Crown prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

4. Tarak Dhiab (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 47.50, Tarak Dhiab is the 4th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Tarak Dhiab (Arabic: طارق ذياب, born January 15, 1954) is a former professional footballer from Tunisia. The African Footballer of the Year in 1977, he is listed by the Tunisian Football Federation as having 107 caps for the Tunisia national team, although this number has not been ratified by FIFA. At the 1978 FIFA World Cup, he was a member of the Tunisia national team that became the first national team from Africa to win a World Cup match. Dhiab was chosen as the Tunisian footballer of the 20th century. He has served as Minister of Youth and Sports under Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali since December 24, 2011.

5. Mokhtar Hasni (1952 - 2024)

With an HPI of 47.42, Mokhtar Hasni is the 5th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Moktar Hasni (19 March 1952 – 21 January 2024) was a Tunisian professional footballer who played as a forward during his club career and for the Tunisia national team. He was part of the Tunisian team at the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

6. Ziad Tlemçani (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 47.16, Ziad Tlemçani is the 6th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Hamed Ziad Tlemçani (Arabic: زياد التلمساني, born 10 May 1963) is a retired Tunisian footballer who played for Espérance in Tunisia, Vitória S.C. in Portugal and Vissel Kobe in Japan. He was also a member of the Tunisia national team and scored 2 goals at the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso.

7. Hatem Trabelsi (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 46.82, Hatem Trabelsi is the 7th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Hatem Trabelsi (Arabic: حاتم الطرابلسي, romanized: Ḥātem Ṭrabelsī; born 25 January 1977) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a right-back for CS Sfaxien, Ajax and Manchester City At international level, he played for the Tunisia national team in three World Cups, gaining a total of 66 caps before retiring from international football in 2006.

8. Nabil Maâloul (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 45.95, Nabil Maâloul is the 8th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Nabil Maâloul (Arabic: نَبِيْل مَعْلُول; born 25 December 1962) is a Tunisian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder for the Tunisia national team. Maâloul was capped 74 times for his country, and participated in 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He spent most of his playing career with his home club, Espérance de Tunis and won it a historic treble as a coach in 2011 (league, cup and CAF Champions League). During his managerial career, he was in charge of three national teams: Tunisia, Kuwait, and Syria, but he also managed clubs in Tunisia and Qatar.

9. Témime Lahzami (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 44.63, Témime Lahzami is the 9th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Témime Ben Abdallah (born 1 January 1949 in Hammam-Lif), commonly known as Témime Lahzami, is a former Tunisian football winger. He was the captain of Tunisia's 1978 World Cup campaign. He was capped 69 times for Tunisia.

10. Ali Boumnijel (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 44.48, Ali Boumnijel is the 10th most famous Tunisian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ali Boumnijel (Arabic: علي بومنيجل, born 13 April 1966) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper at the international level for the Tunisia national team. He works for Sochaux as assistant coach.

People

Pantheon has 79 people classified as Tunisian soccer players born between 1939 and 1999. Of these 79, 75 (94.94%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Tunisian soccer players include Sadok Sassi, Abdelmajid Chetali, and Tarak Dhiab. The most famous deceased Tunisian soccer players include Mohamed Akid, Mokhtar Hasni, and Mohamed Ben Rehaiem. As of April 2024, 13 new Tunisian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Mokhtar Hasni, Témime Lahzami, and Néjib Ghommidh.