Full name Mehdi Ben Sadok Nafti 1997–2000 Toulouse Weight 77 kg Place of birth Toulouse, France Name Mehdi Nafti Position Midfielder | Role Footballer Date joined 2005 Years Team Height 1.78 m | |
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Date of birth (1978-11-28) 28 November 1978 (age 37) Similar People Radhi Jaidi, Jawhar Mnari, Karim Haggui, Francileudo Santos, Ali Boumnijel | ||
Playing position | ||
Mehdi Ben Sadok Nafti (Arabic: مهدي النفطي; born 28 November 1978) is a Tunisian professional football manager, and retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
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During his professional career he played in four countries in representation of seven teams, including 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 debut with his hometown club, Toulouse FC. He was used sparingly during a three-year spell, and also played several games with the reserves. His best season was 1999–2000, as he appeared in 13 games and scored once 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 final minutes of the January 2005 transfer window. Often referred to as "Nasty" 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.
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. He recovered sooner than expected and still appeared in the last matchday, a 1–0 loss at Bolton Wanderers, 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 August 2008, in a 4–0 win against Wycombe Wanderers in the 2008–09 League Cup. In June 2009, after Birmingham chose not to renew his contract, he signed a two-year contract with Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.
On 12 September 2009, Nafti scored the only goal of the home match against PAS Giannina to put Aris top of the Superleague Greece after three matches, and finished his debut season with four goals in 22 league games, with the team ranking fifth.
During the January 2011 transfer window, the 32-year-old Nafti left Aris and returned to Spain, signing an 18-month contract with Segunda División club Real Valladolid. He spent the 2012–13 season with Real Murcia, helping them avoid relegation from the second tier, and had considered retiring from the game before dropping down a division to sign for Cádiz. He established himself in the team, but was troubled by injury, and after Cádiz signed midfielder Jon Ander Garrido in the January 2014 transfer window, Nafti's contract was cancelled.
Managerial career
On 10 June 2016, Nafti was given his first managerial job, at Segunda División B club Marbella, despite not possessing the licence required to manage at that level. After a series of poor results, Nafti was fired on 7 March 2017. On 27 June 2017, he was hired at Mérida in the same division.
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.