Ali Boumnijel ( ar, علي بومنيجل, born 13 April 1966) is a Tunisian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He works for

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

as assistant coach. At international level, he played for the Tunisian national team.

Personal life

Born in Menzel Jemil, Boumnijel holds Tunisian and French nationalities.

Club career

He began his career in FC Gueugnon in France, however without playing any games. His first game as a professional footballer came on 20 October 1991 for

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), commonly known as AS Nancy Lorraine, or simply Nancy, is a French association football club founded in 1967 in Nancy, Grand Est and located in Tomblaine, in the inner suburbs of Nancy. The club currently ...

in a 1–3 loss to

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

. Afterwards he returned to his previous team, where he played five seasons, until changing to

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...

. He played for Bastia for six years, and then one season at

FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy. The club was formed in 1899 and currently plays in Championnat National 2, the fourth level of French foot ...

. In 2004, he moved back to Tunisia to play for Club Africain.

International career

In the national team he debuted on 27 November 1991 against Côte d'Ivoire. Having established himself as a competitive goalkeeper he went on to play for Tunisia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup,

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

and

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. Boumnijel was Tunisia's first choice goalkeeper, and played at the

2004 African Nations Cup The 2004 African Cup of Nations, known as the NOKIA African Cup of Nations, Tunisia 2004 for sponsorship reasons (also referred to as AFCON 2004 or CAN 2004) is the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's footb ...

where the Tunisia team won. In the semifinals he saved a crucial penalty from

Peter Odemwingie Peter Osaze Odemwingie (born 15 July 1981) is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. Odemwingie grew up in Uzbekistan and Russia and began his career with Bendel Insurance in the Nigeria Premier League. ...

to help Tunisia beat

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in a penalty shootout. Aged 40, he was the oldest player at the

, Boumnijel has been praised for his great leadership and goalkeeping skills during the World Cup.

Honours

Tunisia * Africa Cup of Nations: 2004 He concede a goal from Kamel ZAIM in the final of the cup w howa yetfarej.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boumnijel, Ali 1966 births Living people People from Bizerte Governorate Men's association football goalkeepers Tunisian men's footballers People with acquired French citizenship French men's footballers Tunisian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in France Tunisia men's international footballers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players AS Nancy Lorraine players FC Gueugnon players SC Bastia players FC Rouen players Club Africain players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1994 African Cup of Nations players 1998 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players Tunisian football managers Étoile Sportive du Sahel managers Tunisian expatriate football managers Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in China Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar