Karim Saïdi ( ar, كريم سعيدي; born 24 March 1983) is a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n former

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 last played for

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

club Lierse SK. He now runs a coffee shop in Tunisia. He was part of the squad that won the

2004 African Cup of Nations 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 foo ...

Club career

Club Africain

When Karim was 10 years old he joined Club Africain, one of the major clubs in Tunisia. He made his debut in the Tunisian national team against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

in 2003.

Feyenoord

In 2004 the right-footed defender moved to Feyenoord Rotterdam after advice from his friend

Hatem Trabelsi Hatem Trabelsi ( ar, حاتم الطرابلسي, Ḥātem Ṭrabelsī; born 25 January 1977) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a right-back for CS Sfaxien, Ajax, Manchester City and Al-Hilal Riyadh. At international le ...

and signed a contract till 2008. During his first season he was the first choice in

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...

's central defense, as a result of which he played 30 matches in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

Lecce

As of 2005/06, Saïdi lost his spot in the starting eleven. Determined to play as a regular in order to increase his chances to be in the Tunisian squad during the FIFA World Cup 2006, he moved on loan to

US Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

of Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

on January 31, 2006. He made 9 appearances with Lecce and gained a place in the Tunisian squad for the FIFA World Cup 2006.

Feyenoord return and Sivasspor

Following the World Cup, Karim returned to Feyenoord for the 2006/2007 season. He remained at the club until January 2008, when he moved on loan to Sivasspor in January 2008. Karim made a good impression in the Turkish first division helping the club secure an impressive fourth place allowing it to participate in its first ever European cup.

Return to Club Africain

On October 9, 2008 he signed a four-year contract with his former club Club Africain.

Tour FC

Failing to reassert himself in his childhood club, he signed a two-year deal with

Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play at the fifth level of French ...

in June 2009.

Lierse SK

On July 9, 2011 Saidi signed a two-year contract with

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 tea ...

outfit Lierse SK. In January 2015, Saidi went on trial with

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...

side

FC Irtysh Pavlodar FC Irtysh Pavlodar ( kk, Ертіс Футбол Клубы, ''Ertis Fýtbol Klýby'') was a Kazakh professional football club based at the Central Stadium in Pavlodar. Irtysh won the Kazakhstan Premier league in 1993 (as ''Ansat''), 1997, 19 ...

, but did not earn a contract.

Honours

Tunisia * Africa Cup of Nations: 2004

References

External links

*
Career stats
- Voetbal International {{DEFAULTSORT:Saidi, Karim 1983 births Living people Tunisian footballers Feyenoord players U.S. Lecce players Sivasspor footballers Eredivisie players Club Africain players Tours FC players Lierse S.K. players Tunisia international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players Tunisian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Italy Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Turkey Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Serie A players Süper Lig players Ligue 2 players Belgian First Division A players Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Belgium Sportspeople from Tunis Association football defenders