Tijani Belaïd (; born 6 September 1987) is a 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...

club

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

. Born in France, he played for the Tunisia national team at international level.

Club career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, Belaïd started his career at

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

, close to his birthplace.

Inter Milan

In 2004, Belaïd signed for Inter Milan Primavera side. The first

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

appearance of Belaïd was in the last match of 2004–05 season, against

Reggina Calcio Associazione Sportiva Reggina 1914, commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. They play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo and are currently playing in the Serie D leagu ...

. In January 2007, Belaïd was loaned to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, but did not feature for the first team.

Slavia Prague

In the summer of 2007, Belaïd was sent on loan to

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

. With the Czech team he scored his first goal in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

on 19 September 2007. However, in October he was demoted to train with the club's 'B' team after disciplinary problems. Coach

Karel Jarolím Karel Jarolím (born 23 August 1956) is a Czech football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a midfielder, making 275 appearances in the Czechoslovak First League. and representing the Czechoslovakia national team internationall ...

stated: "I think he needs to think above all about his behaviour off the pitch, I don't like his attitude when he doesn't play or when he comes on as a substitute". A month later, Belaïd was taken back to the main squad. In January 2008, while preparing for the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

with the Tunisian national team, he was involved in a car crash, which resulted in the deaths of three people. He was kept in custody for several days, but was later cleared of any charges by the court. Belaïd finished the 2007–08 season with 15 league appearances for Slavia, in which he scored four goals. In July 2008, Slavia Prague used an option to buy him from Internazionale for undisclosed fee. Belaïd signed a three-year contract. In February 2010, he was trialed at

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

to finalize a possible loan, however the trial was unsuccessful, and he returned to Slavia Prague. In 2011, Belaïd was released by Slavia Prague, having made 49 league appearances and scored 11 goals during his permanent spell at the club.

Hull City

On 17 January 2011, Belaïd started a trial with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club Hull City and was strongly linked also with their Championship rivals

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. On 20 January 2010, it was confirmed that, subject to international clearance, Hull City had won the race to signing him, with him penning a deal until the end of the season, with an option of two more years, should the club want him to stay. The deal was confirmed a week later on 27 January, with the news that he would be available for the squad to play

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 29 January. Belaïd made his debut on 1 February 2011 coming off the bench as a replacement for

Aaron McLean Aaron McLean (born 25 May 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level he gained five caps for the England C team during his time in non-league. McLean began his senior career with Leyt ...

in the 2–2 draw against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

at the

KC Stadium The MKM Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingston upon Hull, England. It has a current capacity of 25,586. The stadium is home to both association football club Hull City A.F.C. of the EFL Championship and rugby league club Hull F.C. of ...

. On 10 May 2011, following the end of the 2010–11 season, it was confirmed by the club that Belaïd had been released from Hull City along with three other players, after making only eight appearances for the East Riding of Yorkshire club.

APOEL

On 31 August 2011, Belaïd signed a two-year contract with Cypriot champions and

contenders APOEL. He made his official debut on 15 October in a League game against

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

, coming on as a substitute early into the second half. On 19 November 2011, he scored his first goal for APOEL in a

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

match against

Ermis Aradippou Ermis Aradippou () is a Cypriot professional football club based in Aradippou, a settlement on the outskirts of the city of Larnaca. The club was formed in 1958, and currently plays in the Cypriot Third Division. Ermis' greatest success ca ...

, by scoring APOEL's second goal in a 2–0 home win. He made his debut in the

group stages with APOEL on 6 December 2011, after coming on as a substitute on 60th minute, in his side's 2–0 home loss from

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

for the final matchday of Group G. In January 2012, Belaid's contract was terminated by APOEL, leaving the club after four months.

Union Berlin

At the end of the January 2012 transfer window, Belaïd signed a six-month contract with German side Union Berlin. He remained with the German side until December when he was released. In January 2013, he signed for Moreirense F.C.

Club Africain

On 7 July 2014, Belaïd joined Tunisian side

Club Africain Club Africain (), known as CA for short, is a Tunisian professional football club based in Tunis. The club was founded in 1920 and its colours are red and white. Their home stadium, Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, has a capacity of 60,000 spectators. ...

, signing a two-year contract.

CS Sfaxien

After losing Moncer, Maâloul and Ajayi this summer,

CS Sfaxien Club Sportif Sfaxien (), known as CS Sfaxien or simply CSS for short, is a Tunisian football club based in Sfax. The club was founded in 1928 and its colours are black and white (Bianconero). Their home stadium, Taieb Mhiri Stadium, has a capac ...

begins to fill up. In this context, the club carried out a fine contract by signing Tijani Belaïd. The 28-year-old midfielder was free since leaving

, where he refused to renew his contract. After having passed his medical successfully, the Tunisian international is committed for a remarkable season. On 2 January 2017, he mutually solved his contract with the club.

Veria

On 17 January 2017,

Veria Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nor ...

officially announced the signing of Tijani Belaïd until the end of 2016-17 season for an undisclosed fee.

Sriwijaya

On 26 April 2017, Belaïd joined Sriwijaya on a one-year contract.

Alay Osh

In March 2021, Belaïd signed for

Kyrgyz Premier League The Kyrgyz Premier League () or OLIMPBET Premier League for Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes is the top division of professional football in Kyrgyzstan. It was created in 1992 after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. The league is comp ...

club Alay Osh.

International career

Belaïd was called up for the Tunisian under-17 team. In September 2005 he received his first and only call-up to France under-19 for a training camp. He received a call from the Tunisia national team, making his debut in 2006.

Personal life

Belaïd's brother Aymen is also a footballer.

Honours

* Coppa Italia Primavera: 2006 *

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

: 2007–08, 2008–09

References

External links