Noureddine Diwa

Noureddine Ben Yahmed (26 February 1937 – 20 April 2020),^[1] known as Noureddine Diwa, was a Tunisian professional footballer who represented Tunisia on 23 occasions. Diwa played as a striker.

Noureddine Diwa

Diwa wearing the jersey of the Tunisia national team
Personal information
Full name	Noureddine Ben Yahmed
Date of birth	(1937-02-26)26 February 1937
Place of birth	Tunis, Tunisia
Date of death	20 April 2020(2020-04-20) (aged 83)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Espérance
	Stade Tunisien
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1955–1962	Stade Tunisien	144	(96)
1962–1968	Limoges
1968–1970	Espérance
International career
1956–1969	Tunisia	23	(9)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Personal life and death

Diwa was born on 26 February 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia. His birth name was Noureddine Ben Yahmed.^[2] He was nicknamed Diwa as a distortion of the Tunisian Arabic word doua which means "dilettante spirit".^[3] The nickname was given to him by Stade Tunisien founder Hamadi Ben Salem.^[4] He was also nicknamed the Tunisian Kopa,^[1] and the French newspaper L'Équipe nicknamed him "Petit Kopa" (little Kopa), in reference to Real Madrid player Raymond Kopa.^[5] Diwa died on 20 April 2020 at the age of 83. He was buried the next day at the Jellaz Cemetery in Tunis.^[5]

Career

As a junior, Diwa played for the Espérance junior team, and later the Stade Tunisien junior team.^[6] He won the 1952 and 1953 junior league with Stade Tunisien.^[7] Between 1955 and 1962, Diwa played for the Stade Tunisien senior team for seven seasons, making 144 appearances and scoring 96 goals.^[8] He helped Stade Tunisien reach the Tunisian National Championship,^[1] scoring four goals in the promotion playoffs.^[3] He was part of the Stade Tunisien team that won the 1956–57 Tunisian National Championship,^[9][10] and the National Championships in 1960–61 and 1961–62.^[7] He also won four Tunisian Cups with Stade Tunisien,^[9] in 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962.^[7] Diwa scored in all four Tunisia Cups victories.^[11]

In 1957, he was interested in playing for French team Le Havre, but did not make the move.^[8][3] Diwa played for French Division 2 team Limoges between 1962 and 1968,^[2][8] making Diwa one of the first Tunisian players to play abroad.^[1] In 1963 he scored two goals for Limoges in their Coupe de France quarter final against Stade de Reims, a match they lost 4–3 after extra time.^[8]

In 1968, Diwa returned to Tunisia, to play for Espérance,^[2][8] and he played there for two seasons.^[12] During that time, he won the 1969–70 Tunisian National Championship,^[7] and was part of the Espérance team that lost the 1969 Tunisian Cup final to Club Africain.^[11]

Diwa made 23 appearances for Tunisia^[2] between 1956 and 1969.^[9] He also represented Tunisia at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.^[13] It was Tunisia's first appearance in the football event at the Olympics.^[6] He played in their group stage matches against Poland, Argentina and Denmark.^[8]

After retiring as a player, Diwa was a coach at AS Djerba in 1972, Espérance in 1974, CS Chebba from 1978 to 1980, and Stade Tunisien in 1981.^[9][11]

Honours

Stade Tunesien

• Tunisian National Championship: 1956–57,^[9] 1960–61,^[7] 1961–62^[7]
• Tunisian Cup: 1956, 1958, 1960, 1962^[7]

Espérance

• Tunisian National Championship: 1969–70^[7]
• Tunisian Cup: runner-up 1969^[11]