Yassine Chikhaoui

Yassine Chikhaoui (Arabic: يَاسِين الشَّيْخَاوِيّ; born 21 September 1986) is a former Tunisian professional footballer who last played as an attacking midfielder for Tunisian club Étoile du Sahel.

Yassine Chikhaoui

Chikhaoui with FC Zürich in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Yassine Chikhaoui[1]
Date of birth	(1986-09-21) 21 September 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Radès, Tunisia
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	ES Radès
	Ariana
2002–2004	Étoile du Sahel
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	Étoile du Sahel	84	(14)
2007–2015	FC Zürich	116	(28)
2015–2017	Al-Gharafa	14	(1)
2017	→ Al-Ahli (loan)	10	(2)
2017–2018	Al-Ahli	13	(4)
2018–2023	Étoile du Sahel	35	(8)
International career‡
2006–2021	Tunisia	42	(10)
Medal record Representing  Tunisia Men's football FIFA Arab Cup Runner-up 2021 Qatar
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 September 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:00, 14 February 2017 (EST)

Club career

Étoile du Sahel

Chikhaoui became captain of Étoile du Sahel at the age of 19. He was the youngest player to take up this role in the club.

He achieved a lot of success with Étoile du Sahel and won the CAF Champions League with them.

FC Zürich

Chikhaoui was signed by FC Zürich on a five-year contract on 23 May 2007.

During the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, it was reported that many clubs had scouts present to watch Chikhaoui play.^[3][4][5] Unfortunately, after impressing at the African Cup of Nations he was forced to take time out to get a recurring knee problem treated. On 26 April 2009, he completed his recovery by returning to play for the Zurich first team. Weeks later he cemented his comeback with a goal and contributed, as a late substitute, to helping his team win and stay top in the title race.

He was part of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup-winning team and afterwards signed a new three-year contract until 2017. In the 2014–2015 season, he was appointed as the club's captain.

Al-Gharafa

On 3 August 2015, Chikhaoui's transfer to Al-Gharafa Sports Club was announced.^[6]

International career

Chikhaoui was called up to the Tunisian national team to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the age of 19.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Chikhaoui goal.

List of international goals scored by Yassine Chikhaoui^[7]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 January 2008	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Zambia	1–2	1–2	Friendly
2	8 January 2008	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Zambia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	4 June 2008	Tamale Stadium, Tamale, Ghana	Cameroon	2–2	2–3	2008 Africa Cup of Nations
4	8 June 2013	Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia	Botswana	2–1	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5	19 November 2014	Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia	Egypt	1–1	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6	22 January 2015	Estadio de Ebibeyin, Ebibeyin, Equatorial Guinea	Zambia	1–1	2–1	2015 Africa Cup of Nations
7	12 June 2015	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Djibouti	1–0	8–1	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
8				2–0
9				3–0
10	17 November 2015	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Mauritania	2–1	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Étoile du Sahel

• Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2006–07

FC Zürich

• Swiss Super League: 2008–09

Individual

• Tunisian Footballer of the Year: 2014^[8]
• Swiss Super League Team of the Year: 2014–15^[9]

Personal life

Yassian is a practicing Muslim and was known to hold a prayer rug with him whenever he goes with the team