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Adel Sellimi
Adel Sellimi (Arabic: عَادِل السَّلِيمِيّ; born 16 November 1972) is a former Tunisian football striker and a current manager. CareerSellimi reportedly drew inspiration from the 1978 World Cup team who became the first African nation to win a World Cup match. He joined his first club at the age of 10, Club African of Tunis, and he stayed there for the next 14 years, picking up two Tunisian league titles and one Tunisia Cup along the way. Sellimi earned his first cap in September 1993 in a friendly against Germany. His performances during the 1996 African Cup of Nations finals in South Africa in which Tunisia reached the final, helped increase his profile there.[1] Sellimi scored in the semi-final against Zambia. Following a good overall appearance at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,[2] Sellimi was signed by French Ligue 1 club FC Nantes Atlantium,[3] However, his relocation to France marked the beginning of what was considered a 'dry spell.' Despite being christened "The Lung" by Nantes fans due to the distance he covered during matches,[citation needed] some thought that he didn't seem to settle in at his new team. In his debut season, he scored two goals in 30 games and failed to replicate the goal-scoring he had at home in Tunisia. Sellimi departed Nantes for Real Jaén in the Spanish second division (then known as LaLiga 2) in 1998. He regained his earlier form as he scored 32 goals in 48 games for Real Jaén. 2. Bundesliga side Freiburg brought Sellimi in 1999[1] and partnered the him with other Tunisian internationals, anchorman Zoubeir Baya and fellow striker Mehdi Benslimane. He took a while to find his earlier form, and many fans at Freiburg considered him a mistaken purchase during his first year. He gained promotion with Freiburg to the Bundesliga in 2000. He regained some of his goal-scoring prowess and headed the Bundesliga goal scoring list going into the winter break of 2000/01. A not-as-expected 2001 led to Sellimi missing out on the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali and several international friendlies after a fall-out with former national coach Henri Michel, but the Frenchman's replacement with Ammar Souayah coupled with the national team's so-called 'goal drought' brought about Sellimi's recall in hopes of him contributing more goals too the national team. The 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan turned out to be in what some would say as Adel Sellimi's 'swansong' in premier football competitions, and he retired from international football shortly after the tournament at the age of 31. He returned to Club Africain shortly afterwards. After retiring, Sellimi became a manager, working for several clubs in Tunisia and Qatar.[4] International goals
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