RFI
Ligue 1: Saîf-Eddine Khaoui, the Tunisian who wants to enter the light
In a long and dark tunnel of defeats, Marseille finally regained victory last Wednesday by beating Nice 3-2 in a late match of the 11th day of Ligue 1. Saîf-Eddine Khaoui, author of a double, now hopes to find a titular place with the Marseillais to finally come out of the shadows. Marseille is moving to Nantes this Saturday, February 20. “We took him out of the closet a little, he’s serious, hard-working, I’ve never seen him complain.” Against Nice, Wednesday, Saîf-Edinne Khaoui offered himself the spotlight of Ligue 1 by scoring a double when he was started for the first time this season. What made the joy of Nasser Larguet, the interim coach of OM. And Marseille supporters who despaired of seeing their club bogged down in defeats. Because OM are sixth in the standings, light years away from European places. Marseille, his favorite club “I am lucky to have had the confidence of the coach and that changes everything for a player. Tonight I returned him to the field and frankly thank you very much. (…) There, I am going to savor with my family, my friends, my wife, it’s incredible. Since the time that I expected that in this club … It has been my favorite club since childhood, it’s incredible, it’s crazy, ”explained the Carthage Eagle at a press conference. Loaned to Troyes and Caen in recent years, the striker, with a slender physique (1.82m, 68 kg), arrived in Marseille in 2016, has never had his chance this season under the orders of André Villas-Boas, who used the attacking midfielder as a left side to help out. The 25-year-old left-hander is applying for a place in the Marseille starting lineup on Saturday in Nantes. accelerator. At the time, the Parisian by birth, passed through the Clairefontaine training center, also trained in Franconville in the Paris region, left Tours FC, a club with which he had his first as a professional. Marco Simone, his trainer in Tours, saw him quickly succeed in Ligue 1 and did not hesitate to announce in the columns of The New Republic that he could become the new Ben Arfa. A hell of a left foot “He crowned left foot, specific. In addition, he is a very skilful player in front of goal, an excellent setter, ”said Gilbert Zoonekynd, director of the Tours FC training center. And to procrastinate: “I could see him leaving for Ligue 1 or abroad. But not at OM. There, I am surprised. Because the Marseille context, especially at the moment, is not easy for a young player from whom we will be asking a lot, I imagine. “” It’s a milestone for me, I hope to get there this season or in the years to come, “said Saîf-Eddine Khaoui in July 2016, after scoring his first goal for his first appearance in the Olympian colors. against Lausanne. “I don’t have a specific objective, but I will give the best of myself”, assured Saîf-Eddine Khaoui in the daily La Provence. Today, time is running out for those who have not had the chance to participate in CAN 2019 in Egypt due to injury. For the Franco-Tunisian, who greatly thrilled the statistics among young people, it is no longer a question of being a simple beacon in the night.
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