Ziad Jaziri

Ziad Jaziri (; born 12 July 1978) is a Tunisian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the sporting director of the Tunisian national team.

Club career Jaziri began his career at his hometown club, Étoile du Sahel, where he succeeded. He moved to Europe with Turkish club Gaziantepspor in the Süper Lig, then to France with Troyes in Ligue 1, before finishing his career at Kuwait SC.

International career He has 64 caps and 14 goals for the Tunisia national team, and was called up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where he played a key role in the qualification. He was also selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he scored the first goal for Tunisia in the first match against Saudi Arabia on 14 June 2006.

Jaziri was particularly decisive during the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations won by the Tunisian national team, notably by scoring the winning goal in the final against Morocco.

Post-retirement He held several responsibilities within his hometown club. In 2011, he became head of recruitment for Étoile du Sahel. In August 2012, he held the position of the head of the senior football team and technical advisor within the club. Later, he was appointed by Ridha Charfeddine as the team's sporting director, successfully recruiting players who contributed to achieving domestic and continental honours. He is currently the sporting director of the Tunisian national team.

Personal life Jaziri is married to the niece of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

On 14 July 2011, he was arrested with former Tunisian international Hatem Trabelsi and Club Africain player Oussama Sellami for questioning in a drug possession, consumption and trafficking affair.

He was sentenced to one year in prison. The national team players had worn jerseys bearing the message "In Solidarity with Ziad Jaziri" a few days earlier, at the end of a match during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. On 12 July 2012, he was released after serving his sentence.

Career statistics Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first.

Honours Étoile du Sahel CAF Cup: 1999 Kuwait SC Kuwait Premier League: 2007–08 Kuwait Crown Prince Cup: 2008 Tunisia Africa Cup of Nations: 2004