Youssef Msakni.. captain of the Tunisian national team | Encyclopedia

The captain of the Tunisian football team, an attacking player who occupies the midfield and often prefers the left wing. He started his football career at an early age, which allowed him to develop his technical abilities and individual skills in dribbling and assisting. his followers and fans call him “The Skunk”.

Birth and upbringing

Youssef Msakni was born on October 28, 1990 in the city of Bardo, west of the capital of Tunis, from a distinguished sports family, where his father, Al-Mundhir Msakni, played in the most prestigious Tunisian clubs such as the Tunisian Sports Club, the Tunisian Olympic Transport and the Tunisian stadium, while playing in the Tunisian national team.

His older brother Ihab Msakni, a player for Etoile Sportive Sahili, and his younger brother Aziz Msakni, a player for Etoile Metlaoui, both play in the Tunisian Football League.

Study and formation

Youssef Al-Masakni received his primary and secondary education in the schools of Bardo, his hometown, but his passion and passion for football prompted him to leave school at the age of 17 to devote himself to pursuing his hobby and developing his talents.

His father discovered his talent for football at an early age, so he helped him develop his skills and develop his abilities, then he joined the Tunisian team Baraem Stadium (one of the teams in the capital city of Tunisia), where he shone extraordinarily.

football career

Youssef Msakni participated in the Junior Cup organized by South Korea in 2007, and it was a turning point in the career of a young player who, during this tournament, contributed to the actual placement of the Tunisian national team in the round of 16, but luck did not help him to shine even more after the Tunisian defeat national team from France.

During this session, Msakni managed to attract the attention of many clubs, at the age of 17, which gave him the opportunity to join the Emirati team, Al-Ahly Dubai, for a few months, which ended with his return to Tunisia in 2008 and signing contract with the Tunisian sports team Esperance for a period of 5 years, making his dream come true to play for one of the oldest Tunisian teams.

On July 26, 2009, he played the first match for Akaber Esperance at the opening of the Tunisian championship, thus joining his team with the Olympic team, and in November 2011, Msakni won the African Champions League with Tunisian sports. to the Esperance team after contributing to the victory over the Moroccan Wydad Casablanca.

In 2012, he played in the final of the African Club Championship, but was unlucky to make it to the second straight after his team was defeated by Egypt’s Al-Ahly.

Playing for Esperance Sportive de Tunis allowed him to reach the podium in the Tunisian championship in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The year 2011 is considered a turning point in Youssef Msakni’s career, because he achieved a historic achievement by winning the Tunisian championship, the Tunisian Cup, and then the African Champions League. At the end, he was also crowned the top scorer of the Tunisian championship. season 2012 with 17 goals.

with the Tunisian national team

In 2010, Tunisian coach Faouzi Benzarti invited him to play with the national team in a match that paired him with Nazir Al Gambi, which was his first game in the national team jersey.

On February 25, 2011, he won the African Cup for the home team, after Tunisia defeated the Angolan national team in the final.

Msakni played a key role in the selection of the Tunisian national team for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but injury prevented him from supporting the Carthage Eagles, but he was able to participate in the Arab Cup held in Qatar in 2021 and was able to reach the final round and settle for second place against the Algerian team that won the Arab title.

Tunisia qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in which Msakni played a major role, and then had the opportunity to play in the World Cup again and compete with the world’s most prominent football stars.

Professional experience

In January 2013, he moved to Qatari club Lekhwiya in a deal worth around 15 million dollars, becoming one of the most expensive in the history of professional Tunisian and Arab players.

For Lekhwiya – which later merged with Al-Jaish Club to form Al-Duhail Club – he played 119 games, scoring 73 goals, to become the Qatari club’s all-time top scorer and win 5 titles in his ranks.

With Qatari team Lekhwiya, Msakni won the league title in 2014 and 2015, the Qatar Emir’s Cup in 2013 and 2015 and the Qatar Super Cup in 2015.

In 2019, the Qatari club decided to allow Msakni to become a professional in Europe by loaning him to the Belgian Club Open Cup, which is owned by the Qatari Aspire Academy. However, that experience did not last long, because he did not adapt to the atmosphere of the Belgian club and was satisfied with playing 7 matches in which he scored one goal.

In January 2021, Al-Masakni moved to Al-Arabi Club, one of the oldest Qatari clubs, on a season-long loan for two million euros due to the large number of foreign players in Al-Duhail Club, and despite numerous injuries, Al-Masakni achieved good performances with Al-Arabi and became the leading team and contributed He was removed from the bottom of the league table.

In 2018, Youssef Msakni was included in the list of the 500 best players in the world prepared by “Word Soccer”, specialized in football, and is the only Tunisian on this list, which includes 11 players from Morocco and 4 players from Egypt, including Liverpool player Mohamed Salah. In addition to two players from Algeria and Syria and more than 20 players from Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, Argentina and Italy.