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Familiar Faces, Different Places

June 30th, 2008 | By: Rami | 8 Comments »

Partizaiem Kamel Zaiem was introduced to the media in Belgrade today alongside another new Partizan signing, Aleksis Ngambi from Cameroon (more pictures here). My Serbian is really bad (non existent is the term I’m looking for) so forgive me if I don’t have much information about what was said and how he was received. He’ll keep wearing number 23, that’s about all I figured out.

What I can tell you from an interview I read a few weeks ago is that one of the main reasons Kamel chose the club is because they are qualified for Champions League and he’s dreamed of taking part in that competition for his entire life. Certainly as good a reason as any for a footballer with ambition.

He also expressed his undying love for Taraji and their fans. Despite being one of their most talented players, some of them have criticized him in the past and I don’t even know why or what their justification was (maybe you do? if so please enlighten me). He’s contributed a lot to the team that took a chance on him when he was just a 17 year old in Ariana. 27 goals in 133 games don’t fly off the page but when you consider he’s a midfielder, it’s a much more impressive statistic. Plus it doesn’t take into consideration the countless goals he’s helped set up with his crosses and impeccably placed free kicks.

In the interview I read, he does mention how things weren’t so perfect financially at Esperance because he signed a contract that had no performance incentives (as in a bonus for a certain number of goals etc.). Most contracts have that nowadays and he was just getting a salary. I’m not one to feel bad for people who get paid to play a sport (I’m just really jealous of them) but I applaud his honesty. It’s worth noting he didn’t volunteer this information, the interviewer had to ask a lot of prodding questions to get him to the point of even touching on his financial situation.

That’s all a thing of the past now though as he’s got a new club, a new country & culture, and a new wife (much to the dismay of many of his female admirers in Tunisia). Apparently there’s already some buzz about him amongst the Partizan faithful who are just as attentive to soccer highlights as I am. Below is a video with all of his goals when he was at Esperance. In the comments section of this particular video it’s almost exclusively well wishing Partizan supporters welcoming him. Someone even went as far as to upload his CV (who knew he liked Sudoku?).

If he scores goals like the ones we see in the video, it’ll take no time for them to adopt him as one of their own. The club has an absolutely crazy history and one of the biggest rivalries in Europe with Red Star Belgrade. If you don’t believe me, just watch The Balkans edition of The Real Football Factories.

In Other News

Kamel wasn’t the only one getting unveiled today. Majdi Traoui and Anis Boussaidi were also introduced in Austria where they joined their first training session at Red Bull Salzburg. Gotta say it must be nice for Majdi to have Anis, someone who has lived in Europe, by his side when he’s far away from home for the first time. Should make the integration that much smoother. I’m especially interested to see how if Traoui can seal a starting place with a quickness. He has plenty of ability and I think his versatility will make him a valuable asset.

Update

Found the match highlights for the cup Semifinal between Esperance and Gafsa. They’ve been embedded in the previous post.

Tags: Anis Boussaidi, Esperance Sportive de Tunis, ESS, EST, Etoile Sportive du Sahel, Group H, Kamel Zaiem, Majdi Traoui, Partizan, Partizan Belgrade, Red Bull Salzburg

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Comments

By thamer | June 30th, 2008 at 10:53 pm

great article rami. zaiem is my favorite player and ive been checking the paritzan site every day for the past week to see if he had been unvield yet. thanks for the update

Posted from United States

By Abdullah | July 1st, 2008 at 2:50 am

So i hear the transfer market has opened today?
Do you have more news about (possible)transfers from tunis, if so i would really like to hear about it, even if its still a speculation :P.

Nice article, and keep up the good work!

Posted from Netherlands

By Moni | July 1st, 2008 at 5:10 am

I’m not impressed by his style of play, And I understand his critics , Find Karim Nafti far much better as a play maker.
Over the last years Esperance always had Mediumcore players, like Zaim.
I rate players like Khaled Melliti and Nour Hadria much more better.
But melliti had that injury you talked about, that ruined him , als Bertrand Marchand, that have not giving him playing time , they forget this incredebil player. Nour Hadria showed us at the U-17 what he is worth.

Its funny to see Ahmed Hammi at esperance and even EST wanted Boejelbene surprised me. There glory times are over since the JAIDI-BADRA axxe.

Posted from Netherlands

By Momo | July 1st, 2008 at 7:46 am

Kamel Zaiem has never reached the expectations Esperance thought he will reach. And I think that’s why they did not bother renewing his contract. I don’t know if he’s unlucky or if that’s just what he got. I think his move to Partizan was his best solution, maybe he’ll be able to turn things around for the better.

By Rami | July 1st, 2008 at 8:32 am

No doubt Thamer, I remember you saying how much you liked him so I knew that you’d enjoy the pictures/article/video. some of those goals are ridiculous. his “frappe de balle” is right up there with the best players we have. I’m really looking forward to seeing him play. I think they have a friendly against Lyon coming up mid or end of July. If I find it I’ll show you where you can download it.

Abdullah, I’ll do my best to update or at least point you in the right direction for sure. Glad you’re into this transfer gossip. On that note, it look like Abdi’s signing for EST is less likely to happen:

http://www.infosfoot.net/fr/articles/article.php?id_article=128

Moni and Momo, I like Nafti and Hadhria more as players myself (more creative) but I don’t think Zaiem is mediocre. He may not have progressed or become as technical a player as they anticipated but its hard to argue with his strikes and crosses from distance. I think he has potential to progress further if he can impose himself in the Partizan midfield. I think what hurt him over the last years is that Esperance stopped being as dominant as before. With the fans upset about the results, they start to complain about the players at their disposal. No one is immune to that, Zaiem included.

Posted from United States

By Achraf | July 1st, 2008 at 9:25 am

I as well enjoy watching kamel zaim play even thought I am not a EST fan. He has a great strike from 20 yards out and controls the midfield pretty well. I know he will improve dramatically playing in the champions league against the biggest stars in Europe.
I am happy it is July 1, so now we will see how Lemerre makes Morroco worse. There was an article on infosfoot takeing about Lemerres start for Morroco, which reminded me.

Posted from United States

By Steve | July 1st, 2008 at 9:45 am

I hope he enjoys training in -20C temperatures.

bring a parka homey

By Rami | July 1st, 2008 at 9:53 am

Hahaha, I’m sure he packed some warm clothes. Most Tunisians are pretty scared of the cold!

Achraf, I saw that article too. He’s not our problem anymore which is amazing. Coelho arrives tomorrow. I wonder where he settled on living… Gammarth like Lemerre maybe?

BTW, I updated the previous post on the second Tunisian cup semifinal between Esperance and Gafsa. Highlights have been embedded so if you didn’t see the goals here’s your chance. Eneramo’s first one is pretty dope.

Posted from United States

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