Mehdi Taouil

Mehdi Taouil (Arabic: مهدي طويل) (born 20 May 1983) is a former football player who played as an attacking midfielder, lastly for Azerbaijan Premier League side AZAL. Born in France, he represented Morocco at international level.

Mehdi Taouil
Taouil playing for Kilmarnock
Personal information
Full name Mehdi Taouil
Date of birth (1983-05-20) 20 May 1983
Place of birth Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2003 Nancy 8 (0)
2003–2005 1. FC Nürnberg 6 (0)
2005–2007 Montpellier 48 (3)
2007–2011 Kilmarnock 107 (5)
2011–2013 Heart of Midlothian 55 (2)
2013–2016 Sivasspor 73 (3)
2017 AZAL 5 (0)
International career‡
2004 Morocco 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 April 2017
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 February 2010

Personal

Taouil was born in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, Île-de-France to a Moroccan father and an Algerian mother.[1]

Club career

During the early stages of his career he played for Nancy and 1. FC Nürnberg but was limited to only infrequent games.

Montpellier

Taouil played for Montpellier in Ligue 2, joining the club on a two-year contract in June 2005, before being released at the end of the 2006/07 season. During his time there he made 48 league appearances scoring three goals.

Kilmarnock

He then signed a one-year deal at Scottish side Kilmarnock in October 2007.[2] On his Kilmarnock debut he was warmly greeted by the fans in a 1–0 loss to Motherwell and was voted as Kilmarnock's Man of the Match. He scored his first goal in the game against Hibernian on 26 December 2007 at Rugby Park, which ended in a 2–1 victory for the Ayrshire side.

Taouil was linked with a transfer to SPL rivals Hearts, but in July 2008 he signed a three-year deal with Kilmarnock.[3] Following the release of Gary Wales, Taouil was given the number 10 shirt for the new season.

In all he made 118 appearances in all competitions scoring 7 goals for Kilmarnock.[4]

Hearts

Despite turning Hearts down in 2008 they again made approaches to sign him when he became a free agent in the summer of 2011 after his three-year contract with Kilmarnock came to an end.[5]

On Tuesday 14 June 2011, Taouil signed for Hearts on a three-year contract.[6] He opted to sign for the Gorgie outfit despite interest from the continent and team up with his former Kilmarnock boss Jim Jefferies.[7] Making his debut against Rangers at Ibrox on 23 July.[8] He scored his first goal for the club on 3 December, with a consolation goal in their 2–1 defeat to St Johnstone.[9] He played as a substitute when Hearts won the 2012 Scottish Cup Final.[10]

Taouil left Hearts in May 2013.[11]

Sivasspor

Mehdi Taouil signed a contract with Turkish Süper Lig side Sivasspor for the 2013/14 season.

AZAL

On 16 February 2017, Taouil signed for Azerbaijan Premier League side AZAL until the end of the 2016–17 season.[12]

International career

Taouil was part of the Moroccan national football team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Taouil played in all three games as the team exited in the first round, finishing third in Group D behind Iraq and Costa Rica.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 15 April 2017[4][13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kilmarnock 2007–08[14] Scottish Premier League 2220000--222
2008–09[15] 3431131--385
2009–10[16] 2702020--310
2010–11[17] 2401020--270
Total 10754171----1187
Heart of Midlothian 2011–12[18] Scottish Premier League 242401010-302
2012–13[19] 310104020-380
Total 552505030--682
Sivasspor 2013–14[20] Süper Lig 28080---360
2014–15[21] 293100---393
2015–16[22] 16010---170
Total 733190------923
AZAL 2016–17 Azerbaijan Premier League 5000–––50
Career total 2401028112130--28312

References
  1. Mehdi Taouil : "Revenir et porter les couleurs du Maroc"
  2. "Kilmarnock seal midfielder move". BBC Sport. 19 October 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
  3. "Taouil commits himself to Killie". BBC Sport. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  4. "Mehdi Taouil Stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  5. "Hearts in talks with Kilmarnock's Mehdi Taouil". BBC News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  6. "Mehdi Taouil leaves Kilmarnock for Hearts". BBC News. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  7. "Taouil will be a big hit: JJ". Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  8. "Rangers v Hearts". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. "Hearts 1 – 2 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. "Starting Lineups Hibernian vs Hearts". Sky Sports. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. "Hearts: Mehdi Taouil departure confirmed by club". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. "АЗАЛ подписывает марокканца из Сивасспора". azerifootball.com/ (in Russian). Azeri Football. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  13. "Mehdi Taouil Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  14. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  15. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  16. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  17. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  18. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  19. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  20. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  21. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  22. "Games played by Mehdi Taouil in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
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