Zoubeir Baya

Zoubeir Baya (or Beya) (Arabic: زبير بية; born 15 May 1971) is a Tunisian former professional footballer with a distinguished career as one of his country's most accomplished football exports.[2] Baya, an attacking midfielder, displayed considerable skill and enterprise on the international scene and provided the North African nation with vast international experience.

Zoubeir Baya
Personal information
Full name Zoubeir Baya (or Beya)
Date of birth (1971-05-15) 15 May 1971
Place of birth M'saken, Tunisia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1981–1991 CS M'saken
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1997 Étoile du Sahel 127 (34)
1997–2001 SC Freiburg 114 (21)
2001–2002 Beşiktaş 26 (2)
2002–2005 Étoile du Sahel 52 (13)
2005–2006 CS M'saken
International career
1994–2002 Tunisia[1] 83 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Twice named Tunisian Footballer of the Year, Baya suited up for his country at the 1998 World Cup in France and at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[3] He was also a key member of Tunisian sides that competed at the 1998, 2000 and 2002 African Nations Cup finals. He made his international swansong at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, retiring shortly afterwards.

Career

Born in M'saken, Baya began his football career at Étoile du Sahel, helping the Tunisian club win the African Cup Winners' Cup. He made his debut for Tunisia on 4 September 1994 against Guinea-Bissau where he scored his first international goal. Over the past eight years, he has become an integral player for his country, earning 81 caps and scoring 18 goals for his country.

His hard work at Étoile du Sahel did not go unnoticed, as 2. Bundesliga club SC Freiburg signed him to a contract in 1997. In four seasons in Germany, Baya established himself as a star player and a regular starter, scoring 21 goals.

In 2001, Baya was on the move again, this time venturing to Turkey after signing with Beşiktaş.[4] Baya was instrumental in helping Tunisia qualify for its second consecutive World Cup finals. He started in all eight games during the qualification round and scored six goals, finishing as his country's top goal scorer and one of the bright spots on a team wracked by inconsistency in the previous year. After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he returned to Étoile du Sahel to play out the rest of his playing career.

After completing two seasons with Etoile du Sahel he returned to home club CS M'saken for a season in the Tunisian second division before retiring.

International goals
Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Baya goal.
List of international goals scored by Zoubeir Baya
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 1994 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Senegal 1–2 2–2 Friendly
2 2–2
3 29 January 1995 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Mauritania 1–0 1–0 1996 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4 4 June 1995 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Togo 1–0 1–0 1996 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5 15 December 1995 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Libya 3–1 4–1 Friendly
6 2 January 1996 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Guinea 1–0 3–0 Friendly
7 4 January 1996 Princess Magogo Stadium, Durban, South Africa  Angola 3–0 5–1 Friendly
8 28 January 1996 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa  Gabon 1–0 1–1 1996 Africa Cup of Nations
9 31 January 1996 Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa  Zambia 2–0 4–2 1996 Africa Cup of Nations
10 12 January 1997 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Egypt 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 17 August 1997 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Namibia 1–0 4–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
12 3–0
13 27 February 1999 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Uganda 4–0 6–0 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
14 6 June 1999 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Algeria 2–0 2–0 2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
15 8 July 2000 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Madagascar 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 25 February 2001 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  DR Congo 5–0 6–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 9 May 2001 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Liberia 3–0 7–0 Friendly
18 7–0
19 1 July 2001 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Congo 3–0 6–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
20 5–0
21 15 July 2001 Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, Congo DR  DR Congo 2–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
22 3–0
23 20 March 2002 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 1 - 1 1–2 Friendly
24 30 April 2002 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Malta 2–1 2–1 Friendly
25 25 May 2002 Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait  Kuwait 1–0 3–1 Friendly
26 2–0
27 3–1

References
  1. Zoubeir Baya - International Appearances
  2. Zoubeir Baya – FIFA competition record (archived)
  3. "Zoubeir Baya Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  4. "ZOUBAIER BEN M.A. BAYA". TFF. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.