Noureddine Diwa
Diwa wearing the jersey of the Tunisia national team
Personal information
Full name Noureddine Ben Yahmed
Date of birth (1937-02-26)26 February 1937
Place of birth Tunis, Tunisia
Date of death 20 April 2020(2020-04-20) (aged 83)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Espérance
Stade Tunisien
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1962 Stade Tunisien 144 (96)
1962–1968 Limoges
1968–1970 Espérance
International career
1956–1969 Tunisia 23 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Noureddine Ben Yahmed (26 February 1937 – 20 April 2020),[1] known as Noureddine Diwa, was a Tunisian professional footballer who represented Tunisia on 23 occasions. Diwa played as a striker.

Personal life and death

Diwa was born on 26 February 1937 in Tunis, Tunisia. His birth name was Noureddine Ben Yahmed.[2] He was nicknamed Diwa as a distortion of the Tunisian Arabic word doua which means "dilettante spirit".[3] The nickname was given to him by Stade Tunisien founder Hamadi Ben Salem.[4] He was also nicknamed the Tunisian Kopa,[1] and the French newspaper L'Équipe nicknamed him "Petit Kopa" (little Kopa), in reference to Real Madrid player Raymond Kopa.[5] Diwa died on 20 April 2020 at the age of 83. He was buried the next day at the Jellaz Cemetery in Tunis.[5]

Career

As a junior, Diwa played for the Espérance junior team, and later the Stade Tunisien junior team.[6] He won the 1952 and 1953 junior league with Stade Tunisien.[7] Between 1955 and 1962, Diwa played for the Stade Tunisien senior team for seven seasons, making 144 appearances and scoring 96 goals.[8] He helped Stade Tunisien reach the Tunisian National Championship,[1] scoring four goals in the promotion playoffs.[3] He was part of the Stade Tunisien team that won the 1956–57 Tunisian National Championship,[9][10] and the National Championships in 1960–61 and 1961–62.[7] He also won four Tunisian Cups with Stade Tunisien,[9] in 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962.[7] Diwa scored in all four Tunisia Cups victories.[11]

In 1957, he was interested in playing for French team Le Havre, but did not make the move.[8][3] Diwa played for French Division 2 team Limoges between 1962 and 1968,[2][8] making Diwa one of the first Tunisian players to play abroad.[1] In 1963 he scored two goals for Limoges in their Coupe de France quarter final against Stade de Reims, a match they lost 4–3 after extra time.[8]

In 1968, Diwa returned to Tunisia, to play for Espérance,[2][8] and he played there for two seasons.[12] During that time, he won the 1969–70 Tunisian National Championship,[7] and was part of the Espérance team that lost the 1969 Tunisian Cup final to Club Africain.[11]

Diwa made 23 appearances for Tunisia[2] between 1956 and 1969.[9] He also represented Tunisia at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.[13] It was Tunisia's first appearance in the football event at the Olympics.[6] He played in their group stage matches against Poland, Argentina and Denmark.[8]

After retiring as a player, Diwa was a coach at AS Djerba in 1972, Espérance in 1974, CS Chebba from 1978 to 1980, and Stade Tunisien in 1981.[9][11]

Honours

Stade Tunesien

Espérance

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Légende du foot tunisien : Noureddine Diwa n'est plus" (in French). Webdo.tn. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Carnet noir : Le pionnier du foot tunisien Noureddine Diwa est mort". 24 Matins (in French). 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Kilani, Mohamed (1999). Guide-Foot 1999-2000 (in French). Imprimerie des Champs-Élysées. pp. 19–21.
  4. ↑ "Noureddine Diwa : Le plus grand footballeur tunisien de tous les temps" (in French). Webdo.tn. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  5. 1 2 "نور الدين ديوة في ذمّة الله" [Nour al-Din Dewa under the protection of God]. Mosaique (in Arabic). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 "The death of the former "Carthage Eagles" star Noureddine Dewa". Saudi 24 News. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "14 joueurs tunisiens qui ont marqué l'histoire du football". We Post (in French). 20 October 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Disparition de Noureddine Diwa, figure marquante du Limoges FC dans les années 60". Le Populaire du Centre (in French). 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tunisie -Carnet noir: Noureddine Diwa n'est plus". Africa Foot United. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Tunisia 1956/57". RSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Noureddine Diwa:Un monstre sacré s'en va" (in French). Infos Foot. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "اللاعب السابق نور الدين ديوة في ذمة الله" [Former player Noureddine Dewa]. Haekek (in Arabic). 20 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Noureddine Diwa". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
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