Khaled Badra from WC 2002
Khaled Badra
Khaled Badra recently retired from international football. He currently plays for Tunisian League side Espérance of Tunis. Reliable and strong in the tackle, he has even been labelled the Tunisian Desailly.
Badra was born April 8th 1973 in Kairouan, Tunisia. He joined Espérance at the age of 16 and made a name for himself in the country as a powerful and uncompromising centre-back, who could also score from set pieces. He earned a call up to the Tunisian national football team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta at the age of 23 and became a virtual ever-present after that. His good form for the national side was mirrored in Tunisian competitions, where he has lead Espérance to continuous league triumphs.
Badra featured in both 1998 World Cup and 2002 World Cup, as well as the three African Nations Cups in that time. His finest hour came in the 2004 African Nations Cup when Tunisia hosted the games. He scored the all-important penalty kick against Nigeria that sent Tunisia through to the final, where Badra put in an awesome performance, helping Tunisia to beat Morocco and win the tournament. He decided to retire from international football following this.
His club football career has been varied – solid and loyal service interpersed by short spells abroad. He has played for both Genoa in Seria B and Denizlispor in the Turkish league. He plans to see out his career at Espérance.
