They Played For Both Clubs: Radhi Jaidi

Radhi Jaïdi was born in August 1975 in Gabès, Tunisia.

He turned professional in 1993 aged 18 signing professional terms with Espérance de Tunis.

He would go on to spend 11 years at the club, earning a raft of honours including eight Tunisian League titles, two Tunisian Cup triumphs along with an African Cup of Champions Clubs medal in 1994, a CAF Super Cup in 1995, a CAF Cup in 1996 and an African Cup Winners' Cup in 1998.

In that time he made 288 appearances for the club, scoring 20 goals.

In 2004, aged 29, he made the switch to England, signing for a Sam Allardyce-led Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract at Espérance.

Jaïdi made an immediate impact at Bolton, where his no-nonsense style of defending was matched by an uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time at the other end of the pitch. In his two seasons at Bolton he would make a total of 43 appearances scoring eight goals. In his debut season he scored five times, including vital goals against Arsenal and Wigan Athletic.

He was transferred to Birmingham City in the summer of 2006 for £2 million, making his Blues debut in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the early stages of the season following his recovery from an injury. He would go on to score six goals in 42 appearances in his debut season at the club.

His second season was marred by injury and he made just 20 appearances, without troubling the scorekeepers.

In total he made 86 appearances for Birmingham City over three seasons, before being released at the end of his contract in June 2009. Despite his advancing years, he was offered a deal at League One side Southampton, though the transfer stalled when doubts arose over the player's eligibility for a work permit.

However, on 2 September 2009, the club confirmed that Jaïdi had signed a two-year contract, subject to work-permit clearance. He made his debut as a 77th-minute substitute at Charlton two days later, and scored his first goal for the club in an away draw to Carlisle United later that month.

Injuries took their toll over the coming months, and Jaïdi retired at the end of the 2011-12 season, aged 36, having made 58 appearances for the Saints, scoring four goals.

His career club total extends to 38 goals in 475 appearances.

Jaïdi was also a regular in the Tunisian National Team, and indeed was selected by coach Roger Lemerre for the 2006 World Cup.

He would also go on to scored at the Finals, a goal which secured a 2-2 draw in the side's opening game against Saudi Arabia.

Jaïdi had previously been a key member of the 2004 African Nations Cup-winning squad, and played in the 2002 World Cup. He captained the Tunisian national team in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, where they went out in the quarter finals to Cameroon.

Radhi is active on Twitter and can be followed here.

Honours

*Tunisia

African Cup of Nations: 2004

*Espérance

Tunisian League: 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

Tunisian Cup: 1997, 1999

African Cup of Champions Clubs: 1994

African Cup Winners' Cup: 1998

CAF Super Cup: 1995

CAF Cup: 1996

*Southampton

Football League Trophy: 2010