Nassim Ben Khalifa

Nassim Ben Khalifa

Personal information
Full name	Nassim Ben Khalifa
Date of birth	13 January 1992 (1992-01-13) (age 19)
Place of birth	Prangins, Switzerland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder, Forward
Club information
Current club	BSC Young Boys
Number	11
Youth career
2001–2002	Nyon
2002–2005	Gland
2005–2006	Lausanne-Sport
2006–2008	Team Vaud U-18
2008–2009	Grasshopper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008–2010	Grasshopper	28	(8)
2010–	VfL Wolfsburg	0	(0)
2010–	VfL Wolfsburg II	6	(2)
2011–2012	→ 1. FC Nuremberg (loan)	1	(0)
2011–2012	→ 1. FC Nuremberg II (loan)	9	(2)
2011–	→ BSC Young Boys (loan)	12	(1)
National team‡
2007	Switzerland U-15/16	7	(3)
2007–2009	Switzerland U-17	25	(10)
2009	Switzerland U-18	11	(6)
2010–	Switzerland U-21	7	(1)
2010–	Switzerland	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 July 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 July 2011

Nassim Ben Khalifa (born 13 January 1992 in Prangins, Switzerland) is a Swiss footballer of Tunisian origin who currently plays for BSC Young Boys in the Swiss Super League.

Club career

Swiss Super League

Ben Khalifa made his debut with Grasshopper in the Swiss Super League on 7 March 2009, at the age of 17, where he played the last 11 minutes in the game against FC Sion. He scored his first Super League goal in his fourth game, on 19 July 2009, also against FC Sion. Until he left Grasshopper at the end of the 2009–10 season, Ben Khalifa played a total of 28 league matches and scored 8 goals.^[1]

German Bundesliga

On 19 February 2010 he signed a four year contract with VfL Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga and joined his new club on 1 July 2010.^[2][3] However, he has never played for Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga game.

After half a season on the bench, Wolfsburg loan Ben Khalifa out to 1. FC Nuremberg until the summer of 2012.,^[4] where he made his Bundesliga debut on 5 March 2011, being brought into the game against FC St. Pauli in the 82nd minute.

International career

Ben Khalifa has played for Swiss youth squads at various levels from U-15 to U-18. He has participated at the U-17 European Championships in 2008 in Turkey and in 2009 in Germany as well as at the Under-17 World Cup in 2009 in Nigeria, where he was awarded the "Silver Ball" trophy for the second best player of the tournament.^[5]

At the age of only 18, he made his debut for the Swiss U-21 squad on 26 May 2010 against Turkey.^[6]

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa he was on Switzerland's reserve list (30 players), but did not make it into the final 23-man squad. His first appearance for the Swiss national team was on 11 August 2010 against Austria.

References

1. ^ "Nassim Ben Khalifa – Leistungsdaten" (in German). transfermarkt.de. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/nassim-ben-khalifa/leistungsdaten/spieler_74288.html. Retrieved 5 November 2009. 
2. ^ "VfL verpflichtet Schweizer Sturmtalent Nassim Ben Khalifa" (in German). VfL Wolfsburg. 21 February 2010. http://www.vfl-wolfsburg.de/50496+M5843e4b3e52.html. Retrieved 29 October 2010. 
3. ^ "On the ball in first afternoon session". VfL Wolfsburg. 2 July 2010. http://www.vfl-wolfsburg.de/50543+M5b60ed49b7f.html. Retrieved 29 October 2010. 
4. ^ "Khalifa-Ausleihe perfekt [Khalifa Loan complete]" (in German). DFL. 14 January 2011. http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga/news/2010/index.php?f=0000172859.php. Retrieved 14 January 2011. 
5. ^ "Awards galore in Abuja". FIFA.com. http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/newsid=1134519.html. Retrieved 16 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Sich selber geschlagen" (in German). NZZ.ch. 27 May 2010. http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/sport/fussball/sich_selber_geschlagen_1.5806162.html. Retrieved 29 October 2010. 

External links

• Soccerway profile
• Profile at Swiss Football League Website (German)

Persondata
Name	Ben Khalifa, Nassim
Alternative names
Short description	Association football forward
Date of birth	13 January 1992
Place of birth	Prangins, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death