Anis Ben Slimane

Anis Ben Slimane (Arabic: أنيس بن سليمان‎; born 16 March 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF and the Tunisia national team.

Anis Ben Slimane
Personal information
Full name Anis Ben Slimane
Date of birth (2001-03-16) 16 March 2001
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Brøndby
Number 25
Youth career
2008 BK Vestia
2008–2010 KB
2010–2011 FA 2000
2011 Herfølge
2011–2012 B.93
2012–2014 Brøndby
2014–2015 KB
2015 Lyngby
2015–2019 AB
2019–2020 Brøndby
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 AB 18 (2)
2020– Brøndby 25 (2)
National team‡
2019– Denmark U19 9 (2)
2019– Tunisia U20 2 (0)
2020– Tunisia 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:17, 13 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 October 2020

Slimane had a tumultuous youth career, playing for eight different clubs in 12 years, but finally settled at AB where he made his senior debut in 2018. The following season, he departed for Brøndby IF and was included in the U19-squad, but he would garner break-out attention in the second half of the 2019–20 season as he established himself as part of the first team.

Slimane has dual citizenship and made appearances for both Denmark U19 and Tunisia U20. He represents the Tunisia national football team.

Career

Early career

Slimane was born in Copenhagen and lived in the Vesterbro neighbourhood during his youth.[1] He started playing for the lower levels of Vesterbro club BK Vestia at age 7, which was the club located most closely to his home.[1] After a few months he moved to the KB academy due to his classmate playing there; a team his classmate's father also coached.[2] Later, Slimane and his classmate signed with the FA 2000 academy, where they were joined by some other talented players. Because some clubs were hesitant to create first teams and second teams, Slimane moved to different clubs in Copenhagen, who were willing to commit to youth football at a higher level.[1] The following year, him and his classmate moved to Herfølge Boldklub, where they were for a short period, before moving first to B.93, where they reunited with the group of talented youth players from FA 2000.[1] During his time at B.93, Slimane played in a UEFA European Club Championship tournament, where he impressed and therefore signed with the Brøndby IF academy.[2]

Slimane was 12 years old when he moved to Brøndby. He played for their academy teams for one and a half year before moving back to play for KB at under-13 level because of excessive travelling time to Brøndby after him and his family had moved to Høje Gladsaxe.[2] Slimane's second stint at KB was, however, unsuccessful, and he therefore began to play for Lyngby Boldklub.[1] He played in Lyngby's youth for six months before being signed by local club Akademisk Boldklub (AB) at under-14 level, where he once again reunited with his old classmates. Slimane stayed at AB for four years, ending his journeyman youth career.[2] There, he played for four years, breaking into the first-team during his final time at the club. In an interview with the Brøndby IF website, Slimane described how he was among Denmark's greatest youth football prospects during his first years of playing, but that different circumstances meant that he had to fight for his breakthrough into professional football. During this period, he was close to retiring from football but his family and friend's support helped him through the difficult periods.[3] During one summer, where he played in AB's youth academy, he experienced a large growth spurt in which he grew 15 cm, which enabled him to become more dominant physically and helped him develop as a player.[1][2]

In January 2018, Slimane left on a one-week trial with German Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.[4] He made his first-team debut for AB on 7 April 2018 in a 2–1 home win over IF Lyseng, coming on as a 80th-minute substitute for Nichlas Rohde.[5] Slimane made a total of 18 league appearances for AB in which he scored two goals.[6]

Brøndby

Slimane joined Brøndby IF at under-19 level in June 2019, after he had impressed for the AB first-team in the Danish 2nd Division, the third tier of the Danish football pyramid.[7] In January 2020, he was selected to participate in Brøndby's first-team training camp in Portugal,[8] where he made his first appearance for the senior side in a pre-season friendly against Swedish side IFK Norrköping, impressing in front of scouts from Arsenal and Manchester United.[9]

On 16 February 2020, Slimane made his professional debut in an away match against OB in the Danish Superliga as a starter, which Brøndby won 2–0.[10][11] The following week, he made his first assist, a cross into the box which Samuel Mráz slotted home in a 2–3 loss to AaB.[12] On 8 March 2020, he scored his first goal for Brøndby in a 2–2 draw away against FC Nordsjælland;[13] a match played behind closed doors at Right to Dream Park due to guidelines implemented by Danish authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] After the match, Slimane expressed his regret in not being able to celebrate his goal in front of fans.[15]

On 3 July 2020, Slimane signed a new contract with Brøndby, keeping him at the club until 2024.[16] After struggling to find his way to the starting lineup during the first half of the 2020–21 season, he scored the winning goal on 13 December against SønderjyskE after coming on as a substitute for Simon Hedlund in the 77th minute.[17][18]

International career

Slimane has represented the Denmark national under-19 football team,[19] as well as the Tunisia national under-20 football team.[20]

On 1 October 2020, he was called up to Mondher Kebaier's senior Tunisia squad for the two friendlies against Sudan and Nigeria.[21] He scored in his debut, the third goal in a 3–0 win over Sudan.[22]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 20 September 2020
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
AB 2017–18 2nd Division 2000—20
2018–19 16210—172
Total 18210—192
Brøndby 2019–20[6] Superliga 1610000161
2020–21[6] 2000—20
Total 1810000181
Career total 3631000373
  • (—) Not qualified

    International

    International statistics

    As of 13 October 2020
    Tunisia
    YearAppsGoals
    202031
    Total31

    International goals

    As of match played 13 October 2020. Scores and results list Tunisia's goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each Slimane goal.
    No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
    19 October 2020Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia Sudan3–03–0Friendly

    References
    1. "Lær Anis Slimane at kende - brondby.com". youtube.com. Brøndby IF. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    2. "Anis Slimane: Jeg havde en masse bump på vejen". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    3. Helbo, Benjamin Alexander (6 February 2020). "18-årigt Brøndby-talent var tæt på karrierestop". bold.dk. bold.dk. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    4. Nøhr, Mikkel (18 January 2018). "Ungt AB-talent testes i Freiburg". bold.dk. bold.dk. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    5. "Sen sejr over Lyseng". ab-fodbold.dk. Akademisk Boldklub. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    6. "A. Slimane". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
    7. "Brøndby henter midtbanemand i AB". bold.dk. Bold. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
    8. "Anis Ben Slimane skal træne med førsteholdet i Brøndby frem til forårsstart". 3point.dk. 3point. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    9. Dehn, Anders (31 January 2020). "Storklubber så testkamp: De holdt nok øje med Brøndby-talent". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    10. "Slimane om debut: Det var en stor dag for mig". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
    11. "Brøndbyfans gav Slimane en uforglemmelig debut: Jeg fik kæmpe kuldegysninger". tipsbladet.dk. Tipsbladet. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
    12. "Slår Brøndby i kæmpe drama". ekstrabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
    13. Wehlast, Mads Glenn (8 March 2020). "Brøndby brød Nordsjællands stime". ekstrabladet.dk. Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
    14. "Fodboldkampe den kommende runde" (PDF). divisionsforeningen.dk. Divisionsforeningen. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
    15. Hammeken, Jesper (8 March 2020). "Anis Ben Slimane: Jeg ville gerne have fejret målet med fansene". 3point.dk. 3point. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
    16. "Brøndby IF forlænger med Jobbe og Anis". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
    17. "Brøndby vs. SønderjyskE - 13 December 2020". int.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
    18. "Superliga-søndag: Brøndby nedkæmper Sønderjyske og stryger til tops". DR (in Danish). 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020. Anden halvleg så længe ud til at slutte uden mål, men i kampens afslutning dukkede Anis Ben Slimane op og sikrede Brøndby fuld gevinst.
    19. "Masterclass-talenter udtaget til U19-landsholdet". brondby.com. Brøndby IF. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
    20. "Niels Frederiksen: Anis Ben Slimane skal snuse til førsteholdet". 3point.dk. 3point. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
    21. Hoffskov, Ole (1 October 2020). "Tunesien udtager Anis Ben Slimane - men Brøndby-spilleren er i tænkeboks" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
    22. Risager, Victor (9 October 2020). "Anis Ben Slimane scorede i landsholdsdebut for Tunesien". tipsbladet.dk (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
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