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Fullname: Lassad Hassen Nouioui
aka: Lassad Nouioui
Born: 8 March 1986
Birthplace: Marseille, France
Signed: 3 September 2012
Left: 4 June 2013 (freed)
Position: Foward
Debut: St Johnstone 2-1 Celtic, League, 15 Sep 2012
Squad No.: 11
Internationals: Tunisia
International Caps: 2
International Goals: 0
Biog
| “For me, it has been a good experience.” Lassad Nouioui on his time at Celtic |
Lassad came to Celtic as one of three foreign signings at the end of the summer 2012 transfer window. Overshadowed by loan signing Miku, few paid much attention to Lassad at first, and with Hooper banging in the goals, the incredible emerging form of Tony Watt, and the resurgence of Samaras, Lassad seemed to have been pushed back in the line for a place in the first team.
His main role generally was behind or alongside the main striker, a fair position which if a player nails can easily make him a hero. Fine skill as a footballer but lacking physical presence was a concern.
A few starts saw Lassad try to get a feel for his new surroundings, but was not given a long run mostly due to the form of the incumbents as well as injuries. He didn’t hit the ground running although never did much wrong either. It wasn’t until the 4-0 victory over Hearts where Lassad played a great game by scoring a well placed goal and setting another up, that the Celtic support seem to notice his talent above that of the originally higher rated Miku.
Yet the omens weren’t good. Despite numerous chances, he was underachieving on the pitch, and was many a time anonymous. It was difficult to see why he was deserving of further opportunities. The good was far outweighed by the poorer performances.
He managed to score in total three goals, two of which were against Hearts in separate games Celtic thumped them in. His last game was in a cracking 4-3 win after being 3-1 down early in the game, the best game of the season, and saw Celtic snatch victory in the dying moments with an overhead goal from Samaras helped set-up by Lassad. A fine note for Lassad to end on at Celtic, but sadly not enough good moments overall.
In truth, there is very little to further say. He didn’t do much or enough on the pitch to comment on, and was to be even rarer seen on the bench. He was possibly lucky in that the success of the first team in Europe deflected attention away from his disappointing transfer, but also that any flak could be shared by the higher profile loan signing of Miku who similarly was unsuccessful.
He seemed to have resigned himself to the situation with little complaint:
“Sometimes it is not easy, but it is the decision of the gaffer. We train well every day. But sometimes you play, sometimes you don’t. That’s just football. I respect the decision of the gaffer. And when I can help the team I do. When I arrived I did not do pre-season training, so at first it was very difficult for me.
“After the first month, I had an injury for a month, which did not help me. But that is not an excuse. I have not played many games, and when I have played I have not played very well. Maybe I need more time. But sometimes in football you don’t have any time.
“I wanted to show more to the Celtic supporters and for myself. But I don’t have the level that I did last year, for example. For me and for my body, I have to start six or seven games to get good fitness. I have not had that opportunity. But, as I said, I’m not disappointed about that. It’s football and it’s the decision of the manager, and I am happy.
“I came to Celtic because I wanted to play in another league.When they told me Celtic wanted to sign me, I was very happy because they are a big, big club. For me, it has been a good experience.”
The problem was possibly also Celtic’s transfer policy or maybe even coaching. Celtic had now failed with around five recent transfers (loans & permanent) of forwards in recent years, so this was concerning, although admittedly Celtic had success with Hooper & Tony Watt [to an extent].
Lassad was freed a year early from his contract (Celtic exercising an early termination clause), and he left with just one season under his belt. He wasn’t going to make it at Celtic.
Post-Celtic
After Celtic, he played in Portugal, Tunisia and Japan before returning to Spain, where he used to play for Deportivo La Coruna.
In April 2018, Lassad Nouioui suffered a cardiac arrest whilst training with his then club Toledo. Thankfully, he made a full recovery after enduring a ten-day coma but sadly he was forced to prematurely retire on medical recommendations from football play at just 32.
We wished him the best.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2012-13 | 8 (6) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | 2 | 19 |
| Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Competition | GS | SB | G | A | SH | SG | FC | FS | YC | RC |
| League Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scottish Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SPL | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute,
G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards,
RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides,
W: W, D: Draws, L: Losses
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Premier League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
KDS
Articles
Lassad Nouioui joins the Champions
Celticfc.net
By: Paul Cuddihy on 02 Sep, 2012 13:34
CELTIC are delighted to announce that Tunisian internationalist, Lassad Nouioui has joined the club on a two-year deal, subject to international clearance.
The 26-year-old is thrilled to be joining the Scottish champions, and he´s another great addition to Neil Lennon´s squad, following the recent arrival of defender, Efe Ambrose, striker, Miku Fedor and Slovakian goalkeeper, Lubos Kamenar.
And speaking exclusively to the official Celtic website, Lassad, who spent the last three years with Spanish side, Deportivo La Coruna, said: “I´m absolutely delighted to sign for Celtic.
“Celtic is a huge club with a magnificent history and a fantastic support. I know all about the wonderful atmosphere at Celtic Park and I can´t wait to play there.
“I know that Celtic already has a great squad of players and I´m very much looking forward to joining up with my team-mates. And I hope to play my part in bringing success to the club.
“And, of course, I´m also looking to competing in the UEFA Champions League with such a great football club.”
Everyone at Celtic welcomes Lassad to the club and wishes him every success in the Hoops.