Former Bohemians winger Aymen Ben Mohamed will kick off his FIFA Club World Cup campaign in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The 30-year-old will line out for Tunisian champions Espérance against Brazilian side Flamengo at 2am, while they are also in Group D with Chelsea and Los Angeles FC.
Ben Mohamed is in his second spell with the 2024/25 double winners, having previously lined out for them between 2016 and 2019.
But who is he and how did he transform from a League of Ireland hopeful with UCD to a participant in FIFA’s revamped club showcase?
His background
Born in London, he moved to Dublin with his Irish mum, who hails from Palmerstown, and Tunisian father while still a toddler. Ben Mohamed lined out for Leinster Senior League side Dublin University AFC while studying business in Trinity College, and was a Collingwood Cup finalist with Trinity in 2015, but lost to UCC.
He began his career in the senior game with UCD, moved from UCD to Longford Town ahead of the 2015 season and, after impressing there, he secured a switch to Bohemians. From there, Espérance swooped in 2016.
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His first spell in Tunisia was marred by injury, and he left in 2019 for French Ligue 2 side Le Havre. While there, he had a spell on-loan in Turkey with Denizlispor. Then there was a move in 2023/24 to Guignamp and, last year, a return to Espérance.
Has he played international football?
Yes. For Tunisia. He is eligible thanks to his dad.
When did he get his first call-up?
Ben Mohamed was still at Bohemians when he was named in the Tunisia squad for their African Cup of Nations qualifier against Djibouti in 2016.
Was he capped?
Not at that time. But when he was drafted into the squad for an October 2018 AFCON qualifier against Niger, he made his international debut. Ben Mohamed now has 14 caps for Tunisia.
Was Ireland ever an option?
Despite his reputation as a rising star in the League of Ireland, Ben Mohamed had to wait for the Tunisia call to kick-start his international career. He did tell the University Times in 2016, however, that he grew up dreaming of playing for Ireland.
“I would love to play for Ireland, but I don’t know if I could turn my back on Tunisia after travelling with them and everything to a game. It would be difficult,” he said. “Probably as a kid growing up living in Ireland, I would have dreamt [of] playing for Ireland.”
How were Tunisia alerted to him?
He was snapped up by the South Dublin Football Academy at a young age, after he had been spotted by one of their coaches, Mokhtar Addani.
Ben Mohamed’s brother Khalil told the Irish Daily Star in 2016: “Mokhtar is one of our family friends and he has helped us to get in contact with the Tunisian Football Federation. We are very thankful and grateful to him for putting Ayman on the radar of the Tunisians, who were very happy with what they saw.
Aymen Ben Mohamed battles with Al-Ain midfielder Bandar al-Ahbabi at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup (Image: KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)
“I always had confidence in him, that one day he would be called up to either the Irish or Tunisian squad.”
Roll of honours
Espérance are Tunisia’s top club and Ben Mohamed has four league titles already in the bag across his two spells there. He also won two CAF Champions Leagues and one Tunisian Cup. This year they claimed a league and cup double.
Ben Mohamed on the Club World Cup…
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the Flamengo match, Ben Mohamed said: “Of course everyone is very excited about the opportunity. It's massive - you don't always get the chance to play against world class teams.
“We're all looking forward to it and obviously we will be facing very high-level opposition so we're hoping just to go there and give a good account of ourselves, to test ourselves against some amazing sides.”
Ben Mohamed on his background…
“People see my name and they just assume that I'm Tunisian. A lot of people would think I was Tunisian when I was in Ireland but here in Tunisia they call me 'Irish' because of the way I look.
“It surprises people because I look more Irish; I look a lot more like my mother than my dad. People expect me to have an Irish name and then they see 'Ben Mohamed'.”
Ben Mohamed on Bohemians…
“I keep in touch with a few back in Ireland and I do still follow Irish football too, especially Bohemians. I even try to go to watch games when I'm back home and keep tabs on the League of Ireland. More fans are coming to watch games - it's growing, which is positive.”
What do others say about Aymen?
Keith Long (former Bohs manager): “Derek (Pender) has been chasing him for weeks and in pre-season, trying to nail him. I remember Detser turning to me saying, 'I'm going to f**king do him', in pre-season, but I said, 'Detser, you have to catch him first'. You know you have a player when he's giving an experienced player like that all sorts of trouble in training.”
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