Adel TLATLI

Nationality Tunisian Date of Birth: 31/08/1958 Place of Birth: Tunis Team 2009-10: No club team – National Team Coach Career: Stade Nabeulien (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1986-89),   Grombalia Sport  (Tunisie, Nationale B, 1989-90), Stade Nabeulien (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1990-91), US Monastir (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1991-93), Stade Nabeulien (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1993-94), US Monastir (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1994-95), Club Africain (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1995-96), Ezzahra (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1996-97), Stade Nabeulien (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1997-98),El Akma (Lebanon, 1998-99), CS Sfax (Tunisie-Nationale A, 1999-00), JS Kairouan (Tunisie-Nationale A, 2000-04) International Career: FIBA-Africa Championship 2001 FIBA-Africa Championship 2005 FIBA-Africa Championship 2007 FIBA-Africa Championship 2009

When Adel Tlatli took charge of the team in 2004, he based his work on local players, holding mini-camps for the National Team every six weeks, scheduling games as much as he could, touring in the Middle East, Europe and USA to build, day after day, a real team.

His knowledge of all domestic teams in Tunisia helped him to work with all club coaches to reach the same goal: improving the level of all local players so it would benefit not only the National Team, but also the clubs.

Without dominant players, he created his own style based on hard defense and quickness, making the most of the natural physical qualities and athleticism of Tunisian players.

His hard work paid off as he captured a bronze medal at the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship but he continues to look for new ways to develop the sport in Tunisia.

He now has to deal with players going abroad but still organises the mini-camps every two months with local players to give them every chance to wear the red and white jersey.

Hard work leads to just reward

This summer, Tunisia will compete in its first-ever FIBA World Championship - a great achievement for a small country. However, this is also the result of a long-term plan and hard work from everybody within Tunisian basketball.

After being in charge of the Tunisian national team in 2001, coach Adel Tlatli appeared a bit bitter. The reason? He could not have the players he wanted when he wanted them, nor could he get the kind of preparations he thought were necessary to succeed at the top international level.

So in 2004, when he was named head coach of national team for the second time, with more experience accumulated (three national championships and two national cups won with his club, JS Kairouan, in the space of four years), he managed to convince the President of the Tunisian Basketball Federation to put the men’s senior National Team as the absolute priority and organising mini-camps every six weeks with the national team players.

All the clubs in Tunisia were not too happy to see the national league stop so often because of those camps, but the players improved and in the end, this voluntary programme was finally very profitable to the domestic pro-league and to Tunisian basketball in general. The final rewards came quickly, with a bronze medal at the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship and, even more importantly, a first berth for Tunisia’s men’s team in the FIBA World Championship.

So for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the same programme has been established. Even though more national team players began playing abroad, the mini-camps were maintained anyway, only with local players most of the time. Then, the Tunisian President, Ben Ali, offered 100.000 Dinars (55.000 Euros) for the preparation of the National Team, which enabled the federation to organise 15 friendly games planned in France and in the USA to develop team chemistry. For a team lacking raw talent compared to the top level squads from around the world, this was probably the only solution for success. Call that humility.

The main asset for Tunisia’s National Team comes in the form of its coach. Tlatli is the best ambassador of Tunisian basketball. His bald head and glasses can often be spotted at most of the international events, scouting the teams, trying to grab each and every detail from the organisation to bring home. This is because he understands the National Team is brimming with strong local players with good and interesting experience but mainly only of domestic championships.

On the other hand, you have shooting guard Amine Rzig, who is the heart of Tunisia, the fighting captain and a scoring machine guiding his country to success. Rzig averaged 16.4 points per game in the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship, but his influence goes farther than these raw figures. The quality of the team also comes with a balanced offense, with four other players averaging double-digit scoring – or very close to it – in Africa’s last continental championship.

Tunisia will be in Istanbul in Group B with the USA, Brazil, Croatia, Slovenia and Iran. Asian continental champions Iran are the team Tunisia aim to beat, since a qualification for the Eighth-Final appears difficult to reach.

Tunisia’s Bronze medal in last year’s FIBA Africa Champonship was its fourth in the tournament. The last one came in 1974 and was also a bronze. Their best was a Silver medal when they hosted the FIBA Africa Championship in Tunis in 1965.