Top moments of Ousamma Darragi's career

In light of his selection as the top home-based player of 2011, Goal.com takes a look at the highlights of the Esperance captain's footballing history thus far.On Thursday night in Accra, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) bestowed its top African-based player award of 2011 to Esperance captain Oussama Darragi.Below is a recap of the top five moments in his promising career thus far, leading up to his crowning individual achievement this year.ven though Esperance finished in a disappointing sixth place at the Fifa Club World Cup this December, considering the obstacles they had to overcome, the mere fact that they were there was an achievement in and of itself.With that in mind, Darragi’s goal in the second half of their opener against Asian champions Al Sadd was a moment that gave them hope that they could make their dream of facing Barcelona a reality.The Tunisians squandered chance after chance in that game but Darragi and the younger Youssef Msakni were both brilliant and it was no surprise when the captain found the breakthrough for his team with a header, as he had on so many other occasions.Although he gets on the scoresheet a great deal for a midfielder, Darragi is also blessed with a deft touch on the dribble, impressive vision, and a wide passing range. During Esperance’s successful 2009 Arab Champions League run, he put all these playmaking abilities on display in one attack against Egypt’s Al-Ismaily.With his team far from home and down 2-0, Darragi collected the ball inside his own half and burst forward, evading one opponent after the other through sheer determination and skill to eventually cross to Eneramo for a crucial away goal. Esperance booked their place in the semi-final in the following leg, but would not have been able to do so without Darragi’s brilliance.In their second match of 2010 World Cup qualifying, the Carthage Eagles hosted Mozambique after having won the first fixture in Kenya 2-1. With Nigeria coming to Rades in the upcoming game, it was essential for Tunisia to collect all three points.The locals took an early lead with a penalty, but the Mozambicans were outplaying them in the second half and looked poised to mount a comeback. Darragi was introduced into the match from the bench to aid his team in retaking the midfield and his ability to conserve possession did just that.However, the Black Mambas remained dangerous and the north Africans were all incredibly relieved when their young star took the initiative with a shot from distance to ensure the full points for his side. This moment was the first in a national team jersey where Darragi showed a flair for the dramatic, but it would not be the last.Darragi followed up his aforementioned run and assist to Eneramo in the quarter-final against Egypt’s Al-Ismaily with yet another scintillating performances, this time in a different north African stadium.On a cold April night in Setif, the midfielder got on the end of a 75th-minute Henri Bienvenue flick-pass which broke the offside trap and put him one-on-one with the goalkeeper.Instead of trying to control the ball and dribble past the keeper, Darragi cheekily lobbed the ball over his opponent and straight into the gaping goalmouth. It looked a simple finish yet it was anything but that and, at the end of 90 minutes, the goal stood as the winner in arguably the most intimidating atmosphere against which Esperance came up in the entire competition.After a goalless draw in Tunis against Nigeria in 2010 World Cup qualifying, Tunisia travelled to Abuja for a pivotal match against the same adversaries. With a place in the first African World Cup potentially on the line, the stakes could not have been higher, the north Africans starting on seven points while the Super Eagles were on five.As a bare minimum, Humberto Coelho’s men needed to emerge with a draw to maintain their two-point advantage over their rivals, but with the game entering stoppage time, they were down 2-1.Things looked bleak but the visitors refused to give up and pushed forward relentlessly. On the last attack of the game, Darragi made an incisive run through a clueless Nigerian defence and Haythem Mrabet chipped a ball right over it. The ball landed at Darragi’s feet but the angle looked too acute for a shot, so Taye Taiwo dropped off him to guard against a possible cross.The playmaker looked up, weighed his options for a split second, and amazingly, decided to shoot instead of pass. The ball flew in past a outstretched Victor Enyeama and stunned the entire west African nation. The Tunisians would later drop the ticket to South Africa in Maputo, but this was undoubtedly the best moment of their qualifying campaign, raising Darragi’s status within the national team and forging a place in the continental spotlight.