José Clayton

Born in Brazil, Clayton, a left-sided defender, moved to Tunisia in 1995 to play for Etoile du Sahel. He became a naturalized Tunisian citizen in time to play for his adopted country in the 1998 World Cup and, although Tunisia were eliminated in the first round, his performance earned him a contract with France’s Sporting Club de Bastia. After three years in France he returned to Tunisia to play for Esperance.

A member of the Tunisian squad for the 2002 World Cup he was part of the national team that won Tunisia’s only major international honour, the 2004 African Cup of Nations. Later in 2004 he appeared as one Tunisia’s nominated over-age players at the Athens Games.

Overlooked for the 2006 World Cup, Clayton moved to play in Qatar where he helped Al-Sadd clinch a national championship title. After a brief spell in Turkey he returned once more to Tunisia in the summer of 2008 and signed for Stade Gabèsien.