Hommam Al Nassim 
Tunisian sports circles have circulated calls to naturalize Brazilian player Rodrigo Rodriguez, a prominent striker for Esperance, as part of attempts to strengthen the strength of the Tunisian national team.
Rodriguez, who joined Esperance in July 2023, caught attention after his remarkable brilliance in the Tunisian League, where he scored 10 goals during the coronation stage, and led his team to win the league title for the thirty-third time in its history and reach the final of the African Champions League.
There were calls for him to be naturalized to strengthen the front line of the Eagles of Carthage, after the successive successes of Rodriguez and the modest performance of the Tunisian national team, which exited the African Cup of Nations in the first round and suffered from a lack of offensive effectiveness.
These calls come in a context similar to what happened with Brazilians Silva dos Santos and Jose Clayton, who were naturalized in the past and contributed effectively to the achievements of the Tunisian national team.
Obtaining citizenship, according to Tunisian legislation, requires five years of residence within the country, but some cases can be excluded if the state estimates that the person has provided “great services to the country.”
Rodrigo Rodriguez began his career with Palmeiras and Bahia in the Brazilian youth categories and made his debut with the Bahia Club’s first team on November 28, 2015.
He then played with several other Brazilian clubs, including Juaserenze, Atletico Ferroviario, and ABC, and moved to Tunisian club Esperance in 2019, with whom he won the Tunisian League title 3 times (2020, 2021, 2022) and the CAF Champions League title once. One in 2022.
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