Author: André Tucic

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Samir Nasri (photo: Reuters)

The French football star Samir Nasri

Anything but pussy-footed

The French national football team has regained its strength. And one of the players who had a large part to play in that achievement is Samir Nasri – whose family's roots lie in Algeria. Nasri's hot temper has often caused trouble – both on and off the pitch. By André TucicMore

Karim Benzema: The Boy Next DoorFranck Bilal Ribéry: "Always Believe in God"Qantara Dossier: Football, Islam, and Integration
Ilkay Gündogan wearing the black and yellow strip of Borussia Dortmund (photo: picture alliance/dpa)

Profile: Ilkay Gündogan

A Model of Successful Integration

Ilkay Gündogan is a rapidly rising star in German football. German born, but with Turkish roots, he has won the German Championship and the DFB Cup with Borussia Dortmund, has been selected for the German squad for UEFA Euro 2012, and is "Integration Ambassador" for the German Football Association. André Tucic sends us this profileMore

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Karim Benzema Foto getty images

Karim Benzema

The boy next door

There's no place like home – if you ask Karim Benzema, French football's diamond in the rough. He still lives at home with his parents and eight siblings and is loyal to his home team, Olympique Lyon. A portrait by André TucicMore

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Franck Ribéry (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Franck Bilal Ribéry

''Always believe in God''

Franck Ribéry has never been in better shape, and - winning the Champions League plus the award for Best Player in Europe - 2013 has been the best year of his career. Yet things have not always been so rosy for Ribéry, a devout Muslim and former construction worker; not everything in his career has come easy. A portrait by André TucicMore

FIFA World Cup 2014: "My money's on Algeria and Russia"Dossier: World Cup 2014

In brief

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Crumbling colonial splendour in Karachi

More than 70 years after Pakistan's foundation, architectural jewels dating from the British colonial era are being torn down – especially in the economic metropolis of Karachi, many buildings are threatened by the demolition ball. Impressions by Syed Raza Hassan and Akhtar Soomro