Ali Al Saadi

Ali Mahmoud Al Saadi (Arabic: علي محمود السعدي‎; born 20 April 1986) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as a centre-back for Lebanese Premier League club Nejmeh.

Ali Al Saadi
Al Saadi with Nejmeh in 2020
Personal information
Full name Ali Mahmoud Al Saadi
Date of birth (1986-04-20) 20 April 1986
Place of birth Beirut, Lebanon
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Nejmeh
Number 2
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2017 Safa (42)
2014 → Naft Maysan (loan) (1)
2017–2018 Ahed 9 (0)
2018–2019 Safa 19 (1)
2019– Nejmeh 0 (0)
National team
2007 Lebanon U23
2006–2013 Lebanon 46 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Starting his career at Safa in 2005, Al Saadi remained there until 2017—albeit being sent on a six-month loan to Naft Maysan in Iraq. In 2017 he moved to Ahed for one season, before returning to Safa the following year. In 2019 Al Saadi moved to Nejmeh.

Making his international debut for Lebanon in 2006, Al Saadi represented his nation in 46 games, scoring six goals in the process. As he was involved in the 2013 match-fixing scandal, Al Saadi was permanently excluded from the national team.

Club career

Al Saadi began his senior career at Lebanese Premier League side Safa, during the 2005–06 season. He was part of the team that reached the 2008 AFC Cup Final where, despite Al Saadi scored in the second leg,[1] Safa lost 10–5 on aggregate against Al-Muharraq.[2] He helped his side win two league titles in a row, in 2011–12 and 2012–13,[3] a Lebanese FA Cup, in 2012–13,[3][4] two Lebanese Elite Cups, in 2009 and 2012,[4] and a Lebanese Super Cup, in 2013.[4]

In 2014 Al Saadi moved on a six-month loan to Iraqi Premier League side Naft Maysan, scoring one goal.[3] Upon his return on loan, Al Saadi helped Safa win the 2015–16 Lebanese Premier League. On 7 July 2017, Al Saadi joined Ahed after 18 years at Safa.[5] In his only season at Ahed (2017–18), Al Saadi won the league,[3] FA Cup,[3][4] and Super Cup.[4]

In 2018 Al Saadi moved back to Safa,[6] where he stayed for one season (2018–19).[3] On 9 August 2019, the centre-back moved to Nejmeh,[3] in a swap deal that included Hussein Sharafeddine and Ahmed Jalloul.[7]

International career

In 2007, Al Saadi represented the Lebanon national under-23 team at the 2008 Olympics qualifiers.[8]

He participated in the ONGC Nehru Cup as part of the Lebanese team and scored the winning goal in the opening match against India, defeating India 1-0.[9] Additionally, he is known for giving Lebanon the early lead against South Korea in the 4th minute in order to help his team earn their first victory against them in a FIFA-sanctioned competition.[10]

He is one of 24 players involved to the 2013 match-fixing scandal, and suffered one season ban from club football, and a lifetime suspension from the national team.[5]

Career statistics

International
List of international goals scored by Ali Al Saadi
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
119 August 2009New Delhi India1–0Win2009 Nehru Cup
222 August 2009New Delhi Sri Lanka3–4Loss2009 Nehru Cup
323 July 2011Beirut Bangladesh4–0Win2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
415 November 2011Beirut South Korea2–1Win2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
518 May 2012Beirut Jordan1–2LossFriendly
68 June 2012Beirut Uzbekistan1–1Draw2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Safa

Individual

Awards

See also

References
  1. "Safa SC v Muharraq" (PDF). The AFC. 7 November 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. "AFC Cup Final Flashback: AL Muharraq V SAFA (2008)". GhanaSoccernet. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Ali Al-Saadi". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  4. "Lebanon - List of Cup Winners". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  5. "العهد يفوز بقلب دفاع الصفاء". newlebanon.info. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "العهد يواصل تعزيزاته وعين النجمة على كسر هيمنته". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  7. "النجمة يرمم دفاعاته بعلي السعدي". كووورة. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. "Vietnam v Lebanon" (PDF). The AFC. 28 February 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  9. "Nehru Cup: India go down fighting to Lebanon".
  10. https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/asia/matches/round=257791/match=300172533/report.html Match report
  11. "محمد حيدر والنيجيري كابيروموسى الافضل في مهرجان كرة المنار الـ20". An-Nahar. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
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