Hussein Abdulghani

Abdulghani began his career at Al-Ahli joining the youth team in 1992. He originally started his career as a forward but he was moved to full-back, the position he would mainly play, by Amin Dabo the youth team manager at the time.[2] Abdulghani made his Al-Ahli debut on 26 September 1995 in a Federation Cup tie with Al-Qadsiah. The match ended in a 2–1 loss.[3]

On 25 November 1995, Abdulghani made his league in the derby match against Al-Ittihad that ended in a 2–1 win.[4] He made 24 appearances in all competitions in his first season with the club as Al-Ahli finished runners-up in the league. In his second season, Abdulghani missed matches for Al-Ahli due to the national team's participation in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup. On 25 December 1997, Abdulghani scored his first league goal for the club against Al-Wehda.[5] On 11 March 1998, Abdulghani started the Crown Prince Cup final against Al-Riyadh and provided the assist for Masaad's golden goal in the 97th minute, as Al-Ahli won their third Crown Prince Cup title.[6] This was Al-Ahli's first silverware since 1985. On 15 November 1999, Abdulghani made his continental debut for Al-Ahli against Syrian side Al-Jaish in the 1999–2000 Asian Cup Winners' Cup.[7]

Abdulghani missed most of the 2001–02 season with Al-Ahli through injury after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty. He was substituted in the 84th minute in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Thailand on 21 October 2001.[8] He made his return on 15 March 2002 in the Gulf Club Champions Cup match against Emirati side Al-Shabab.[9] On 22 March 2002, Abdulghani started in the 2–0 win against Omani side Dhofar as Al-Ahli won their second Gulf Club Champions Cup.[10] On 27 December 2002, Abdulghani was suspended for six matches for comments he made towards the referee, Mamdouh Al-Mirdas, following the loss against Al-Hilal.[11] On 3 February 2003, Abdulghani started the Arab Unified Club Championship final against Tunisian side Club Africain as Al-Ahli won their first Arab title.[12]

Following the retirement of Mohammed Al-Jahani, Abdulghani was named as the club captain starting from the 2004–05 season.[13] His first final as club captain ended in a loss in the 2005 Federation Cup final against Al-Hilal.[14] Six months later, Abdulghani also captained the side in the 2006 Crown Prince Cup final loss against Al-Hilal as well.[15] On 9 February 2007, Abdulghani captained Al-Ahli as they won their third Federation Cup, defeating derby rivals Al-Ittihad in the final by 3–0 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.[16] Two months later, on 27 April 2007, Abdulghani captained Al-Ahli as they won their fifth Crown Prince Cup title, defeating derby rivals Al-Ittihad in the final once again.[17]

In May 2007, Abdulghani was loaned to Qatari side Al-Rayyan on a short term deal.[18] He made one appearance in the Emir of Qatar Cup quarter-finals. Abdulghani missed a penalty in the penalty shoot-outs as Al-Rayyan were eliminated by Al-Arabi. On 4 April 2008, Abdulghani was sent off in the league match against Najran, and was suspended for two matches. On 26 April 2008, his suspension was lifted.[19] On 27 April 2008, Abdulghani made his final appearance for Al-Ahli in the 3–1 loss against Al-Shabab in the 2nd leg of the King Cup quarter-finals.[20]

He then moved to Swiss based Neuchâtel Xamax staying for a year. He made 13 appearances without scoring.[21] His transfer to Europe had made him the third Saudi footballer to play in Europe, after Sami Al-Jaber and Fahad Al-Ghesheyan. In 2009, he returned to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Nassr. He is one of the longest-tenured and most experienced Saudi footballers.

On 13 September 2017, he signed a one-year contract with Bulgarian First League club Vereya.[22] He hoped to take a chance to play for the Saudi Arabian national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[23] In June 2018, he went back to Saudi Arabia to sign for the newly promoted Ohod.[24] In January 2019, he returned to his former club Al-Ahli.[25] On 15 October 2020, Abdulghani announced his retirement.[26]

As of 30 September 2020.[28][29]

As of 20 November 2018[30][31]

[32]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 June 1999	Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha	Jordan	2–0	2–1	Friendly
2	9 July 1999	Titan Stadium, Fullerton	Canada	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3	8 February 2001	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam	Mongolia	4–0	6–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
4	8 February 2001	Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam	Mongolia	5–0	6–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
5	14 October 2004	Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta	Indonesia	2–0	3–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)