Mehdi Khalil

Mehdi Salim Khalil (Arabic: مهدي سليم خليل‎, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈmahdi saˈliːm xaˈliːl, -de]; born 19 September 1991) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Lebanese Premier League club Ahed and the Lebanon national team. Khalil is known as "the Mountain" (Arabic: الجبل‎) because of his height.

Mehdi Khalil
Khalil with Lebanon in 2019
Personal information
Full name Mehdi Salim Khalil
Date of birth (1991-09-19) 19 September 1991
Place of birth Freetown, Sierra Leone[1]
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Ahed
Number 1
Youth career
2004–2007 Young Sportsmen Club
2007–2011 Johansen
2010 → Kallon (loan)
2011 → Djurgårdens IF (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Johansen
2011 → Köping FF (loan) 7 (0)
2011 → Djurgårdens IF (loan) 0 (0)
2011–2012 → Kallon (loan)
2013–2017 Safa 50 (0)
2017– Ahed 48 (0)
2020 → Zob Ahan (loan) 8 (0)
National team‡
2013– Lebanon 40 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:26, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2019

Khalil started his senior career in Sierra Leone at Johansen, before moving to Sweden in 2011, first playing at Koping FF before transferring to Djurgården. Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to his native country, at Kallon, before joining Lebanese club Safa in 2013. After spending four years at the club, Khalil moved to Lebanese Premier League reigning champions Ahed in 2017. He won the 2019 AFC Cup with the side, the first in Lebanese history, as the competition's Most Valuable Player. In 2020, Khalil moved to Iranian side Zob Ahan on a six-month loan.

Khalil represented Lebanon at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as their main goalkeeper, playing in all three group stage games. With 40 international caps, Khalil is Lebanon's joint most-capped goalkeeper, alongside Ziad Al Samad.

Early life

Born in Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents, Khalil started playing six-a-side football, a popular form of football in Sierra Leone, at age 12 at Young Sportsmen Club as a defender.[3][4] Noticing his physical attributes, namely his height, Khalil's coach advised him to switch position to goalkeeper.[3][5] At age 15, he moved to Johansen to play football.[4]

Club career

2009–2012: Sierra Leone and Sweden

Khalil began his senior career in Sierra Leone in 2009 at Johansen, a club founded by Norwegian couple Isha and Arne Johansen.[6][7] In 2010, Khalil played for Kallon U19 at the Viareggio Cup, an annual youth tournament held in Italy; he played in two of the three games.[8]

Thanks to his Scandinavian connections, in March 2011 Khalil joined Swedish Division 3 side Köping FF on a three-month loan.[9][10] Talking about his first training session at the club, Khalil said that "[it] was fun [...] the guys seem lovely, and many of them are young, just like me".[9] He played seven games for the club.[11] Between April and June 2011, Khalil trained with Allsvenskan clubs AIK and Trelleborg.[10][12][13]

On 20 July 2011, Khalil moved to Djurgården, AIK's rivals, on a four-month loan.[14] He had been noticed by the club's manager Magnus Pehrsson the previous year at a friendly tournament in Ghana; Khalil was named best goalkeeper of the tournament.[14] On 1 August 2011, he made his debut for the club's under-21 team in the U21 Allsvenskan against Brage, helping his side win 5–1.[15][16] On 25 October 2011, Djurgården announced that Khalil's contract would not be renewed.[17]

Following his experience in Sweden, Khalil moved back to his native Sierra Leone,[18] playing for Kallon during the 2011–12 season.[3]

2013–2017: Safa

Through his links with Roda Antar,[5] a Sierra Leonean-born Lebanese footballer, Khalil moved to Safa in the Lebanese Premier League in January 2013.[5][6] He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract in a deal worth $20,000.[3][5] Initially a reserve for Ziad Al Samad, Khalil became Safa's first choice goalkeeper from his third season at the club.[3]

Khalil did not play in the league in his first season (2012–13). His debut came during the 2013 AFC Cup, playing in a group stage game against Riffa on 2 April 2013; the match ended in a 1–0 win.[19] On 24 April 2013, Khalil was sent off against Regar-TadAZ in the 79th minute, with the opposing team scoring from the subsequent penalty kick.[20] However, Safa still won the encounter 3–2 through a 92nd-minute goal by Mohamad Haidar.[20] In Khalil's first experience in the AFC Cup he played three matches, finishing third in the group.[21]

Khalil's league debut came in the 2013–14 season, on 23 November 2013, in a 5–0 win over Tadamon Sour.[22] He participated in the 2014 AFC Cup, playing two games.[21] Khalil became the club's starter from the 2014–15 season, playing 17 league games.[7] In the 2015–16 season, Khalil played 16 league games,[7] helping Safa win their second league title.[6] He was included in the 2015–16 Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season for his performances.[23]

Following the expiration of his contract in mid-2016, Khalil tried out with several Eerste Divisie teams in the Netherlands.[3] He remained with Safa for one more year, playing 16 games in the league during the 2016–17 season.[7] He also made two appearances in the 2017 AFC Cup.[21] In five seasons at the Beirut-based club, Khalil won two league titles (2012–13 and 2015–16), one FA Cup (2013–14), and one Super Cup (2013).[6]

2017–2020: Ahed
Khalil with Ahed in 2019

In July 2017, Khalil moved to Lebanese Premier League holders Ahed,[6][24] for a fee of around $250,000.[25] Khalil quickly asserted himself as the team's first-choice goalkeeper, playing 18 league games in the 2017–18 season.[7] He helped his team win the domestic treble—the league title, cup, and Super Cup.[7] Khalil was Ahed's goalkeeper at the 2018 AFC Cup, playing eight games and reaching the zonal semi-finals,[21] where they lost to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 5–3 on aggregate.[26][27] In his first season at the club, Khalil was included in the 2017–18 Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season as the league's best goalkeeper.[28]

His next season with the team was also successful, as he won his second domestic treble. He played 21 league games in the 2018–19 season.[7] Khalil featured in the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season.[29] On 4 November 2019, after beating April 25 in the final, he won the 2019 AFC Cup as the competition's Most Valuable Player.[6][30] Conceding just three goals in 11 matches, Khalil kept nine clean sheets (of which five were consecutive in the knock-out stages) as Ahed went unbeaten throughout the whole tournament.[30] The 2019 AFC Cup win was the first for a Lebanese club.[31]

2020: Loan to Zob Ahan
Khalil celebrating with his teammates at Zob Ahan in 2020

On 7 January 2020, Khalil joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Zob Ahan on a six-month loan,[32][33] reuniting him with former Lebanon national team coach Miodrag Radulović.[33][34] He cited the conditions in his country and the ambiguity surrounding the resumption of sports activity as the reasons for the transfer.[35] Khalil became the fourth Lebanese player to play for the Iranian side, after Walid Ismail, Ali Hamam, and Rabih Ataya.[33][34]

He made his league debut for Zob Ahan on 25 January 2020 against Pars Jonoubi Jam; despite being booked in the 64th minute, Khalil kept a clean sheet, helping his side win 1–0 at home.[36] In Khalil's third game, on 7 February 2020, he again kept a 1–0 clean sheet against Sanat Naft, while being booked in the 89th minute.[37] Thanks to his performances in the two fixtures, Khalil was included in the Team of the Week on both occasions.[33] Khalil finished the 2019–20 season with eight games.[21]

2020–present: Return to Ahed

Despite Zob Ahan extending Khalil's loan for an additional year on 27 June 2020,[38] Khalil returned to Ahed as their first-choice goalkeeper. In the first matchday of the 2020–21 season on 4 October 2020, he helped Ahed win 3–2 over Bourj.[39]

International career

Born in Sierra Leone, Khalil was called up for his native country at the under-17 and under-20 levels, however he did not feature in any match.[9][40] Eligible to represent Lebanon through his parents' nationality, Khalil opted to play for Lebanon's senior team in 2013.[7]

Khalil stopping a shot by South Korean forward Son Heung-min in 2019

Khalil made his debut for Lebanon in a 0–0 draw against Bahrain on 17 March 2013.[41] He was part of the squad that played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers between 2015 and 2016; initially Abbas Hassan's reserve for the first three matches, Khalil became Lebanon's first-choice goalkeeper in the final five games of the second round of qualification.[41] Lebanon finished in second place in their group and, despite being eliminated from the World Cup, qualified them for to the final round of qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[42]

Drawn with North Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, Khalil helped Lebanon finish top of the group unbeaten, conceding only four goals in six games.[43] Lebanon reached the Asian Cup finals for the first time through qualification.[43] Khalil was included on the 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad as Lebanon's main goalkeeper.[2] In the first two group stage matches, Lebanon lost 2–0 to both Qatar and Saudi Arabia.[44][45] Needing a win by four goals or more, Lebanon won 4–1 against North Korea for the first time in their history.[46] However, the three points were not enough to qualify Lebanon for the knockout stage.[46] Khalil played all 90 minutes in the three group stage games.[6]

Style of play

Known as "the Mountain" (Arabic: الجبل‎) because of his height,[30][47] Khalil is a goalkeeper with good reflexes and a large physical presence.[6] At 1.96 m (6.4 ft) tall, Khalil was the fifth tallest goalkeeper at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[2] He is a fine shot stopper, and has a tendency to punch balls away from crosses.[6][48] In 2011 his agent Patrick Mörck described him as a "resilient, witty, and responsive goalkeeper", drawing similarities to Swedish former goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson.[9] The same year Magnus Pehrsson, his coach at Djurgården, reaffirmed the similarities with Pehrsson, noting "his size and his actions".[14]

Personal life

Khalil's younger brother, Hadi, is also footballer; he plays as a goalkeeper for the Lebanese club Ahed.[49] His uncle, Hussein Khalil, was also a footballer; he encouraged Mehdi to pursue football as more than a hobby.[5] Khalil's favourite club is Manchester United,[5] and his favourite player is former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.[5][9] Other than football, Khalil enjoys tennis and swimming.[5]

Honours
As of 4 November 2019[50][51]

Club

Safa

Ahed

Individual

Awards

See also

References
  1. "Mehdi Khalil – Soccer player profile & career statistics". Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. "AC2019 Final Squads". The AFC. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. Hawwash, Ayman (4 August 2016). حارس مرمى الصفاء والمنتخب اللبناني مهدي خليل: هدفي المقبل الاحتراف في أوروبا [Goalkeeper of Safa and the Lebanon national team Mahdi Khalil: My next goal is to be a professional in Europe]. Saida City Net (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  4. "Mehdi Khalil har landat" [Mehdi Khalil has landed]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 22 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. Khaled, Nasser (15 April 2020). مهدي خليل يروي في حوار ل قصته المثيرة مع الساحرة المستديرة [Mehdi Khalil, in an interview, tells his exciting story with football]. Kooora. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. Ghanem, Boris (8 December 2019). "Mehdi Khalil, l'impassable cèdre" [Mehdi Khalil, the impassable cedar]. Lucarne Opposée (in French). Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Mehdi Khalil". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  8. "AIK var intresserade av Mehdi Khalil – hade inte plats" [AIK were interested in Mehdi Khalil – did not have a place]. Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  9. Eriksson, Kristina (30 March 2011). "Mehdi vaktar KFF-målet". Magazin24.se (in Swedish). p. 11. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  10. "Mehdi Khalil ska provträna med AIK: "Oslipad diamant"" [Mehdi Khalil to test train with AIK: "Uncut diamond"]. Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). 22 April 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  11. "Mehdi Khalil". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  12. "Officiellt: Mehdi Khalil klar för Djurgårdens IF". Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Official: Mehdi Khalil ready for Djurgårdens IF. 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. "Trelleborg testar målvakten Mehdi Khalil - vill plocka in fler" [Trelleborg tests goalkeeper Mehdi Khalil - wants to pick more]. Fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). 10 June 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. "Ung målvakt klar för Djurgården" [Young goalkeeper ready for Djurgården]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 20 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  15. "U21 mot Brage på Hjorthagen" [U21 against Brage at Hjorthagen]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  16. "Klar seger för U21" [Clear victory for U21]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  17. "Guira och Khalil lämnar DIF" [Guira and Khalil leave DIF]. Djurgården Fotboll (in Swedish). 25 October 2011. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  18. Eriksson, David (19 March 2013). "Ex KFF-are nybliven landslagsman". bblat.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  19. "Safa vs. Al Riffa". Soccerway. 2 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  20. "Regar-TadAZ vs. Safa". Soccerway. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  21. "Lebanon – Mehdi Khalil – Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  22. "Safa vs. Tadamon Sour". Soccerway. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  23. محمد حيدر والنيجيري كابيروموسى الافضل في مهرجان كرة المنار الـ20 [Mohamad Haidar and the Nigerian Musa Kabiru were the best in the 20th Al-Manar Football Festival]. An-Nahar (in Arabic). 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  24. العهد يفوز بقلب دفاع الصفاء [Ahed wins Safa's centre-back]. newlebanon.info. 7 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  25. Khaled, Nasser (1 August 2020). حراس المرمى.. رقم صعب في معادلة الكرة اللبنانية [Goalkeepers ... a difficult number in the Lebanese football equation]. Kooora. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  26. "Al Quwa Al Jawiya vs. Al Ahed". Soccerway. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  27. "Al Ahed vs. Al Quwa Al Jawiya". Soccerway. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  28. النجماوي حسن معتوق أفضل لاعب في لبنان! [Nejmeh player Hassan Matouk is the best player in Lebanon!]. aliwaa.com.lb (in Arabic). 1 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  29. معتوق ومرمر الأفضل هذا الموسم بحسب مهرجان المنار الـ 23 [Maatouk and Marmar are the best this season according to the 23rd Al Manar Festival]. Mulhak (in Arabic). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  30. "Al Ahed's Khalil named MVP". The AFC. 4 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  31. "Al Ahed clinch historic title". The AFC. 4 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  32. حارس منتخب لبنان والعهد مهدي خليل إلى الدوري الإيراني [Lebanon and Ahed goalkeeper Mahdi Khalil to the Iranian League]. Al Mayadeen (in Arabic). 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  33. Nehme, Ale (18 February 2020). "Lebanese abroad: winter transfer window summary". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  34. "Mehdi Khalil interview: debut at Zob Ahan". FA Lebanon. 25 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  35. Khaled, Nasser (6 January 2020). مهدي خليل يرحل للدوري الإيراني [Mahdi Khalil goes to the Iranian league]. Kooora. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  36. "Zob Ahan vs. Pars Jam Bushehr". Soccerway. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  37. "Zob Ahan vs. Sanat Naft". Soccerway. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  38. Mahfoud, Maroun (27 June 2020). "Official: Mehdi Khalil renews his loan at Zob Ahan". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  39. "Ahed vs Bourj". FA Lebanon. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  40. Barrie, Mohamed Fajah (19 May 2011). "Two different Sierra Leone squads have been announced". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  41. Mamrud, Roberto. "Mehdi Salim Khalil – International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  42. Windon, Jacob (2 September 2018). "How Lebanon qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup". Socceroos. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  43. "Radulovic's Lebanon continue to climb". FIFA. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  44. "Group E: Qatar 2–0 Lebanon". The AFC. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  45. "Group E: Lebanon 0–2 Saudi Arabia". The AFC. 12 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  46. "Group E: Lebanon 4–1 DPR Korea". The AFC. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  47. 5 أسلحة في جعبة لبنان من أجل الحلم الآسيوي [5 weapons at Lebanon's disposal for the Asian dream]. Kooora. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  48. Afiouni, Nadim (9 January 2019). "The final 23: who are they?". Lebanese Football Review. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  49. هادي خليل يوقع للتضامن صور [Hadi Khalil signs for Tadamon Sour]. Elsport News (in Arabic). 17 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  50. Fujioka, Atsushi. "Lebanon – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  51. Stokkermans, Karel. "Lebanon – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.