Mubarak Mustafa

Mubarak Mustafa (Arabic: مبارك مصطفى‎; born 30 March 1973 in Qatar) is a former Qatari football player who currently works as a sports analyst for Al Kass. He is known for his numerous achievements with Qatari club Al-Arabi, as well as being the former captain of the Qatar national team. According to RSSSF, he is the top scorer for Qatar with 41 goals, ahead of Sebastián Soria and Mohammed Salem Al-Enazi.[1]

Mubarak Mustafa
Personal information
Full name Mubarak Mustafa Fazli Noorallah
Date of birth (1973-03-30) 30 March 1973
Place of birth Umm Ghuwailina, Qatar
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Number 20
Youth career
1985–1990 Al-Arabi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–2003 Al-Arabi
2003–2006 Al-Khor
2006–2007 Al-Gharafa
National team
1992–2004 Qatar 85 (41)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Qatari football and was an integral component of one of Qatar's best-ever national sides in the early 1990s alongside Khalid Salman, Mahmoud Soufi and Adel Khamis.

Personal life

Mustafa was born in Umm Ghuwailina,[2] a suburb of Doha located near Al Arabi's club headquarters.

Club career

Al-Arabi

Mustafa was spotted by a talent scout while playing in a domestic school league at an early age. He accepted an offer to play in Al-Arabi's junior teams where he instantly stood out among his peers.[3]

Capitalizing on this shortly after, Al-Arabi placed Mubarak Mustafa in the successful senior squad, although it was initially difficult to get a starting position in the squad. He eventually earned a permanent place in the squad after showcasing his goal-scoring ability, securing Al-Arabi's place as Qatar's best club side at the time. He reached the peak of his career in 1994, when he led the dream team into the finals of the 1994 AFC Champions League, eventually losing to Thai Farmers Bank with a score of 1–0. In the process of Al-Arabi's Champions League campaign, they became the second Qatari team to make it to the finals of the AFC Champions League, the other club being Al Sadd.

Mustafa is also the only player in history to win the Arab Golden Boot and Arab Player of the Year award in a single season. He was also the top scorer in the Qatar Stars League three times: the first being in the 1991–1992 season, the second in the 1992–1993 season, and the final time being in the 1996–1997 season.

His exploits earning him recognition internationally; he represented the Asian XI in a match in 1999 against the Thailand national team. Asian XI lost 4–1, with Mustafa netting the team's only goal from a spot kick in the 75th minute.[4]

During his playing period, he had many offers to play abroad, notably offers in Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and a number of clubs in Bahrain. He could not pursue any of them as his club, Al Arabi, refused to let him play professionally.[5]

Al-Khor

In a move which shocked many fans, Mustafa left Al-Arabi in 2003 to join Al Khor after a string of disappointing seasons for Al-Arabi, due to personal disputes with certain officials and players in the club. Mustafa led Al-Khor to their first major trophy in 46 years in just two seasons after Al-Khor beat Al Gharafa in 2005 to claim the Qatar Crown Prince Cup for the first time in the club's history.

Al-Gharafa

In 2006, Mustafa moved to Al-Gharafa, one of the most successful teams in the Qatar Stars League. He helped them finish second in the league, as well as making it to the finals of the Qatar Crown Prince Cup. He retired from professional football in 2007, at the age of 34.

International career

Qatar Senior squad

Mustafa started his senior international career at the age of 19. He helped establish the Qatar football team on the international stage, claiming many achievements in his time of playing for the Qatar national team, such as winning the 1992 Gulf Cup of Nations, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona,[6] and winning the 1998 Arab Nations Cup. He played for Qatar in the 1998 World Cup Qualifiers, scoring two goals in the group stage and securing the top position in their group before getting eliminated in the final round.

In a match at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Mustafa scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Egypt, registering the first competitive win in Qatar's history against an African nation.[7]

Mustafa had a reputation of being a fair player, having been shown no red cards in his international career. He later received the World Fair Play Trophy in 2005. Mustafa officially retired from international football in 2004.

Post retirement

After retiring from professional football, Mustafa was appointed the Director of football of Al-Arabi.[8] He still occasionally manages the first team.

In 2009, Mubarak Mustafa received the International Olympic Committee's annual ideal player award.[9] In doing so, he is the first Qatari to ever win the award. He expressed his deep happiness for receiving IOC Award, which represents a great honor for Qatar sport in general and Qatar Olympic committee (QOC) in particular.

On 17 October 2011, Mustafa played a tribute game in honour of deceased Emirati player Theyab Awana. The game was between Al-Salmiya Stars and Arab Stars, with Mustafa playing for the former. Adel Khamis also took part in the match. The match took place in Thamir Stadium. Mustafa scored 2 early goals to give him a brace, however the visitors equalized in the second half and eventually narrowly won 7–6.

On 28 April 2012, after a very unsuccessful season for Al Arabi which saw them finish on par with their joint lowest standing in the league, he announced that he would be leaving the club as director of football at the end of the 2011/12 season.[10] Shortly after, he joined Al Kass as a sports analyst.[11]

International goals
Scores and results list Qatar's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Qatar goal.
List of international goals scored by Mubarak Mustafa[12]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
131 May 1992Doha, Qatar Oman4–01992 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2
313 October 1992Doha, Qatar Hungary1–11–1Friendly
431 October 1992Hiroshima, Japan Saudi Arabia1–01–11992 AFC Asian Cup
527 November 1992Doha, Qatar Oman2–011th Arabian Gulf Cup
630 November 1992Doha, Qatar Bahrain1–01–0
73 December 1992Doha, Qatar Kuwait4–0
811 April 1993Doha, Qatar Vietnam4–01994 FIFA World Cup qualification
916 April 1993Doha, Qatar Singapore4–1
10
1121 April 1996Doha, Qatar Kuwait3–1Friendly
12
1325 May 1996Doha, Qatar Russia2–5
1420 September 1996Doha, Qatar Sri Lanka3–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1527 September 1996Doha, Qatar India6–0
1622 September 1998Doha, Qatar Libya2–12–11998 Arab Nations Cup
1726 September 1998Doha, Qatar Jordan1–02–0
181 October 1998Doha, Qatar Saudi Arabia1–31–3
192 November 1998Manama, Bahrain Kuwait2–614th Arabian Gulf Cup
203 December 1998Suphanburi, Thailand Tajikistan2–02–11998 Asian Games
2112 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand Thailand1–12–1
2220 January 2000Doha, Qatar Bosnia and Herzegovina1–02–0Friendly
232–0
2410 March 2010Doha, Qatar Sudan3–0
25
2631 March 2000Doha, Qatar Palestine1–01–02000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
272 April 2000Doha, Qatar Kazakhstan2–03–1
285 January 2001Doha, Qatar Jordan3–1Friendly
2912 January 2001Doha, Qatar Kuwait1–01–0
3012 February 2001Bangkok, Thailand Thailand1–03–12001 King's Cup
314 March 2001Hong Kong Malaysia3–15–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
328 March 2001Hong Kong Palestine2–12–1
335 August 2001Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia2–1Friendly
34
3519 November 2003Doha, Qatar Singapore2–02–02004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
365 January 2004Kuwait City, Kuwait Yemen3–017th Arabian Gulf Cup
378 January 2004Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait2–1
3813 February 2004Doha, Qatar Bahrain2–0Friendly
399 June 2004Doha, Qatar Laos1–05–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
402–0
418 September 2004Vientiane, Laos Laos6–1

Achievements

Club

Personal

References
  1. "List of international goals". Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  2. أحد أبرز المهاجمين في تاريخ الكرة القطرية (in Arabic). daharchives.com. 30 September 1998. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  3. "Mubarak Mustafa's Football Biography on QFA.com". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  4. "International Matches 1999 – Other". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  5. "أجوبة اللقاء مع النجم مبارك مصطفى حصريا على العنابي فقط". Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  6. "Mubarak Mustafa on FIFA.com". Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  7. "QFA – 1992 Summer Olympics". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  8. "Al-Arabi article". Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  9. "Qatar Olympic Committee – QOC Awards". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  10. "السنياري : لن استمر مع العربي في الموسم المقبل". Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  11. "السنياري ينضم لبرنامج المجلس رسميا". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  12. Mamrud, Roberto. "Mubarak Mustafa Fazli Noorallah - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF.
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