Omar Al Somah

Omar Jehad al-Somah (Arabic: عمر جهاد السومة‎; born 28 March 1989) is a Syrian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Professional League club Al Ahli and the Syria national team. Nicknamed in Syria as Al ʿAqqid (Arabic: العكيد‎) which is a historical civil character in Damascus known for participating in the resistance against occupiers and for being courageous, helpful and generous.

Omar al-Somah
Al Somah with Syria at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name Omar Jehad al-Somah
Date of birth (1989-03-28) 28 March 1989
Place of birth Deir ez-Zor, Syria
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Al Ahli
Number 9
Youth career
2001–2008 Al Futowa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Al Futowa 39 (22)
2011–2014 Al Qadsia 68 (43)
2014– Al Ahli 143 (128)
National team‡
2007–2008 Syria U20 2 (1)
2008–2012 Syria U23 10 (5)
2012– Syria 26 (15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2019

In July 2012, Al-Somah participated in three games with Nottingham Forest, scoring once in a month-long trial.[1] He impressed manager Sean O'Driscoll enough that the club were looking to sign him on a permanent basis but he was denied a work permit and the club wasn't able to sign him.

In July 2014, Al-Somah joined Al Ahli club in the Saudi League, which is widely considered to be the top football league in the Arab world. In Saudi Arabia, he is highly praised for his numerous achievements. He went on to become the top goal-scorer in the league for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017 consecutively. He played a great role in Al-Ahli's 2016 Saudi League win; their first in 32 years.

Club career

Early life

Al-Somah began his football career at the age of 12, joining the youth academy of Al Futowa (Deir ez-Zor) which won the 2007/2008 the Syrian Under 18 top division,[2] Al Somah won the top scorer of the league that season with 29 goals.[3]

Al Futowa

Al Somah became a regular in the first team at the age of 19 scoring 13 goals making him the third top scorer in his debut season in Syrian Premier League 2008–09, in 2009/2010 Al Somah helped the relegated Al-Fotuwa to win the title of the Syrian second division north and promoted back to top division. He scored 5 goals in the 2010–11 The season was suspended at the half of March and after a few months Al Somah had joined Al Qadsia from Kuwaiti Premier League.[4]

Al Qadsia

While at Al Qadsia, Al Somah helped to win 8 trophies with Al Qadsia, 2 trophies in Kuwaiti Premier League from 2012 and 2014, 2 trophies in Kuwait Emir Cup from 2012 and 2013, 2 trophies in Kuwait Crown Prince Cup from 2013 and 2014. 2 trophies in Kuwait Super Cup from 2013 and 2014.and AFC Cup finalist in 2013, after making 52 appearance and scoring 37. He joined Al Ahli from Saudi Professional League in July 2014.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Omar Al Somah joined Al Ahli on a three-year contract. On 11 August 2014, soon after manager Christian Gross gave him his debut against Al Hazm in Crown Prince Cup with 1–0 victory. On 16 August 2014, he scored his first goal and hat-trick in Saudi Professional League for Al Ahli SC against Hajer. The match was ended with 6–1 result.

On 9 January 2015, he renewed his contract with Al Ahli for 2 more years until 2018.

On 13 February 2015, Omar scored the first goal for Al Ahli in the final of the Saudi Crown Prince Cup against Al-Hilal and won the title. It was his 18th goal in a season with Al Ahli in 17 matches. On 17 February 2015, Somah helped Al Ahli to qualify in the group stage of AFC Champions League by scoring the first goal in a penalty kick against his former club Al Qadsia.

On 15 May 2015, Omar Al Somah ended the 2014–15 season as the top scorer in the Saudi Professional League with 22 goals, but he didn't win the league title with Al Ahli SC. He also continued his good form in 2015 scored 5 goals in 6 matches. He finished first season with Al Ahli SC scored 31 goals (22 goals in Saudi Professional League, 3 goals in Crown Prince Cup and 6 goals in AFC Champions League) in 33 matches.

2015–16 season

In August 2015, he started the second season with Al Ahli SC against Al-Taawon FC. He didn't score and the game ended 0–0. On 27 August, Omar Al Somah scored the first goal for his club in the second match against Al Khaleej. The match was ended in favour of Al Ahli SC 4–0. On 18 October 2015, he scored the first hat-trick of its second season against Al Nassr, Al Ahli SC won that with result 4–2. He also continued his good form in Crown Prince Cup and led Al Ahli SC to win the match against Al-Ittifaq. At the end of the October, he won the player of the month award.

Omar Al Soma continued his good with Al Ahli scoring goal against Al Shabab and Al Ittihad. Four day after Al Ahli's victory against Al Ittihad, he kicked Al-Faisaly player Abel Camara without ball. That match was drawn by 1–1. After the match, he was banned by Saudi Football disciplinary Committee for two matches. On 14 December 2015, after two matches ban, he scored a great hat-trick against Al Raed in matchday 11. He played nine matches in first round of league out of 14, scored 10 goals.

After a defeat against Najran SC in league, he with his team made a strong comeback and won all the remaining games of the league. He scored in all the last eight games of the league, including two against 13 times champions and second place Al Hilal the match that decided the league champion.

In 2015–16 league, he totally scored 27 goals in twenty two matches and helped Al Ahli to win the Saudi Professional League for the first time in 32 years.

On 29 May 2016, Al Soma scored the decisive goal in the extra-time of the 2016 King Cup final against Al Nassr FC. The match was ended by 2–1.

2016–17 season

On 8 August 2016, he scored the equalizing goal against Al-Hilal and helped the team winning 4–3 on penalties in the 2016 Saudi Super Cup at Craven Cottage in London, United Kingdom. the first title with the new Manager José Manuel Gomes.

On 14 August 2016, he scored twice against Al-Ettifaq at the opening of 2016–17 season, with this brace he was the fastest foreigner player in the world who passes the 50 goals mark in only 45 League games.

On 21 October 2016, Al-Ahli lost the second match in the league for the first time in two years against Al Nassr FC. It was also the first match in which he didn't score any goal.

With the return of the manager Christian Gross, Omar Al Somah scored a hat-trick against Hajer Club in the Saudi Crown Prince Cup Quarter finals on 25 October 2016.

Four days after on 29 October 2016, he scored his second super hat-trick in the 7th round against Al-Khaleej, with this he became the Saudi Professional League best foreigner top scorer in its history with 59, and the most hat-trick scoring player with 7. He continued his good form & scoring against Al-Wahda. The match was ended with a result 4–0.

On 25 November 2016, he scored against Al Hilal in the league, but the team lost 2–1. With this defeat, Al Hilal won in Jeddah after eight years.

In December 2016, Al Somah scored six goals in six matches, 4 goals in five league matches and 2 goals in a cup semifinal match.

On 27 January 2017, he scored twice against Al Shabab FC, but got booked by the referee that is why he was absent from the derby Jeddah against rivals Al Ittihad. He made a comeback on 9 February against Al Qadisiya, but unable to save a team from the disastrous defeat. After this painful defeat, Al Ahli lost another match in the league and this time at home against Al Nassr by 2–0.

After two consecutive defeats in the league, he started the 2017 AFC Champions League on a high note, scored on a match day one against Uzbek Club Bunyodkor. The match was ended in the favor of Al Ahli by 2–0.

On 28 February 2017, Omar scored a decisive goal from a free-kick against Iranian Club Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. before the five minutes of the stoppage time and helped the team to remain at the top position of the group C at the end of match day two. After Asian game, he didn't stop from scoring and this time scored against Al-Khaleej.

He played 24 games in league and scored 24 goals. For the third time in a row, he won the Top scorer Award in Saudi League. In Asian Champions League, he played 5 games in group stage and scored 4 goals.

On 18 May, he played the King Cup and scored a goal. At the end the team lost the final. After King's Cup, he was injured and out from the last two game of the season.

2017–18 season

He was victim of injuries in this season and he didn't participate in a lot of matches. He just scored 11 goals in 14 matches played in the league. Furthermore, he wasn't the best goalscorer this season.

2018–19 season

He kept the good performances of the previous seasons, in which he scored 19 goals in 24 matches.[5] He also scored his 100th goal on 7 March, playing against Al-Qadsiah. On 1 March 2019, he scored an overhead kick against Al-Ittihad,[6] which could be nominated for FIFA Puskás Award.

2019–20 season

On 2 January 2020, Al Somah scored the match's only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Fayha in Kings Cup round of 16. On 9 August, he scored 2 goals against Al Ittihad in a 2–1 victory. On 20 August, he scored a goal against Al Hilal in a 2–1 victory. On 9 September, he scored against Al Raed in a 2–0 victory.

2020–21 season

On 29 November 2020, Al Somah scored a goal in a 2–1 win over Al-Faisaly, in which he managed in seven seasons to equal Nasser Al-Shamrani's record of 126 goals in eleven seasons in the Saudi League.[7] On 22 December, he broke the record by scoring his 127th goal in a 1–0 win over Al Fateh.[8]

International career
Somah playing for Syria at 2019 AFC Asian Cup

He played for the Syrian U-19 national team in the AFC U-19 Championship 2008 in Saudi Arabia, he scored his first international goal with Syria U-19 against Iraq. He was a part of the Syrian U-23 national team in the Mediterranean Games 2009 in Italy and Asian football qualifiers for 2012 Olympics Round 4 (play-off round). He was a part of the Syria national football team in the 2012 WAFF Championship in Kuwait.

Due to political reasons, he did not play for Syria again until 2017 in the World Cup Qualifiers. On 31 August 2017, he played in 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification against Qatar in Malaysia. He didn't score in the game, but Syria won the match by 3–1. On 5 September, Syria has an important game against Iran at the end of this qualification. If they win and South Korea lose against Uzbekistan, they'd qualify for the World Cup. Syria took lead in early minutes, but the home team came back quickly. Syria was losing the game, but in extra time and last moment of the game, Al Somah scored the decisive goal. It was his first goal for his country. The match was ended by 2–2. He led Syria into the Asian play-off for the first time. Against Syria's play-off opponents Australia, Al Soma scored the equalizing goal during the first leg in Malaysia. He then scored early in the second leg in Australia to put Syria into a shock lead, but Australia won 2–1 in extra time to end Syria's World Cup qualifying hopes. Al-Somah struck the post and missed on the 119th minute which concluded the Syrian campaign.

In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he wasn't at his best in the tournament, although he mentioned before the tournament that he has high expectations for the team and he bets that the team will advance to the knockout rounds and he guarantees that the team will win their first two matches easily. The team ended up out of the tournament in the first round with just one point taken from the match against Palestine. In an interview on MBC television dated 3 March 2019, he said that the bad intentions were the reason behind the early exit. On 5 September 2019, he scored 2 goals against Philippines in a 5–2 victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Style of play

Omar Al Somah plays an attacking role, most often playing as Centre-Forward, and is known for his finishing and free kick ability. He is also an accurate set piece specialist and is renowned for his bending free kicks. Uniquely, his height, strength, jumping ability and heading technique have given him an edge in winning aerial challenges for balls, with many of his goals often being headers, he also scores with both feet.[9] His playing style have led him to be nicknamed the "Syrian Ibrahimović".

Personal life

He is married since 2016 and has two children.[10]

In December 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.[11]

Philanthropy

In February 2019, he donated 6,000 American dollars to Al-Fotuwa club, the club he started his career with.

Career statistics

Club
As of 15 January 2021[12]
Club Season Saudi Pro League King Cup Crown Prince Cup AFC Champions League Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Assist
Al Ahli 2014–15 2222004376––3331 3
2015–162227343231––3134 1
2016–1724244437751[lower-alpha 1]13941 3
2017–181411101––00––1511 3
2018–19241910––876[lower-alpha 2]23928 6
2019–20251933––41––3223 0
2020–2112600––00––126 1
Career total 14312812111012292073201174 17
  1. Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
  2. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

International goals
Scores and results list Syria's goal tally first.[13]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 September 2017Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran Iran2–22–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.5 October 2017Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong, Malaysia Australia1–11–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.10 October 2017Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia Australia1–01–2 (a.e.t.)
4.24 March 2018Basra Sports City, Basra, Iraq Qatar1–02–22018 International Friendship Championship
5.6 September 2018Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan1–11–1Friendly
6.10 September 2018Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan1–11–2
7.11 October 2018Bahrain National Stadium, Rifaa, Bahrain Bahrain1–01–0
8.15 January 2019Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Australia2–22–32019 AFC Asian Cup
9.5 September 2019Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines Philippines1–15–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.4–1
11.10 October 2019Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Maldives1–02–1
12.2–0
13.15 October 2019 Guam1–04–0
14.2–0
15.3–0

Honours

Club

Al Futowa

  • Syrian Premiere Division Under 18 League: 2007–08[2]
  • Syrian Second Division. Northern Group: 2009–10

Al Qadsia

Al Ahli

International

Syria

Individual

References
  1. "Nottingham Forest trialists hope to do Arab football proud". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  2. "دوري الشباب السوري". Kooora.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. "دوري الشباب السوري". Kooora.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. "الأزرق دوت كوم". Alazraq.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. "Omar Al Soma". soccer24.com.
  6. "هدف الأهلي الأول ضد الاتحاد (عمر السومة) في الجولة 22 من دوري كأس الأمير محمد بن سلمان للمحترفين". Dawri Plus (in Arabic). 1 March 2019.
  7. "السومة يلحق بالشمراني بقائمة تاريخية بالدوري السعودي". Kooora (in Arabic). 29 November 2020.
  8. "رسميا.. عمر السومة الهداف التاريخي للدوري السعودي". Kooora (in Arabic). 22 December 2020.
  9. "Saudi Pro League Statistics 2014/2015". Slstat.com. 28 March 1989. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  10. "عمر السومة يرزق بولدين "توأم" ويعلن عن اسميهما". akhbaar24 (in Arabic). 31 July 2017.
  11. "كورونا يصطاد السومة". Kooora (in Arabic). 7 December 2020.
  12. "Omar Al Somah".
  13. "Al-Somah, Omar". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  14. "IFFHS MAN TEAM - AFC - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 30 January 2021.
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