Soony Saad

Hassan "Soony" Ali Saad (/ˈsuːni ˈsɑːd/; Arabic: حسن "سوني" علي سعد‎, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈħasan ˈsoːni ˈʕali ˈsaʕad]; born August 17, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Korean club Ansan Greeners and the Lebanon national team.

Soony Saad
Saad with Ansar in 2019
Personal information
Full name Hassan Ali Saad
Date of birth (1992-08-17) August 17, 1992
Place of birth Wyandotte, Michigan, United States[1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Ansan Greeners
Number 92
Youth career
2008–2009 IMG Soccer Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Michigan Wolverines 24 (19)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Sporting Kansas City 58 (8)
2015–2016 BEC Tero Sasana 0 (0)
2016 → Pattaya United (loan) 28 (9)
2017 Sporting Kansas City 12 (0)
2017 → Swope Park Rangers (loan) 2 (1)
2018 Indy Eleven 29 (5)
2019–2020 Ansar 10 (6)
2020– Ansan Greeners 11 (0)
National team‡
2010 United States U20 1 (1)
2013– Lebanon 15 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 1, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 12, 2020

Born in the United States, Soony Saad also holds Lebanese citizenship due to his origins. Indeed, while he represented his native country at youth level until 2010, Saad switched allegiance to Lebanon in 2013.

Early life

American by birth, Saad also holds Lebanese citizenship due to his origins.[3] His father emigrated from Lebanon to the United States in the 1980s to escape the Lebanese Civil War.[4]

Club career

Youth and college

Saad set a state single-season record with 76 goals in his 2009 season while concluding his high school career with a state record 172 goals, plus 51 assists; breaking previous state high school single-season goals record of 69 set in 2000, and previous state high school career goals record of 169 set in 1995.[5] He also earned the 2009 Michigan Soccer Coaches Association "Mr. Soccer" Title and was named the 2009–10 Gatorade National Player of the Year.[6]

Saad had a very successful freshman season with the Michigan Wolverines, scoring 19 goals in 24 games,[7] smashing the previous record of 14 for most goals by a freshman at the University of Michigan, while setting records for shots and overall points.[8] He helped the team win their first Big Ten Tournament Championship and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[8] Saad left school after his freshman year to seek a professional contract with a European team.[9]

Sporting Kansas City

In June 2011, Saad signed a professional contract with Major League Soccer. On July 5, 2011, Sporting Kansas City won his services in a weighted lottery system utilized by the league to distribute players who sign with the league after the MLS SuperDraft.[10]

Saad made his MLS debut on August 17, 2011, during his 19th birthday.[11] He scored a debut goal in the 72nd minute, just nine minutes after he came on. Soony also netted two more goals for Sporting in reserve games against Colorado Rapids[12] and FC Dallas,[13] and scored once in a friendly against Guadalajara on October 12, 2011. During his three-year stay, Saad scored eight league goals in 58 appearances.[14]

Thailand

On December 8, 2014, Saad signed with BEC Tero Sasana and then went out on loan to Pattaya United, where he scored nine goals in 28 league appearances during the 2016 Thai League season.[15]

Return to Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City announced the re-acquisition of Soony Saad on a two-year contract for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, with an option for extension for the 2019 season.[16] After being sent on loan to Swope Park Rangers, a USL Championship club affiliated with Sporting Kansas, Saad was waived during the 2018 preseason.[17]

Indy Eleven

On February 21, 2018, Saad joined the Indy Eleven of the United Soccer League:[18] he scored five league goals in 29 appearances.[14]

2018–19 season

On January 18, 2019, Lebanese club Ansar announced the signing of Soony Saad on a six-month contract.[19][20] On his debut game in the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League, played on January 27, 2019, he scored and assisted once against Safa.[21] On February 15, 2019, Saad scored a long-distance shot from 30 meters, finding the back of the net in a 4–0 win against Salam Zgharta.[22] This would be the first time in more than two years that the Beirut Municipal Stadium had hosted a game.[23] On May 10, 2019, Saad scored in the quarter-finals of the Lebanese FA Cup, helping his side defeat Nejmeh in the Beirut derby.[24]

In his first year at the club Saad scored six league goals in 10 games with Ansar,[25] as well as one cup goal, finishing second in both the league and the cup. On May 29, 2019, Ansar renewed Saad's contract for two seasons.[26]

2019–20 season

Saad's first goal of the season came on August 18, 2019, when he scored his first brace for Ansar in a 5–0 win over Chabab Ghazieh at the 2019 Lebanese Elite Cup semi-final.[27] Saad was released by Ansar in March 2020 due to financial issues with the club.[28]

Ansan Greeners

On March 27, 2020, Saad moved to K League 2 side Ansan Greeners.[29] Saad made his debut for his new club on May 23, 2020, coming on as a substitute in the second half against Bucheon.[30] His debut in the starting eleven came three days later, on May 26, in a 1–0 defeat against Daejeon Hana Citizen.[31]

International career

Saad received his first call up to join the United States national under-20 team in December 2010,[32] and played in one game against Canada, scoring once.[33]

In May 2013, Saad became eligible to join the Lebanon national football team and he accepted a call-up for a friendly against Oman scheduled for May 29. In the process, Saad became the first Major League Soccer player to join the Lebanon national team.[34] With the start, Saad made his international debut in the match and scored Lebanon's only goal in an eventual 1–1 draw in the 62nd minute.[35] In March 2013, he scored Lebanon's third goal against Thailand in their 5–2 victory in the 2015 Asian Cup qualification and, two years later in September 2016, he scored his third for Lebanon against Afghanistan in a friendly.[14]

Personal life

Soony is a practicing Muslim, and observes Ramadan.[36]

On September 5, 2017, Saad traveled with the Lebanon national team to North Korea to play in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.[3] Due to the hostile relations between North Korea and the United States, Saad precautiously handed his American passport to the team manager, holding onto his Lebanese one.[3] He also "grew out [his] beard to look extra Lebanese" and "spoke in a Lebanese accent when [he] spoke in English".[3]

Career statistics

International
As of match played November 12, 2020[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team YearAppsGoals
Lebanon 201321
201421
201500
201641
201720
201810
2019 3 0
2020 1 0
Total153
Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Saad goal.
List of international goals scored by Soony Saad
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
1 May 29, 2013Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar Oman1–11–1Friendly[38]
2 March 5, 2014Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand3–15–22015 AFC Asian Cup qualification[39]
3 September 5, 2016International Olympic Stadium, Tripoli, Lebanon Afghanistan1–02–0Friendly[40]

Honors

Club

Michigan Wolverines

Sporting Kansas City

Individual

Awards

See also

References
  1. "Soony Saad - Soccer player profile & career statistics - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. "Soony Saad". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  3. "An American In North Korea, Playing Soccer Amid A Bomb Test". www.wbur.org. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  4. "A nuclear test and a soccer match: Soony Saad's tense trip to North Korea". sportingkc.com. September 14, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  5. Chad Konecky (July 11, 2010). "Soony Saad: Gatorade profile". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  6. Pete Cunningham (May 20, 2010). "Michigan soccer commit Soony Saad named Gatorade National Player of the Year". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  7. "Soony Saad - Men's Soccer". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  8. "Saad Collects Big Ten First Team, Freshman of the Year at Awards Banquet". CBS Interactive. November 11, 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  9. Brian Mechanick (January 27, 2011). "Soony Saad leaving Michigan for European professional team". The Michigan Daily. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  10. Josh Hakala (July 5, 2011). "Sporting Kansas City win MLS lottery for former Michigan star Soony Saad". mlive.com. MLive Media Group. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  11. Andrew Wiebe (August 18, 2011). "It ain't pretty, but Saad happy to log first goal on birthday". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
  12. "Reserves earn 1-0 win over Colorado Rapids". sportingkc.com. August 8, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  13. "FC Dallas Reserves down Sporting Kansas City Reserves 5-3 :: SportsPageMagazine.com". March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  14. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Soony Saad". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  15. Skylar Rolstad (October 18, 2014). "Report: Soony Saad transferred to Thailand club". reportingkc.com. FanSided Inc. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  16. Kovzan, Sam. "Sporting KC signs 24-year-old forward Soony Saad". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  17. Sam Kovzan (February 8, 2018). "Sporting KC waives forward Soony Saad". sportingkc.com. MLS. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  18. "MLS Forward Soony Saad signs with Indy Eleven". indyeleven.com. Indy Eleven. February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  19. "سوني سعد إلى الدوري اللبناني من بوابة الأنصار". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  20. Kuhn, Mike (January 23, 2019). "Across State Lines: Palmer-Brown Headed Back to City?". The Blue Testament. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  21. "Saad scores on debut as Ansar dispatch Safa". www.pressreader.com. The Daily Star (Lebanon). January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  22. "بالصور: الأنصار يكتسح السلام زغرتا في الدوري اللبناني". كووورة. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  23. للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "الانصار دشن عودة الحياة الى الملعب البلدي بفوز كبير على السلام زغرتا في حضور محافظ بيروت". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  24. الجديد, بيروت ــ العربي. "الأنصار يُقصي النجمة في ديربي كأس لبنان ويتأهل لنصف النهائي". alaraby (in Arabic). Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  25. "Lebanese League 2018/2019 Goal Scorers". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  26. Lebanon, Football. "الأنصار يجدد عقد سوني لموسمين". football-lebanon.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  27. Haroun, Ali (August 18, 2019). "فوز كبير للانصار على الشباب الغازية وتأهله لملاقاة شباب الساحل في نهائي النخبة" [A big victory for Ansar against Chabab Ghazieh to qualify to the Elite Cup final against Shabab Al Sahel]. El Maestro Sport (in Arabic). Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  28. "أزمة مستحقات اللاعبين (1).. شكاوى بالجملة والاتحاد اللبناني يرد". كووورة. March 21, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  29. "안산그리너스FC, 아시아쿼터에 레바논 공격수 '사드' 배치!!!". Ansan Greeners FC. March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  30. "Ansan Greeners vs. Bucheon 1995 - 23 May 2020 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  31. "Daejeon Hana Citizen vs. Ansan Greeners - 26 May 2020 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  32. "Saad Selected for USA U-20 National Team Training Camp". CBS Interactive. December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  33. Noah Davis (December 21, 2010). "McInerney Strikes in US U-20's Win Over Canada". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  34. Austin, Kurt. "Kei Kamara and Soony Saad selected for upcoming international matches". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  35. Schroeder, Alice. "Weekly Update: May 29, 2013". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  36. Keeler, Sean (July 31, 2012). "Ramadan a challenge for Muslim athletes". FOX Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  37. "Soony Saad". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  38. Abboud, Dany. "Kansas City star Saad to finally make Cedars competitive debut". Daily Star Lebanon. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  39. "Lebanon 5 Thailand 2". ESPN FC. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  40. "Lebanon vs Afghanistan Football Results | 05 Sep 2016". www.scorespro.com.
  41. "Lebanon - Soony Saad - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  42. "Recap: MLS Cup champions Sporting KC prevail in 10-round penalty shootout after 1-1 draw". sportingkc.com. December 7, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  43. "Soony Saad - Men's Soccer". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
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