Hussein Abdulghani
حسين عبدالغني
Hussein Abdel-Ghani in the Al-Ahli club shirt
Personal information
Full name Hussein Omar Abdulghani Sulaimani
Date of birth (1977-01-21) 21 January 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Youth career
1992–1995 Al-Ahli
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2008 Al-Ahli 287 (30)
2007 → Al-Rayyan SC (loan) 1 (0)
2008–2009 Neuchâtel Xamax 21 (0)
2009–2017 Al-Nassr 205 (9)
2017–2018 Vereya 14 (0)
2018–2019 Ohod 11 (1)
2019–2020 Al-Ahli 29 (0)
Total 568 (40)
International career‡
1996–2018 Saudi Arabia 138[1] (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:13, 17 September 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:56, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

Hussein Omar Abdulghani Sulaimani (Arabic: حسين عمر عبد الغني سليماني; born 21 January 1977) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a left-back in the Saudi Professional League.

Club career

Al-Ahli

Abdulghani began his career at Al-Ahli, joining the youth team in 1992. He originally started his career as a forward but was moved to full-back, a position he would mainly play at for the remainder of his career, 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]

Later career

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 Arabia 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]

International career

Abdulghani was a regular member of the Saudi Arabia national team. He was on the national team that won 1996 AFC Asian Cup at age 19. He was selected for the 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. Abdulghani announced his retirement from international football after failing to lead his national team to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 6 October 2018, he received a call-up for a friendly match against Brazil.[27]

Career statistics

Club

Updated 26 January 2024.[28][29]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Ahli 1995–96 SPL 14 0 — 1 0 — 9[c] 0 24 0
1996–97 4 0 — 2 0 — — 6 0
1997–98 10 1 — 3 0 — 3[d] 0 16 1
1998–99 21 2 — 1 0 — — 22 2
1999–2000 21 2 — 2 0 3 0 4[e] 0 30 2
2000–01 14 1 — 2 0 — 3[c] 0 19 1
2001–02 3 0 — 0 0 — 4[f] 0 7 0
2002–03 18 2 — 4 1 2 0 9[d] 0 33 3
2003–04 18 2 — 4 0 — 14[d] 2 36 4
2004–05 12 0 — 1 0 5 2 7[d] 1 25 3
2005–06 11 1 — 2 0 — 8[c] 2 21 3
2006–07 11 1 — 3 0 — 9[g] 0 23 1
2007–08 12 1 1 0 4 1 6 1 3[c] 1 23 3
Total 169 13 1 0 29 2 16 3 73 6 288 24
Neuchâtel Xamax 2008–09 SSL 19 0 2 0 — — — 21 0
Al-Nassr 2009–10 SPL 17 3 0 0 1 0 — 4[h] 0 22 3
2010–11 13 0 1 0 2 0 5 2 — 21 2
2011–12 17 0 5 0 2 0 — — 24 0
2012–13 24 1 2 0 4 0 — 4[d] 0 34 1
2013–14 23 0 1 0 4 0 — — 28 0
2014–15 22 2 4 0 2 0 6 0 1[i] 0 35 2
2015–16 18 0 5 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 29 1
2016–17 8 0 1 0 3 0 — — 12 0
Total 142 6 19 0 19 0 16 3 9 0 205 9
Vereya 2017–18 BFL 13 0 1 0 — — — 14 0
Ohod 2018–19 SPL 11 1 0 0 — — — 11 1
Al-Ahli 2018–19 3 0 2 0 — 7 0 — 12 0
2019–20 10 0 0 0 — 7 0 — 17 0
Total 13 0 2 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 29 0
Al-Ahli Total 182 0 3 0 29 2 30 3 73 6 317 24
Career total 367 20 25 0 48 2 46 6 82 6 568 34
  1. ^ Includes King Cup, Swiss Cup and Bulgarian Cup
  2. ^ Includes Crown Prince Cup
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in Federation Cup
  4. ^ a b c d e Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in Saudi Founder's Cup
  6. ^ Appearances in GCC Champions League
  7. ^ Eight appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup, one appearance in Federation Cup
  8. ^ Three appearances in GCC Champions League, one appearance in Federation Cup
  9. ^ Appearances in Saudi Super Cup

International

As of 20 November 2018[30][31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Saudi Arabia 1996 18 0
1997 21 0
1998 22 0
1999 14 2
2000 0 0
2001 17 2
2002 5 0
2003 0 0
2004 4 1
2005 4 0
2006 14 0
2007 3 0
2008 2 0
2009 8 0
2014 2 0
2018 4 0
Total 138 5

International goals

[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 Stadium, Jakarta  Indonesia 2–0 3–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Honours

Al-Ahli

Neuchâtel Xamax FCS

Al-Nassr

OHOD

Saudi Arabia

individual

Other prizes

See also

References

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  6. ^ "وعادت شمسك الذهب!". Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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  12. ^ "بطل الكووس .. رفع الرووس". Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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  14. ^ "" الهــــلال " بطل كأس الامير فيصل بن فهد". Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  15. ^ "الهلال يهزم الأهلي ويتوج بطلاً لكأس ولي العهد السعودي". Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  16. ^ "الأهلي بطلاً لكأس فيصل بفوز تاريخي على اتحاد جدة 3/صفر". Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
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  20. ^ "الشباب جدد فوزه على الأهلي". Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  21. ^ Abdulghani moving to Neuchâtel Xamax - Okaz newspaper Archived 13 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine (AR)
  22. ^ "Верея взе 40-годишен беĸ cъc 108 мача за Саyдитcка Аpабия" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  23. ^ "Звездата на Верея Хюсеин Сюлеймани пред БЛИЦ СПОРТ: Имам само една жена и пет деца, всички са от нея!" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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  32. ^ "( Hussein AL SULAIMANI ) Goals". Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.

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