Wikipedia

Firas Al-Khatib

Firas Mohamad Al Khatib(Arabic:فراس محمد الخطيب;born 9 June 1983) is aSyrianformerfootballerwho mainly played as aforward.[1]He is theSyria national teamall-time top goalscorer, with 36 goals.[2]

Firas Al Khatib
Al-Khatib withSyriain 2010
Personal information
Full name Firas Mohamad Al Khatib
Date of birth (1983-06-09)9 June 1983(age 41)
Place of birth Homs,Syria
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Al-Fahaheel(head coach)
Youth career
1994–1999 Al-Karamah
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Al-Karamah 39 (21)
2002–2003 Al-Naser 21 (13)
2003–2009 Al-Arabi 196 (186)
2005 →Al-Ahli(loan) 1 (0)
2009–2011 Al-Qadsia 23 (17)
2011–2012 Umm Salal 6 (1)
2012 Al-Qadsia 8 (4)
2012–2013 Zakho 7 (2)
2013–2014 Shanghai Shenhua 41 (12)
2014–2016 Al-Arabi 59 (51)
2016–2017 Al-Kuwait 18 (13)
2017–2019 Al-Salmiya 16 (11)
Total 435 (331)
International career
1999–2001 Syria U17 23 (17)
2001–2003 Syria U20 33 (39)
2003–2004 Syria U23 24 (11)
2001–2019 Syria 72 (36)
Managerial career
2019–2020 Al-Salmiya(assistant)
2021 Al-Naser(assistant)
2022 Zakho
2022– Al-Fahaheel
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Al Khatib atAl-Qadsia.

Early life

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Al-Khatib began playing football at Al-Karamah SC, he was included in the club's categories U-14, with whom he played for two seasons. One of the most important achievements of Al Khatib with youth Al Karamah was the victory of the Republic Cup and the title of the league's top scorer twice 1994–95, 1995–96. He then went on to play for Al Karamah U-17 in 1997, where he was crowned with the league title in the same year.

He also won the top scorer title. All this helped the young boy reach the youth team. During two seasons with U-19 team, he managed to win the league title and the second scorer.[3]

Al Karamah

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Al Khatib started his professional career in theSyrian Premier LeaguewithAl-Karamahin the Season 1999–2000. On 6 October 2000, he scored his first goal in the Syrian Premier League againstAl-Futowawhich 1–1 finished.

During 2001, he spent two trials in Belgium; first withGentand the second withAnderlecht.

Al Naser

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In August 2002, he transferred to Kuwaiti ClubAl-Naser,and played inKuwaiti Premier Leaguefor the first time. He then moved toAl-Arabi,which also competed in the Kuwaiti Premier League.

Al Arabi

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WithAl-Arabihe won theKuwait Emir Cupthree times, theKuwait Crown Prince Cuptwice and theKuwait Super Cuponce. He also scored 134 goals for the club and became a legend in the club.

In June 2005, he was loaned out toAl-AhliinQatarfor one match, and played alongsidePep Guardiola.

Qadsia

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On 24 August 2009, Al Khatib signed a two-year contract withAl-Qadsiain the Kuwaiti Premier League and played alongside his old teammateJehad Al-Hussain.[4]

In July 2012, he participated in three games withNottingham Forest,scoring once in a trial of month.[5]He impressed managerSean O'Driscollenough that the club were looking to sign him on a permanent basis but he was denied a work permit and the club was unable to sign him.[6]

Zakho

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On 10 September 2012, he tweeted that he signed withIraqi Premier LeagueclubZakho FCofficially.

Shanghai Shenhua

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He left Iraq to joinSergio Batista'sChinese Super LeaguesideShanghai Shenhuaat February 2013. He scored his first goal in hisChinese Super Leaguedebut.

Return to Al Arabi

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He became a free agent at the end of the 2013–14 football season and returned toKuwait.He declined an offer fromKuwait SCand joinedAl-Arabi SCon a 2-year deal.

During the first derby againstAl-Salmiya,Al-Khatib scored his 100th league goal, but Al-Arabi SC lost the match 3–2.[7]

Al-Khatib ended the season with 20 goals and shared the VIVA Premier League 2014–15 top league scorer withPatrick Fabiano.His total goal tally in all competitions was 24 goals. In 2015–16, he was selected in the VIVS Premier League 1st Team alongside teammateAli Maqseed.Al-Khatib also won the VPL Golden Boot and top scorer of Al-Arabi with 27 goals; his highest tally in any season with any team.

Al Salmiya

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In September 2017, he joined to Al-Salmiya, and scored 11 goals in his Kuwaiti Premier League. He became the best goalscorer in Kuwait Premier League history after he scored 147 goals, exceeding many Kuwaiti legends.[8]

Retirement

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On 29 September 2019, Al-Khatib announced his retirement from football after spending the whole summer without a club.[9]He finished his career scoring 349 goals[a]to achieve the 19th place in the list of world's best goal scorer of 21st century,[10][11]as well as being the all-time top scorer of all Kuwaiti domestic competitions with 210 goals.[12]He was also the all-time top scorer in theKuwaiti Premier League,with 162 goals, beforeBader Al-Mutawabroke his record in 2024.

International career

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Between 2001 and 2002, Al-Khatib played for theSyrian U-17 team.He played for Syria in theAFC U-17 Championship 2002in theUnited Arab Emiratesand was part of the Syrian U-23 team that participated in the AFC Olympic qualification campaign for the2004 Summer Olympics.

Al-Khatib was a regular for theSyria national football teamfrom 2001 to 2012. His international debut was at theFIFA World Cup qualification 2002,[13]when he came on as a substitute forKhaled Al Zaherin the match againstPhilippineon 4 May 2001 in theAl-Hamadaniah StadiuminAleppo.On 11 May 2001 he scored one goal in the FIFA World Cup qualification 2002 match againstLaosthe match was finished 9–0 forSyria.

From 2012 to 2017, Al-Khatib boycotted the Syrian national football team to protest presidentBashar al-Assadand his government's airstrikes against Al-Khatib's hometown of Homs. On 23 March 2017, al-Khatib re-joinedSyrian national football teamand expressed support for Assad.[14]

He was not included in the final squad of2019 AFC Asian Cupafter getting injured about a month before the tournament, although, he claimed that he was capable of participating if the manager called him because his injury was minor and he could be part of the second match at least. It was really disappointing to him as he mentioned many times on Bein Sports as he was one of the pundits there during the tournament.[15]He was one of the first people who asked to sack coachBernd Stangeafter the loss againstJordan.[16]In an interview diffused 20 March 2019, he denied any rows between players about the captaincy before and duringAsian cup 2019,and denied also whatOmar Al Somahsaid earlier about falling out for the captaincy armband.[17]

On 5 September 2019, Al Khatib played againstPhilippinein the2022 FIFA World Cup qualification;hence he became the first Asian and seventh footballer in total to participate in six different World Cup qualifiers, other footballers are:Gianluigi Buffon,Essam El Hadary,Pat Jennings,Russell Latapy,Víctor René Mendieta OcampoandDwight Yorke.[18]

Managerial career

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In 2019–20, Al Khatib became an assistant coach at Al-Salmiya.[19]In June 2021, he was appointed as the head coach of his hometown club Al Karamah.[20]A few days later, Al-Khatib refrained for Al Karama coaching due to "family circumstances". Subsequently, he was appointed as an assistant coach at Al-Naser.[21]

In April 2022, Firas became the coach of the Iraqi clubZakho.[22]Three months later, in July 2022, Firas returns to Kuwait as coach ofAl-Fahaheel.[23]In May 2024, he extended his contract with the latter until 2025.[24]

Career statistics

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International

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Syria[25]
Year Apps Goals
2001 2 1
2002 7 5
2003 5 5
2004 4 1
2006 7 5
2008 8 3
2009 7 6
2010 3 0
2011 5 1
2017 9 2
2018 2 1
2019 13 6
Total 72 36

International goals

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Scores and results list Syria's goal tally first.[25][26][27]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 May 2001 Al-Hamadaniah Stadium,Aleppo,Syria Laos 8–0 9–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 9 December 2002 Bahrain National Stadium,Riffa,Bahrain Bahrain 1–0 3–2 Friendly
3. 3–2
4. 17 December 2002 Kuwait National Stadium,Kuwait City,Kuwait Yemen 1–0 3–2 2002 Arab Nations Cup
5. 3–2
6. 21 December 2002 Lebanon 1–0 4–1
7. 15 October 2003 Abbasiyyin Stadium,Damascus,Syria Sri Lanka 5–0 5–0 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
8. 18 October 2003 1–0 8–0
9. 3–0
10. 4–0
11. 7 November 2003 United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–1
12. 26 March 2004 Palestine 1–0 1–1 Friendly
13. 7 February 2006 3–0 3–0
14. 22 February 2006 Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo, Syria South Korea 1–1 1–2 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
15. 1 March 2006 Zhongshan Soccer Stadium,Taipei,Taiwan Chinese Taipei 4–0 4–0
16. 15 November 2006 Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus, Syria 2–0 3–0
17. 3–0
18. 8 June 2008 Thamir Stadium,Salmiya,Kuwait Kuwait 1–1 2–4 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
19. 2–2
20. 29 December 2008 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain Bahrain 1–0 2–2 Friendly
21. 14 January 2009 Aleppo International Stadium,Aleppo, Syria China 3–0 3–2 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
22. 18 January 2009 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium,Kuwait City, Kuwait Turkmenistan 4–1 5–1 Friendly
23. 5–1
24. 23 January 2009 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait 3–2 3–2
25. 28 January 2009 Saida Municipal Stadium,Sidon,Lebanon Lebanon 2–0 2–0 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification
26. 27 January 2009 Saputo Stadium,Montreal,Canada Haiti 2–0 2–1 Friendly
27. 13 January 2011 Qatar SC Stadium,Doha,Qatar Japan 1–1 1–2 2011 AFC Asian Cup
28. 26 August 2017 Hang Jebat Stadium,Malacca,Malaysia Iraq 1–0 1–1 Friendly
29. 13 November 2017 Karbala Sports City,Karbala,Iraq 1–0 1–1
30. 27 March 2018 Basra Sports City,Basra,Iraq 1–1 1–1 2018 International Friendship Championship
31. 23 March 2019 Jordan 1–0 1–0 2019 International Friendship Championship
32. 8 July 2019 The Arena,Ahmedabad,India North Korea 5–2 5–2 2019 Hero Intercontinental Cup
33. 16 July 2019 India 1–1 1–1
34. 5 August 2019 Karbala Sports City, Karbala, Iraq Yemen 1–1 1–1 2019 WAFF Championship
35. 11 August 2019 Palestine 2–3 3–4
36. 5 September 2019 Panaad Stadium,Bacolod,Philippines Philippines 3–1 5–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

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Club

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Al-Arabi[28]

Al-Qadsia[28]

Kuwait SC

International

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Syria[28]

Individual

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Personal life

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He is married and has 6 children.[29]

Notes

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  1. ^344 goals were scored in the 21st century, while 5 others were in the 20th century.[10]

References

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Cited sources

  1. ^"Firas Al Khatib – Player profile".kooora(in Arabic).Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2011.Retrieved14 April2011.
  2. ^"Syria – Record International Players".Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2023.Retrieved22 March2021.
  3. ^"Al-Khatib began playing football at Al-Karama Club".babonej(in Arabic). Archived fromthe originalon 19 May 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
  4. ^"Al Khatib moved to Al-Qadsia"(in Arabic). kooora. 23 August 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2012.Retrieved10 May2011.
  5. ^"Syrian player to join England's Nottingham Forest FC, now owned by Kuwait".العربية.12 July 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 21 October 2020.Retrieved12 June2021.
  6. ^McDaid, Paul (22 August 2012)."Nottingham Forest fail to land work permits for Kuwaiti trio".Sport360.Archived fromthe originalon 27 August 2012.Retrieved12 January2013.
  7. ^"Feras's 100th league goal".kooora.Archivedfrom the original on 16 February 2015.Retrieved28 September2014.
  8. ^السوري الخطيب يدخل تاريخ الدوري الكويتي.alaraby.co.uk(in Arabic). 20 October 2017.
  9. ^"Syria record goalscorer Firas Al Khatib hangs up his boots at 36".Fox Sports Asia. Archived fromthe originalon 5 December 2019.Retrieved30 September2019.
  10. ^ab"The World's Best Goal Scorer of XXIst Century".IFFHS.20 February 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2021.Retrieved16 June2021.
  11. ^فراس الخطيب أفضل الهدافين العرب في الألفية الثالثة.alwatanonline(in Arabic). 9 January 2021. Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2021.
  12. ^10 أهداف تفصل المطوع عن إنجاز فريد.kooora(in Arabic). 4 January 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2021.Retrieved12 June2021.
  13. ^Firas Al Khatib–FIFAcompetition record (archived)
  14. ^"A bloody, violent fight for the soul of soccer in Syria".ESPN.Archivedfrom the original on 19 February 2018.Retrieved18 May2018.
  15. ^"- YouTube".Archived fromthe originalon 1 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  16. ^"- YouTube".Archived fromthe originalon 7 May 2020 – via YouTube.
  17. ^فراس الخطيب: دعونا من الماضي ولنستفيد من أخطاءه.Archivedfrom the original on 19 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  18. ^فراس الخطيب "مدمن" تحطيم الأرقام القياسية مع منتخب سوريا والأندية الكويتية.beinsports(in Arabic). 6 September 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2019.Retrieved9 September2019.
  19. ^فراس الخطيب يستقيل من الجهاز التدريبي للسالمية الكويتي.almashhadonline(in Arabic). 4 February 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2021.Retrieved12 June2021.
  20. ^فراس الخطيب مدربًا للكرامة.kooora(in Arabic). 8 June 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2021.Retrieved12 June2021.
  21. ^فراس الخطيب مدرباً مساعداً لفريق النصر الكويتي(in Arabic). SANA. 14 July 2021.
  22. ^السوري فراس الخطيب مدرباً لزاخو العراقي.alkhaleej.ae(in Arabic). 27 April 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 8 July 2022.Retrieved8 July2022.
  23. ^فراس الخطيب يعود إلى الكويت مدرباً للفحيحيل.homsnews.net(in Arabic). 4 July 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 15 July 2023.Retrieved8 July2022.
  24. ^الفحيحيل يجدد عقد الخطيب(in Arabic). Kooora. 29 May 2024.
  25. ^abFöldesi, László (13 September 2018)."Firas Al Khatib – Goals in International Matches".Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2023.Retrieved3 February2023.
  26. ^"Firas Al-Khatib".national-football-teams.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2019.Retrieved18 May2018.
  27. ^"Firas Al-Khatib – International goals".Kooora(in Arabic).Archivedfrom the original on 19 January 2011.Retrieved10 May2011.
  28. ^abcFiras Al-Khatibat Soccerway
  29. ^اللاعب السوري فراس الخطيب أب لستة أطفال.almjhar(in Arabic).Archivedfrom the original on 24 October 2020.Retrieved15 March2019.

Further reading

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