Ali Hamam


Ali Nizar Hamam is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Nejmeh. His main qualities are his experience on the field and his defensive abilities, as well as his attacking threat.
Starting his career at Taqadom Anqoun, Hamam moved to Ahli Saida in 2006, helping them reach promotion to the Lebanese Premier League. In 2008 he joined Nejmeh, where he won the league twice, the Super Cup once and the Elite Cup once. After six seasons at the club, Hamam moved to Iran at Zob Ahan, where he won the Hazfi Cup twice, and the Super Cup once. He returned to Nejmeh in 2018, winning the Elite Cup in his first season.
Hamam represented the Lebanon national team between 2009 and 2019; he has been capped 52 times, scoring three goals. Hamam was part of the team that played in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Lebanon's first participation through regular qualification.

Club career

Hamam started his career with Taqadom Anqoun, before joining Ahli Saida in 2006, who had just gained promotion to the Lebanese Premier League. After finishing in seventh place in 2006–07, his team finished in last place in the 2007–08 season, and was relegated back to the Second Division. Hamam, however, remained in the top-flight, moving to Nejmeh.
He played for Nejmeh from 2008 to 2014 season, winning the league twice, once in the first season and another in his last season, as well as one Lebanese Super Cup and one Lebanese Elite Cup, both in 2014.
In 2014, he transferred to Iran to play for Zob Ahan for an estimated price of around €200,000. He won the Hazfi Cup twice, in 2014–15 and 2015–16, and the Iranian Super Cup in 2016. He played 80 league matches, scoring four times for the Iranian club. In 2020, Hamam was voted best right-back of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
Four years later, in 2018, he returned to Nejmeh. He won the Lebanese Elite Cup in 2018.

International career

At international level, Hamam made his debut for the Lebanon national team in 2009. He played five matches for Lebanon at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification, and all four matches at the 2009 Nehru Cup.
Hamam also played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, where Lebanon won 2–1 over South Korea, 1–0 over Kuwait away from home, and 3–1 over the United Arab Emirates, causing the resignation of the latter team's coach. With these wins, and an added 2–2 tie with Kuwait, Lebanon secured a spot in the fourth round of the qualifications with 10 points. In the fourth round, Hamam played as well, but despite winning over Iran, and achieving a tie against both South Korea and Uzbekistan, Lebanon could not achieve better than the fifth place, and was therefore eliminated.
For the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Hamam played six matches for Lebanon against Iran, Kuwait, and Thailand, but the team failed to qualify, reaching third place in the group. Lebanon almost secured the best third place among all groups, but a difference of one goal made China take their spot.
In December 2018, he was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Lebanon's first participation in the tournament through regular qualification. He played in the first two group stage matches, both lost by Lebanon 0–2, against Qatar and Saudi Arabia. While Lebanon would eventually beat North Korea 4–1 in the final group stage match, Lebanon would fail to qualify to the knock-out stages of the tournament. On 16 October 2019, Hamam announced his retirement from international football, with three goals in 52 matches.

Career statistics

Club

International

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
115 November 2015Saida International Stadium, Saida, Lebanon4–07–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
210 October 2017Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon4–05–02019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
39 November 2017Singapore National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore1–01–0Friendly

Honours and achievements

Club

Nejmeh
Zob Ahan
Awards