Hussein Abdulghani


Hussein Omar Abdulghani Sulaimani is a Saudi Arabian football player who currently plays as a defender for Al-Ahli 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 he was moved to full-back, the position he plays today, by Amin Dabo the youth team manager at the time. 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.
On 25 November 1995, Abdulghani made his league in the derby match against Al-Ittihad that ended in a 2–1 win. 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. 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. 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.
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. He made his return on 15 March 2002 in the Gulf Club Champions Cup match against Emirati side Al-Shabab. 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. 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. 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.
Following the retirement of Mohammed Al-Jahani, Abdulghani was named as the club captain starting from the 2004–05 season. His first final as club captain ended in a loss in the 2005 Federation Cup final against Al-Hilal. Six months later, Abdulghani also captained the side in the 2006 Crown Prince Cup final loss against Al-Hilal as well. 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. 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.
In May 2007, Abdulghani was loaned to Qatari side Al-Rayyan on a short term deal. 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. 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.

Later career

He then moved to Swiss based Neuchâtel Xamax staying for a year. He made 13 appearances without scoring. 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. He hoped to take a chance to play for the Saudi Arabian national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In June 2018, he went back to Saudi Arabia to sign for the newly promoted Ohod. In January 2019, he returned to his former club Al-Ahli.

International career

Abdulghani was a regular member of the Saudi Arabian national team. He was part of the team that won 1996 AFC Asian Cup aged 19. He was selected to 1998, 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He was chosen by FIFA in 1997 and 2001 to Play with world star team against European star teams. Abdulghani announced his retirement from international football after failing to lead his national team for 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 6 October 2018, he received a call-up for a friendly match against Brazil.

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 March 2020.

International

Source:

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
122 June 1999Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium, Abha2–02–1Friendly
29 July 1999Titan Stadium, Fullerton2–02–0Friendly
38 February 2001Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam4–06–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
48 February 2001Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam5–06–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
514 October 2004Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta2–03–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Al-Ahli
Al-Nassr
Saudi Arabia