Mubarak Mustafa

Summary

Mubarak Mustafa Fazli (Arabic: مبارك مصطفى; born 30 March 1973) is a Qatari former footballer who formerly worked as a sports analyst for Al Kass and now works for BeIN Sports as a sports analyst. He is known for his numerous achievements with Qatari club Al-Arabi, as well as being the former captain of the Qatar national team.

Mubarak Mustafa
Personal information
Full name Mubarak Mustafa Fazli
Date of birth (1973-03-30) 30 March 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Doha, Qatar
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1985–1990 Al-Arabi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–2003 Al-Arabi
2003–2006 Al-Khor
2006–2007 Al-Gharafa
International career
1992–2004 Qatar 85 (41)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Qatari football and was an integral component of one of Qatar's best-ever national sides in the early 1990s alongside Khalid Salman, Mahmoud Soufi and Adel Khamis. According to RSSSF, he is the top scorer for Qatar with 41 goals.[2]

Personal life edit

Mustafa was born in Umm Ghuwailina,[3] a suburb of Doha located near Al Arabi's club headquarters.

Club career edit

Al-Arabi edit

Mustafa was spotted by a talent scout while playing in a domestic school league at an early age. He accepted an offer to play in Al-Arabi's junior teams where he instantly stood out among his peers.[4]

Capitalizing on this shortly after, Al-Arabi placed Mubarak Mustafa in the successful senior squad, although it was initially difficult to get a starting position in the squad. He eventually earned a permanent place in the squad after showcasing his goal-scoring ability, securing Al-Arabi's place as Qatar's best club side at the time. He reached the peak of his career in 1994, when he led the dream team into the finals of the 1994 AFC Champions League, eventually losing to Thai Farmers Bank with a score of 1–0. In the process of Al-Arabi's Champions League campaign, they became the second Qatari team to make it to the finals of the AFC Champions League, the other club being Al Sadd.

Mustafa is also the only player in history to win the Arab Golden Boot and Arab Player of the Year award in a single season. He was also the top scorer in the Qatar Stars League three times: the first being in the 1991–1992 season, the second in the 1992–1993 season, and the final time being in the 1996–1997 season.

His exploits earning him recognition internationally; he represented the Asian XI in a match in 1999 against the Thailand national team. Asian XI lost 4–1, with Mustafa netting the team's only goal from a spot kick in the 75th minute.[5]

During his playing period, he had many offers to play abroad, notably offers in Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and a number of clubs in Bahrain. He could not pursue any of them as his club, Al Arabi, refused to let him play professionally.[6]

Al-Khor edit

In a move which shocked many fans, Mustafa left Al-Arabi in 2003 to join Al Khor after a string of disappointing seasons for Al-Arabi, due to personal disputes with certain officials and players in the club. Mustafa led Al-Khor to their first major trophy in 46 years in just two seasons after Al-Khor beat Al Gharafa in 2005 to claim the Qatar Crown Prince Cup for the first time in the club's history.

Al-Gharafa edit

In 2006, Mustafa moved to Al-Gharafa, one of the most successful teams in the Qatar Stars League. He helped them finish second in the league, as well as making it to the finals of the Qatar Crown Prince Cup. He retired from professional football in 2007, at the age of 34.

International career edit

Mustafa started his senior international career at the age of 19. He helped establish the Qatar football team on the international stage, claiming many achievements in his time of playing for the Qatar national team, such as winning the 1992 Gulf Cup of Nations, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona,[7] and winning the 1998 Arab Nations Cup. He played for Qatar in the 1998 World Cup Qualifiers, scoring two goals in the group stage and securing the top position in their group before getting eliminated in the final round.

In a match at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Mustafa scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Egypt, registering the first competitive win in Qatar's history against an African nation.[8]

Mustafa had a reputation of being a fair player, having been shown no red cards in his international career. He later received the World Fair Play Trophy in 2005. Mustafa officially retired from international football in 2004.

After football edit

After retiring from professional football, Mustafa was appointed the Director of football of Al-Arabi.[9] He still occasionally manages the first team.

In 2009, Mubarak Mustafa received the International Olympic Committee's annual ideal player award.[10] In doing so, he is the first Qatari to ever win the award. He expressed his deep happiness for receiving IOC Award, which represents a great honor for Qatar sport in general and Qatar Olympic committee (QOC) in particular.

On 17 October 2011, Mustafa played a tribute game in honour of deceased Emirati player Theyab Awana. The game was between Al-Salmiya Stars and Arab Stars, with Mustafa playing for the former. Adel Khamis also took part in the match. The match took place in Thamir Stadium. Mustafa scored 2 early goals to give him a brace, however the visitors equalized in the second half and eventually narrowly won 7–6.

On 28 April 2012, after a very unsuccessful season for Al Arabi which saw them finish on par with their joint lowest standing in the league, he announced that he would be leaving the club as director of football at the end of the 2011/12 season.[11] Shortly after, he joined Al Kass as a sports analyst.[12]

Career statistics edit

International edit

Scores and results list Qatar's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Qatar goal.
List of international goals scored by Mubarak Mustafa[13]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 May 1992 Doha, Qatar   Oman 4–0 1992 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2
3 13 October 1992 Doha, Qatar   Hungary 1–1 1–1 Friendly
4 31 October 1992 Hiroshima, Japan   Saudi Arabia 1–0 1–1 1992 AFC Asian Cup
5 27 November 1992 Doha, Qatar   Oman 2–0 11th Arabian Gulf Cup
6 30 November 1992 Doha, Qatar   Bahrain 1–0 1–0
7 3 December 1992 Doha, Qatar   Kuwait 4–0
8 11 April 1993 Doha, Qatar   Vietnam 4–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
9 16 April 1993 Doha, Qatar   Singapore 4–1
10
11 21 April 1996 Doha, Qatar   Kuwait 3–1 Friendly
12
13 25 May 1996 Doha, Qatar   Russia 2–5
14 20 September 1996 Doha, Qatar   Sri Lanka 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
15 27 September 1996 Doha, Qatar   India 6–0
16 22 September 1998 Doha, Qatar   Libya 2–1 2–1 1998 Arab Nations Cup
17 26 September 1998 Doha, Qatar   Jordan 1–0 2–0
18 1 October 1998 Doha, Qatar   Saudi Arabia 1–3 1–3
19 2 November 1998 Manama, Bahrain   Kuwait 2–6 14th Arabian Gulf Cup
20 3 December 1998 Suphanburi, Thailand   Tajikistan 2–0 2–1 1998 Asian Games
21 12 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand   Thailand 1–1 2–1
22 20 January 2000 Doha, Qatar   Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 2–0 Friendly
23 2–0
24 10 March 2000 Doha, Qatar   Sudan 3–0
25
26 31 March 2000 Doha, Qatar   Palestine 1–0 1–0 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
27 2 April 2000 Doha, Qatar   Kazakhstan 2–0 3–1
28 5 January 2001 Doha, Qatar   Jordan 3–1 Friendly
29 12 January 2001 Doha, Qatar   Kuwait 1–0 1–0
30 12 February 2001 Bangkok, Thailand   Thailand 1–0 3–1 2001 King's Cup
31 4 March 2001 Hong Kong   Malaysia 3–1 5–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
32 8 March 2001 Hong Kong   Palestine 2–1 2–1
33 5 August 2001 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia   Saudi Arabia 2–1 Friendly
34
35 19 November 2003 Doha, Qatar   Singapore 2–0 2–0 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
36 5 January 2004 Kuwait City, Kuwait   Yemen 3–0 17th Arabian Gulf Cup
37 8 January 2004 Kuwait City, Kuwait   Kuwait 2–1
38 13 February 2004 Doha, Qatar   Bahrain 2–0 Friendly
39 9 June 2004 Doha, Qatar   Laos 1–0 5–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
40 2–0
41 8 September 2004 Vientiane, Laos   Laos 6–1

Honours edit

Al Arabi

Al Khor

Individual

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Mubarak Mustafa at National-Football-Teams.com  
  2. ^ "List of international goals". Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  3. ^ أحد أبرز المهاجمين في تاريخ الكرة القطرية (in Arabic). daharchives.com. 30 September 1998. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Mubarak Mustafa's Football Biography on QFA.com". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  5. ^ "International Matches 1999 – Other". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  6. ^ "أجوبة اللقاء مع النجم مبارك مصطفى حصريا على العنابي فقط". Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Mubarak Mustafa on FIFA.com". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  8. ^ "QFA – 1992 Summer Olympics". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Al-Arabi article". Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Qatar Olympic Committee – QOC Awards". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  11. ^ "السنياري : لن استمر مع العربي في الموسم المقبل". Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  12. ^ "السنياري ينضم لبرنامج المجلس رسميا". Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  13. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Mubarak Mustafa Fazli Noorallah - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF.

External links edit

  • Qatar – List of Top Scorers
  • Qatar – List of Champions