Youssef Mohamad (footballer, born 1980)

Youssef Wassef Mohamad (Arabic: يوسف واصف محمد; born 1 July 1980), also known as Dodo (Arabic: دودو), is a Lebanese former professional footballer who is assistant coach of the Lebanon national team.

Youssef Mohamad
Mohamad with 1. FC Köln in 2007
Personal information
Full nameYoussef Wassef Mohamad[1]
Date of birth (1980-07-01) 1 July 1980 (age 43)
Place of birthAyta al-Jabal, Lebanon[1]
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)Defender
Team information
Current team
Lebanon (assistant coach)
Youth career
Safa
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1999–2002Safa25+(4)
2002–2004Olympic Beirut(4)
2004–2007SC Freiburg87(9)
2007–20111. FC Köln120(10)
2011–2013Al-Ahli35(5)
2016Nejmeh0(0)
Total267+(32)
International career
2002Lebanon U23
1999–2016Lebanon81(3)
Managerial career
2016–2022Lebanon (technical advisor)
2022–Lebanon (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mohamad is one of the most successful players in the history of Lebanese football, captaining 1. FC Köln during his spell with the club in the Bundesliga, as well as the Lebanon national team.

Club career

Safa

Mohamad began his career at Lebanese Premier League side Safa,[2] signing to the first-team from the youth team.[citation needed] He got promoted to the first team in 1999 and played for three years, making 25 league appearances and scoring 3 times.[citation needed]

Olympic Beirut

In summer 2002, he transferred to Olympic Beirut.[3] Mohamad went on to win the domestic double (Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese FA Cup) in the 2002–03 season.[2]

Freiburg

Mohamad joined Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2004,[2] at the recommendation of his international teammate, Roda Antar.[citation needed] He scored his first goals, a brace, in a 3–3 draw against Greuther Fürth on 22 September 2006.[4] Although Freiburg were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, Mohamad remained there until his transfer to 1. FC Köln in 2007 along with Roda Antar.[citation needed]

1. FC Köln

Mohamad with 1. FC Köln in 2009

Mohamad signed for Köln on 17 July 2007.[citation needed] He helped them gain promotion to the Bundesliga for the 2008–09 season.[citation needed]

In the 2009–10 season, he scored against Borussia Dortmund in a last-minute 3–2 defeat; Mohamad equalized the score in the 88th minute with a right footed goal.[5] Mohamad received three yellow cards throughout the season.

In January 2010, Köln coach Zvonimir Soldo announced that Mohamad would be the captain of the club.[2] He became the third Arab player to captain a Bundesliga club, after Egyptian player Hany Ramzy and Tunisian player Zoubeir Baya.[2]

It took him 92 seconds to receive a red card on the opening day of the 2010–11 season on 21 August 2010, a 3–1 defeat to 1. FC Kaiserslautern; it was the fastest red card in Bundesliga history.[6]

Al-Ahli

In August 2011, UAE Pro League side Al-Ahli announced the signing of Mohamad on a two-year deal.[7]

Nejmeh

In September 2016, Mohamad returned to Lebanon, signing with Nejmeh.[8] However he did not manage a single appearance as he was ruled out for injury; he subsequently retired from football in September of the same year.[9]

International career

On 16 August 1999, Mohamad debuted for Lebanon in the 1999 Pan Arab Games.[10] On 25 June 2000, Mohamad scored a free kick, his first international goal, in a 3–1 home victory against Kuwait.[11]

In 2000, aged 20, Mohamad was selected to represent Lebanon at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup. On 12 October, he played the full 90 minutes in Lebanon's opening 4–0 loss against Iran. On 15 October, he was substituted onto the field in the 89th minute for Abbas Chahrour in a 2–2 draw against Iraq. However, he didn't take part in Lebanon's 1–1 draw with Thailand on 18 October.[12]

In 2007, Mohamad reportedly had a disagreement with Lebanon's assistant coach Adnan Al Sharqi, where he had intensely criticized the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) and the national team coach.[citation needed] He was suspended by the LFA and would be allowed to return on the condition that he would apologize to the LFA and its national team coach.[citation needed]

Prior to the start of the third round of qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup game against South Korea and the United Arab Emirates in September 2011, it was reported that Mohamad had traveled to Goyang, South Korea to join the squad for the match.[13]

Mohamad announced his retirement from international football in April 2016.[14]

Managerial career

After retiring from football, in December 2016 Mohamad took the role of technical advisor of the Lebanon national team.[15] He became assistant coach of the national team in 2022.[16]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague
DivisionAppsGoals
Safa1999–00Lebanese Premier League1
2000–01Lebanese Premier League112
2001–02Lebanese Premier League141
Total25+4
Olympic Beirut2002–03Lebanese Premier League0
2003–04Lebanese Premier League4
Total4
SC Freiburg2004–05Bundesliga290
2005–062. Bundesliga271
2006–072. Bundesliga318
Total879
1. FC Köln2007–082. Bundesliga315
2008–09Bundesliga301
2009–10Bundesliga312
2010–11Bundesliga282
Total12010
Al-Ahli2011–12UAE Pro League132
2012–13UAE Pro League223
2013–14UAE Pro League00
Total355
Nejmeh2016–17Lebanese Premier League00
Career total267+32+

International

Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mohamad goal.
List of international goals scored by Youssef Mohamad
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
125 June 2000Tripoli Municipal Stadium, Tripoli, Lebanon  Kuwait3–13–1Friendly
219 September 2003Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Bahrain2–43–4Friendly
312 November 2015Saida Municipal Stadium, Sidon, Lebanon  Laos1–07–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Olympic Beirut

Al-Ahli

Individual

See also

References

External links