Yasser Saeed Al-Qahtani (Arabic: ياسر سعيد القحطاني; born 10 October 1982) is a former Saudi footballer who played as a forward for Al-Hilal FC in the Saudi Professional League. He was also captain of the Saudi Arabia national team.

Yasser Al-Qahtani
Al-Qahtani with Al-Hilal in 2009
Personal information
Full name Yasser Saeed Al-Qahtani
Date of birth (1982-10-10) 10 October 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2005 Al-Qadisiya 39 (24)
2005–2018 Al-Hilal 160 (88)
2011–2012Al Ain (loan) 15 (7)
Total 214 (119)
International career
2002–2013 Saudi Arabia 108[1] (42)
Medal record
Representing  Saudi Arabia
Men's Football
AFC Asian Cup
Runner-up 2007 Indonesia/Malaysia/
Thailand/Vietnam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:09, 12 April 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2015

Club career edit

In 2005, Al-Qahtani moved to Al-Hilal from Al-Qadisiyah for a reported £2.5 million transfer fee.[2]

After leading Saudi Arabia to the finals of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup as one of the tournament's top scorers, Al-Qahtani won the Asian Footballer of the Year award.[3][4][5] He went on trial at Manchester City in December.[6]

In 2011, struggling for form following injuries and having lost his place in the Al-Hilal starting lineup, Al-Qahtani joined United Arab Emirates club Al Ain on a season-long loan.[7] There he contributed to the club's first league title since 2004, scoring 7 goals in 15 league appearances, and 12 goals in a total of 26 games across all competitions.[8] Having regained his form, he returned to Al-Hilal after the loan spell ended.[9][10]

Coached by Sami Al-Jaber and Laurențiu Reghecampf, Al-Qahtani reached the finals of the 2014 AFC Champions League with Al-Hilal where his team finished runners up losing to Western Sydney Wanderers in the final 1–0 on aggregate.[11]

International career edit

2006 World Cup edit

Al-Qahtani played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany where he scored a goal against Tunisia.[12]

2007 Asian Cup edit

At the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Saudi Arabia reached the final under new Brazilian coach dos Anjos with Al-Qahtani becoming the tournament's top scorer.[4][13][14]

2010 World Cup qualification campaign edit

In the final stages of the 2010 World Cup qualification, Al-Qahtani was injured in the game against Uzbekistan and upon his return from injury remained out form due to lack of playing time at Al-Hilal. Saudi Arabia missed qualification to the World Cup failing to beat North Korea at home in Riyadh in the decisive last game with the match ending goalless.[15]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of 12 April 2018
Club Season League Cup ACL Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Qadisiyah 2000–01 9 5 9 5
2002–03 10 5 1 0 11 5
2003–04 10 9 2 0 12 9
2004–05 10 5 5 4 15 9
Al-Hilal 2005–06 13 7 5 1 3 1 21 9
2006–07 16 10 4 0 4 0 24 10
2007–08 16 10 8 6 2 0 26 16
2008–09 16 10 7 1 5 2 28 13
2009–10 20 9 9 6 6 4 35 19
2010–11 16 11 3 2 10 5 29 18
Al-Ain (loan) 2011-12 15 7 8 5 23 12
Al-Hilal 2012–13 20 13 3 1 6 2 29 16
2013–14 16 5 6 3 7 2 29 10
2014–15 9 3 5 0 14 3
2015–16 12 6 5 2 5 1 22 9
2016–17 12 4 5 2 2 0 19 6
2017–18 4 0 2 1 5 1 11 2
Al-Hilal Total 170 88 55 26 54 18 289 132
Career Total 214 119 71 35 54 18 354 172

International edit

International goals edit

Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first.[16]

Honours edit

[1]

Club edit

Al-Hilal
Al Ain

International edit

Saudi Arabia

Individual edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Al-Qahtani, Yasser at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ^ "Man City take Al Qahtani on trial". BBC Sport. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Soccer-Yasser Al Qahtani named Asian Player of the Year". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Asian footballer of the year announced - Sport - BrisbaneTimes". www.brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Al-Qahtani Is Asian Player of the Year". www.arabnews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. ^ "City trial Saudi skipper". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Al Qahtani ready to lead Al Ain | The National". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  8. ^ Khaled, Ali (15 September 2014). "Former Al Ain teammates consider Al Qahtani a brother, but 'Inside the pitch, we don't know Yasser'". The National. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  9. ^ Jose, James. "'Decision on Qahtani, Gyan at end of season' - Khaleej Times". www.khaleejtimes.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Al Qahtani to return to Al Hilal - report - Goal.com". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. ^ FIFA.com. "Wanderers, Al Hilal reach maiden final". Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Tunisia, Saudi Arabia put on a show at World Cup". CBC Sports. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  13. ^ "Saudi strikers earn praise | The World Game". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Saudi beat Japan to reach Asian Cup final". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  15. ^ "World Cup Blow For Saudi Arabia As Naif Hazazi Tears Cruciate Ligament - Goal.com". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  16. ^ "Yasser Al-Qahtani – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  17. ^ "Fans' Best XI Announced!". The-AFC.com. AFC. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.

External links edit