Bader Al-Mutwa
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| Bader Al-Mutawa | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 10, 1985 | |
| Place of birth | Kuwait | |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |
| Playing position | Second Striker | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Al-Qadisiya | |
| Number | 17 | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2002-present | Al-Qadisiya | ? (?) |
| National team | ||
| 2003-present | Kuwait | ? (27) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Bader Al-Mutuwa (born January 10, 1985) is a Kuwaiti football player.
Al-Mutwa plays for the Kuwaiti Sports Club Team known as the Qadsia Sporting Club, as well as the Kuwait national football team, where he usually operates as a second striker behind fellow Al Qadisiya team mate Khalaf Al Salama or Kuwaiti newcomer Fahad Al-Rashidi. He wears the jersey number 17 for both club and country. Since making his debut for the Kuwaiti national team in 2003 at the age of 18, Al-Mutwa has been one of the rising stars in gulf football. He is considered by many as the most talented Kuwaiti footballer since Bashar Abdullah (who also debuted at the age of 18 years old, in 1996), and is touted as the long term successor for the retired Kuwaiti star.
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[edit] Club career
Since emerging from Al Qadisiya's youth team in 2002, Al-Mutwa has helped his team win several domestic trophies, including the Kuwaiti Premier League and the Prince Cup, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 Asian Champions League.
[edit] International career
Al-Mutwa's first major competition on international level was the Gulf Cup 2003, hosted by Kuwait. The home side finished sixth with only five points from six matches (only Yemen, the newcomer to the Gulf Cup finished the tournament with less points, sparing Kuwait the embarrassment of ending up at the bottom of the table of the gulf cup for the first time in their history). Al-Mutwa scored once in Kuwait's only victory of the tournament against Yemen (4-0).
Al-Mutwa played in the 2004 Gulf Cup, scoring a goal in the 87th minute against Saudi Arabia in Kuwait's opening match. Al-Mutwa excelled in this tournament, forming a striker partnership with Kuwait captain and star striker Bashar Abdullah. They managed to score five goals between them. This partnership was short lived as Bashar retired from international football shortly after the tournament and Kuwait was eliminated in the semi-finals by Qatar after topping Group B with two victories and one draw with Bahrain.
Al-Mutwa continued being a regular in the Kuwaiti national football team, but managed to do very little as his country failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, after a 0-3 loss to Saudi Arabia, and the 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals after a 1-2 loss to Bahrain in a match where Kuwait only needed a draw to qualify.
Al-Mutwa's latest contribution to his country was an equalizing goal against Yemen in the 2007 Gulf Cup, and another equalizing goal against the UAE in the final group match which saw Kuwait exit the Gulf Cup for the first time in their history without winning a single game. In this tournament, Al-Mutwa played his usual second striker position behind Al Tadamon's striker and top goal scorer of the Kuwaiti league Fahad al Rashidi. The pair failed to produce the desired partnership, and Kuwait ended their Gulf Cup campaign poorly.
[edit] Playing style
Although a great finisher with an impressive goal scoring record, Al-Mutwa is more comfortable playing the role of the second striker, where his tight ball control and great passing is best utilized. A recent example of his ability to create opportunities for his team mates was in the 1-2 loss to Oman in the second match of the 2007 Gulf Cup. Al-Mutwa had the ball with only two minutes remaining, he first ran into the opponent's goal before turning the other way as though he was backing off, drawing two Omanian players in the process, Al-Mutwa then played an unexpected through ball from a very awkward position. The ball curled all the way to Al Qadisiya teammate Nawaf Al Mutairi, who was unmarked in a promising position down the right flank.
Al-Mutwa usually keeps his cool in tough situations. When Kuwait was down 0-1 to Yemen with little over twenty minutes left, Kuwait were rewarded a penalty and Al-Mutwa stepped up to take it. He was calm despite the tremendous pressure.
[edit] 2006 2nd best Asian player of the year
Al-Mutwa's performance for both club and national teams lead to his being awarded as the 2nd best Asian player in 2006 after Qatar's Khalfan Ibrahim. Though Al-Mutwa was handed the prize for 3rd place, which belonged to Saudi national Mohammad Al-Shalhoub, this was corrected later on and the Asian Football Committee assured that Al-Mutwa had won 2nd place.
