Ali Al-Habsi

This is an Arabic name; the family name is Al-Habsi.
Ali Al-Habsi

Al-Habsi with Wigan Athletic in 2011
Personal information
Full nameAli Abdullah Harib Al-Habsi[1]
Date of birth30 December 1981[1]
Place of birthAl-Mudhaibi, Oman
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1]
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Wigan Athletic
Number26
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1998–2002Al-Midhaibi?(?)
2002–2003Al-Nasr?(?)
2003–2006Lyn Oslo62(0)
2006–2011Bolton Wanderers10(0)
2010–2011→ Wigan Athletic (loan)39(0)
2011–Wigan Athletic91(0)
2014→ Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)1(0)
National team‡
2002–Oman101(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:43, 1 November 2014 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:43, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Ali Abdullah Harib Al-Habsi (Arabic: علي بن عبد الله بن حارب الحبسي‎; born 30 December 1981) is an Omani professional footballer who plays for English club Wigan Athletic, as a goalkeeper.

Al-Habsi is the current captain of the Oman national football team, whom he has represented in 92 matches since 2002, including at three AFC Asian Cup tournaments.

Club career

Early career

After playing a season at Al-Nasr, Ali Al-Habsi signed to Lyn Oslo, and played three seasons for the Norwegian club. Following his signing with the club, he became the first Omani to play international football in Europe. He was also voted "Norwegian Goalkeeper of the Year" in 2004.[2]

Bolton Wanderers

His transfer from Lyn Oslo to Bolton Wanderers in January 2006 was a transfer highlighted in the Stevens inquiry report, in June 2007. The report expressed concerns because of the apparent conflict of interest between agent Craig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce – and the club itself.[3]

Al-Habsi did not make any first team appearances in his first year at Bolton. Al-Habsi made his full Bolton debut in the 2–1 extra time League Cup victory over Fulham in September 2007.

Al-Habsi then went on to make a further 15 appearances during the course of the 2007/08 season, most notably his performance against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup against whom he produced several good saves against the star studded German team. He made his first Premier League start against Wigan Athletic.[4] In December 2008, he was rewarded for his work with an extension to his contract until 2013. Despite this, Al-Habsi lost his place when Jussi Jääskeläinen returned from injury.

Wigan Athletic (loan)

Al-Habsi warming up for Wigan Athletic, prior to their match against Birmingham City on 19 March 2011

In July 2010, Al-Habsi joined local rivals Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan.[5] He made his debut on 24 August 2010 in a League Cup match against Hartlepool United[6] and made his League debut four days later against Tottenham Hotspur. He was named Wigan's player of the season for the 2010–11 season.[7]

Wigan Athletic

On the 4 July 2011 Al-Habsi joined the club permanently, signing a four-year contract for an estimated £4 million transfer fee from Bolton.[8] Al-Habsi established himself as an outstanding penalty saver, saving approximately 50% of all the penalties he faced since joining Wigan. Robin van Persie, Carlos Tevez, Javier Hernández and Mikel Arteta are among the penalty takers Al-Habsi has stopped. This earnt him links to Liverpool and Arsenal.[9] During the back end of the 2012–13 season, Al-Habsi was dropped to the bench as his position as Wigan's number one was threatened by the arrival of the athletic, young Spaniard Joel Robles on loan.[10] The following season after being on the bench for Wigan's FA Cup win over Manchester City, Wigan were relegated back to the championship.

Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)

On 31 October 2014, Al-Habsi signed for fellow Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-month loan.[11] After playing only one game for the club, Al-Habsi returned to his parent club Wigan.

International career

Al-Habsi began playing in his native country Oman at the age of seventeen, and joined the ranks of the Oman under-19s squad, before he was spotted by John Burridge in 2001. Due to the difficulty of securing a work permit, he was unable to move to Europe at this early stage of his career.

He was called up for Oman, and played in all of their three group matches at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China and also made four appearances for the team in their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which they excelled in the first group stage after finishing second in a group with Japan, India and Singapore. He was also Oman's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, appearing in all of their three group matches.[12]

Al-Habsi also has appeared as main keeper in four consecutive Gulf Cups. In each tournament he earned the award for best goalkeeper, most recently at the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations. He kept a clean sheet throughout the 2009 tournament that Oman eventually won. He earned his 100th cap with Oman in a 0–4 loss to Australia in 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Personal life

Ali Al-Habsi is a practicing Muslim.[13] and says that his faith plays a big part in his life.[14] He is also married and has one daughter, Ranad.

After finishing high school,[15] Ali was a fireman in the Seeb International Airport in Muscat.[16] In an interview with Al-Jazeera Sports, Ali accredited his previous profession with teaching him patience, hard work, and patriotism.[17] In another interview with AMF, Ali says if he hadn't played professional football, he would have most likely continued with being a fireman.[18]

Al-Habsi is the co-founder of Safety First, a nonprofit road safety organization in Oman that seeks to decrease car accident fatalities in the country.[19]

Career statistics

As of 12 March 2014[20]
Club Division Season League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyn Oslo Tippeligaen 2003 1303020180
2004 2404000280
2005 2502000270
Total 6209020730
Bolton Wanderers Premier League 2005–06 00000000
2006–07 00000000
2007–08 1002040160
2008–09 00000000
2009–10 00200020
Total 1004040180
Wigan Athletic 2010–11 3406000400
2011–12 3802000400
2012–13 2905000340
Championship2013–14 1404000180
Total 1150170001320
Career total 1870300602230

Honours

Club

FK Lyn Oslo
Wigan Athletic
National Team

Individual awards

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1300694.html – FIFA – Al-Habsi won Norwegian Goalkeeper Award
  3. ↑ "What Stevens said about each club". London: www.telegraph.co.uk. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  4. ↑ Goal.com – Asia – Ali Al-Habsi Focused On Bolton Survival
  5. ↑ "Latics sign goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi on loan for the season". 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  6. ↑ "Hartlepool 0–3 Wigan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Al Habsi Signs Permanent Deal at Wigan". 4 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Law, Matt (17 November 2012). "Arsenal will rival Liverpool for Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi". Mirror. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Wigan sign Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Joel Robles on loan". BBC Sport. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ali Al-Habsi: Brighton sign Wigan goalkeeper on loan". BBC Sport. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Ronay, Barney (9 December 2011). "Ali al-Habsi of Wigan Athletic is a goalkeeper with a difference". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  14. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpk-dQQsOEY - AMF interview
  15. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQj5YD5lZo - 6:30 -- Al-Jazeera interview
  16. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQj5YD5lZo - 6:35 -- Al-Jazeera interview
  17. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQj5YD5lZo - 6:50 -- Al-Jazeera interview
  18. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpk-dQQsOEY - 6:30 -- AMF interview
  19. ↑ Mrudu Naik (23 May 2012). "Sport stars blow the bugle of road safety". Times of Oman. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  20. ↑ "Ali Al-Habsi". soccerway.com.

External links