Amjad Kalaf
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Amjad Kalaf playing for Al Shorta in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Amjad Kalaf Mansour Al-Muntafiq | ||
| Date of birth | October 5, 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Kut, Iraq | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker, Right Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Al Shorta | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Kut | ||
| 2007 | Al-Shorta | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007– | Al-Shorta | 176 | (51) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009–2012 | Iraq U-20 | (1) | |
| 2011– | Iraq U-23 | 13 | (1) |
| 2009– | Iraq | 26 | (1) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 March 2015. | |||
Amjad Kalaf Mansour Al-Muntafiq (Arabic: امجد كلف منصور المنتفق, born October 5, 1991 in Kut, Iraq) is an Iraqi footballer. He plays as right winger, and sometimes as a striker for Al Shorta in Iraq. He is the current captain of Al Shorta and in 2011 set the record for Al Shorta's youngest ever captain at 20 years old. His older brother, Mohammed Kalaf, plays for Kirkuk FC.[1]
Career
The striker is the youngest of three footballing brothers, Mohammed and Alaa, the sons of former army track and field athlete Kalaf Mansour. Born and brought up in the city of Kut, Amjad broke into Kut's first team at the age of just 15 and months later found himself in the starting line-up of the Iraq Under-17s under Kadhim Khalaf. He played for the U-17s at the finals in Singapore, playing a part in all three of Iraq's matches. By 2007, he had moved to Baghdad and signed for Al-Shorta and did not take long to break into the first team. Much is expected of the youngster but having put in some outstanding performances at Al-Shorta, many believe the starlet has it in him to transform his club form to the international stage. In 2010, he almost signed for Iraqi giants Erbil SC. In 2010–11 season, he was injured for most of the season, but when he came back from injury, he saved Al Shorta from relegation by scoring a crucial goal against Samaraa FC and then bagging two goals against Al Naft on the last day of the season to keep them above the drop zone on goal difference. He was handed the captain's armband in 2011 and became the club's youngest captain in their history. He was Al Shorta's top scorer in their championship-winning 2012–13 season and was the first man to lift the trophy on the title-winning day after Nashat Akram gave him the captain's armband for the final match. He also won the Baghdad Cup with Al Shorta in the same season, defeating Al Zawraa 1–0 in the final. He started the move for the only goal of that game which won them the competition.[2] In 2014, he won his first international title, the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship. He played 5 out of Iraq's six games in the tournament, assisting three goals and scoring one. He went on to win the MVP award for the tournament.[3] Then in June 2014, Al Shorta were declared champions of the Iraqi League at its premature end and Kalaf had won another title with the club, his second in a row. Amjad has scored four goals in AFC Cup games; two were in a 3-1 win over Al-Wahda in the 2014 AFC Cup, one was in a 2-2 draw with Hidd SCC in the 2015 edition of the tournament and the other was in a 6-2 victory against Taraji Wadi Al-Nes in the same year. In total, Amjad has made 185 appearances for Al Shorta and scored 55 goals. 176 of these have been domestic matches, 8 have been AFC Cup matches and one was an AFC Champions League qualifier.
Al Shorta goals
- Scores and results list Al Shorta's goal tally first.
Iraq under-20 national team goals
- Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 November 2009 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Arbil |  Oman | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2010 AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers |
Iraq under-23 national team goals
- Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 January 2014 | Al-Seeb Stadium, Seeb |  Japan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2013 AFC U-22 Championship |
Iraq national team goals
- Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 January 2015 | Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle |  United Arab Emirates | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup |
Honors
Clubs
International
- Iraq U-23
- AFC U-22 Championship: 2013
- Asian Games Bronze medal: 2014
- Iraq
- WAFF Championship runner-up: 2012
- AFC Asian Cup fourth-place: 2015
Individual
- AFC U-22 Championship most valuable player: 2013
References
External links
- Amjad Kalaf at National-Football-Teams.com
- Goalzz.com
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