Omar Al Somah

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Omar Al Somah
Omar soma17 (cropped).jpg
Al Somah with Syria at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name Omar Al Somah[1]
Date of birth (1989-03-28) 28 March 1989 (age 32)
Place of birth Deir ez-Zor, Syria[1]
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Al Ahli
Number 9
Youth career
2001–2008 Al Futowa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Al Futowa 39 (22)
2011–2014 Al Qadsia 68 (63)
2014– Al Ahli 231 (187)
National team‡
2007–2008 Syria U20 2 (1)
2008–2012 Syria U23 10 (5)
2017– Syria 21 (17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 November 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 November 2021

Omar Al Somah (Arabic: عمر جهاد السومة‎; born 28 March 1989) is a Syrian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi Professional League club Al Ahli and the Syria national team.

In July 2014, Al Somah joined Al Ahli club in the Saudi Pro League. He went on to become the league top goal-scorer in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He helped the team win the league in 2016, their first in 32 years.

Club career[]

Al Futowa[]

Al Somah began his football career at the age of 12, joining the youth academy of Al Futowa (Deir ez-Zor) which won the 2007–08 Syrian under-18 league;[2] Al Somah was the top scorer of the league that season with 29 goals.[3]

Al Somah became a regular in the first team at the age of 19, scoring 13 goals making him the third top scorer in his debut season in 2008–09 Syrian Premier League.[citation needed] In 2009–10, Al Somah helped the relegated Al-Fotuwa win the Syrian League 1st Division North, gaining promotion back to the top division.[citation needed] He scored five goals in the 2010–11 season, which was suspended mid-March.[citation needed]

Al Qadsia[]

On 30 June 2011, Al Somah joined Al Qadsia in the Kuwaiti Premier League.[4]

In July 2012, Al Somah participated in three games with Nottingham Forest, scoring once in a month-long trial.[5] He impressed manager Sean O'Driscoll enough that the club were looking to sign him on a permanent basis, but he was denied a work permit and the club was not able to sign him.[citation needed]

While at Al Qadsia, Al Somah helped the team win eight trophies: two Kuwait Premier League titles in 2012 and 2014, two Kuwait Emir Cups in 2012 and 2013, two Kuwait Crown Prince Cups in 2013 and 2014, and two Kuwait Super Cups in 2013 and 2014.[citation needed] He also helped Al Qadsia finish AFC Cup finalist in 2013.[citation needed]

Al Ahli FC[]

2014–15 season[]

In July 2014, Al Somah joined Saudi Professional League side Al Ahli on a three-year contract.[citation needed] On 11 August 2014, he made his debut against Al Hazm in the Crown Prince Cup, winning 1–0.[citation needed] On 16 August 2014, he scored his first goal and hat-trick in the Saudi Professional League against Hajer; the match was ended 6–1.[citation needed]

On 9 January 2015, he renewed his contract with Al Ahli for 2 more years until 2018.[citation needed]

On 13 February 2015, Al Somah scored the first goal in the final of the Saudi Crown Prince Cup against Al-Hilal, helping Al Ahli win the title.[citation needed] It was his 18th goal that season in 17 matches.[citation needed] On 17 February 2015, Somah helped Al Ahli qualify to the group stage of the 2015 AFC Champions League, scoring a penalty kick against his former club Al Qadsia in the play-offs.[citation needed]

On 15 May 2015, Al Somah ended the 2014–15 season as the top scorer in the Saudi Professional League with 22 goals.[citation needed] He also scored five goals in six matches in the AFC Champions League.[citation needed] He finished his first season with Al Ahli scoring 31 goals (22 goals in the Saudi Professional League, three in the Crown Prince Cup and six goals in the AFC Champions League) in 33 matches.[citation needed]

2015–16 season[]

In August 2015, Al Somah started the second season with Al Ahli against Al-Taawon.[citation needed] He didn't score and the game ended 0–0.[citation needed] On 27 August, Al Somah scored the first goal of the 2015–16 season in the second match against Al Khaleej.[citation needed] The match ended 4–0.[citation needed] On 18 October 2015, he scored the first hat-trick of his second season against Al Nassr, with Al Ahli winning the game 4–2.[citation needed] He also continued his good form in the Crown Prince Cup and led Al Ahli to win the match against Al-Ittifaq.[citation needed] At the end of the October, he won the player of the month award.[citation needed]

Al Somah kicked Al-Faisaly player Abel Camara without ball.[citation needed] After the match, he was banned by Saudi Football disciplinary Committee for two matches.[citation needed] On 14 December 2015, after the two-match ban, he scored a hat-trick against Al Raed in matchday 11.[citation needed] He played nine matches in first round of league out of 14, scored 10 goals.[citation needed]

After a defeat against Najran in the league, Al Ahli won all the remaining games of the league. He scored in all the last eight games of the league, including two against second-placed Al Hilal, in the match that decided the league champion.[citation needed]

In the 2015–16 season, he scored 27 goals in 22 matches and helped Al Ahli win the Saudi Professional League for the first time in 32 years.[citation needed]

On 29 May 2016, Al Soma scored the decisive goal in extra-time in the 2016 King Cup final against Al Nassr. The match ended 2–1.[citation needed]

2016–17 season[]

On 8 August 2016, he scored the equalizing goal against Al-Hilal and helped the team winning 4–3 on penalties in the 2016 Saudi Super Cup at Craven Cottage in London, United Kingdom. the first title with the new Manager José Manuel Gomes.

On 14 August 2016, he scored twice against Al-Ettifaq at the opening of 2016–17 season, with this brace he was the fastest foreigner player in the world who passes the 50 goals mark in only 45 League games.

On 21 October 2016, Al-Ahli lost the second match in the league for the first time in two years against Al Nassr FC. It was also the first match in which he didn't score any goal.

With the return of the manager Christian Gross, Al Somah scored a hat-trick against Hajer Club in the Saudi Crown Prince Cup Quarter finals on 25 October 2016.

Four days after on 29 October 2016, he scored his second super hat-trick in the 7th round against Al-Khaleej, with this he became the Saudi Professional League best foreigner top scorer in its history with 59, and the most hat-trick scoring player with 7. He continued his good form & scoring against Al-Wahda. The match was ended with a result 4–0.

On 25 November 2016, he scored against Al Hilal in the league, but the team lost 2–1. With this defeat, Al Hilal won in Jeddah after eight years.

In December 2016, Al Somah scored six goals in six matches, 4 goals in five league matches and 2 goals in a cup semifinal match.

On 27 January 2017, he scored twice against Al Shabab FC, but got booked by the referee that is why he was absent from the derby Jeddah against rivals Al Ittihad. He made a comeback on 9 February against Al Qadisiya, but unable to save a team from the disastrous defeat. After this painful defeat, Al Ahli lost another match in the league and this time at home against Al Nassr by 2–0.

After two consecutive defeats in the league, he started the 2017 AFC Champions League on a high note, scored on a match day one against Uzbek Club Bunyodkor. The match was ended in the favor of Al Ahli by 2–0.

On 28 February 2017, Al Somah scored a decisive goal from a free-kick against Iranian Club Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. before the five minutes of the stoppage time and helped the team to remain at the top position of the group C at the end of match day two. After Asian game, he didn't stop from scoring and this time scored against Al-Khaleej.

He played 24 games in league and scored 28 goals. For the third time in a row, he won the Top scorer Award in Saudi League. In Asian Champions League, he played 5 games in group stage and scored 4 goals.

On 18 May, he played the King Cup and scored a goal. At the end the team lost the final. After King's Cup, he was injured and out from the last two game of the season.

2017–18 season[]

He was victim of injuries in this season and he didn't participate in a lot of matches. He just scored 11 goals in 14 matches played in the league. Furthermore, he wasn't the best goalscorer this season.

2018–19 season[]

He kept the good performances of the previous seasons, in which he scored 19 goals in 24 matches.[6] He also scored his 100th goal on 7 March, playing against Al-Qadsiah. On 1 March 2019, he scored an overhead kick against Al-Ittihad,[7] which could be nominated for FIFA Puskás Award.

2019–20 season[]

On 2 January 2020, Al Somah scored the match's only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Fayha in the King Cup round of 16. On 9 August, he scored a brace against Al Ittihad in a 2–1 victory. On 20 August, he scored a goal against Al Hilal in a 2–1 victory. On 30 September, Al-Ahli lost 2–0 against Al-Nassr in the 2020 AFC Champions League quarter-finals.[8] On 27 October, Al Somah scored in a 1–2 loss against Al-Nassr in the King Cup semi-finals.

2020–21 season[]

On 29 November 2020, Al Somah scored a goal in a 2–1 win over Al-Faisaly, in which he managed in seven seasons to equal Nasser Al-Shamrani's record of 126 goals in eleven seasons in the Saudi League.[9] On 22 December, he broke the record by scoring his 127th goal in a 1–0 win over Al Fateh.[10]

International career[]

Somah playing for Syria at 2019 AFC Asian Cup

He played for the Syrian U-19 national team in the AFC U-19 Championship 2008 in Saudi Arabia, he scored his first international goal with Syria U-19 against Iraq.[citation needed] He was a part of the Syrian U-23 national team in the Mediterranean Games 2009 in Italy and Asian football qualifiers for 2012 Olympics Round 4 (play-off round).[citation needed] He was a part of the Syria national football team in the 2012 WAFF Championship in Kuwait.[citation needed]

Due to political reasons, he did not play for Syria again until the World Cup Qualifiers in 2017.[citation needed] On 31 August 2017, he played in 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification against Qatar in Malaysia.[citation needed] He didn't score in the game, but Syria won the match 3–1.[citation needed] On 5 September, Syria had an important game against Iran at the end of qualification.[citation needed] If they had won and South Korea lost against Uzbekistan, they'd qualify for the World Cup.[citation needed] Syria took the lead in early minutes, but the home team came back quickly. Syria was losing the game, but in extra time and the final moments of the game, Al Somah scored the decisive goal.[citation needed] It was his first goal for his country.[citation needed] The match ended 2–2,[citation needed] meaning that led Al Soma had led Syria into the Asian play-off for the first time.[citation needed] Against Syria's play-off opponents Australia, Al Soma scored the equalizing goal during the first leg in Malaysia.[citation needed] He then scored early in the second leg in Australia to put Syria into a shock lead, but Australia won 2–1 in extra time to end Syria's World Cup qualifying hopes.[citation needed] Al Somah struck the post and missed in the 119th minute, which concluded the Syrian campaign.[citation needed]

In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, he wasn't at his best in the tournament, although he mentioned before the tournament that he has high expectations for the team and he bets that the team will advance to the knockout rounds and he guarantees that the team will win their first two matches easily.[citation needed] The team ended up out of the tournament in the first round with just one point taken from the match against Palestine.[citation needed] In an interview on MBC television dated 3 March 2019, he said that the bad intentions were the reason behind the early exit.[citation needed] On 5 September 2019, he scored 2 goals against Philippines in a 5–2 victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.[citation needed] Also, he's the top scorer in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification currently as of 4 December 2020.[citation needed]

Al Somah plays an attacking role, most often playing as centre-forward, and is known for his finishing and free kick ability.[citation needed] He is also an accurate set piece specialist and is renowned for his bending free kicks.[citation needed] Uniquely, his height, strength, jumping ability and heading technique have given him an edge in winning aerial challenges for balls, with many of his goals often being headers, he also scores with both feet.[11]

Personal life[]

He is married since 2015 and has two children.[12]

Philanthropy[]

In February 2019, he donated 6,000 American dollars to Al-Fotuwa club, the club he started his career with.[13]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 21 November 2021[14]
Club Season Saudi Pro League King Cup Crown Prince Cup AFC Champions League Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Assist
Al Ahli 2014–15 22 22 0 0 4 3 7 6 – – 33 31 3
2015–16 22 27 3 4 3 2 3 1 – – 31 34 1
2016–17 24 24 4 4 3 7 7 5 1[a] 1 39 41 3
2017–18 14 11 1 0 – – 0 0 – – 15 11 3
2018–19 24 19 1 0 – – 8 7 6[b] 2 39 28 6
2019–20 25 19 3 3 – – 4 1 – – 32 23 0
2020–21 24 12 0 0 – – 5 4 – – 29 16 5
2021–22 10 3 0 0 – – 0 0 – – 11 3 1
Career total 165 137 12 11 10 12 34 24 7 3 229 187 22
  1. ^ Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

International goals[]

Scores and results list Syria's goal tally first.[15]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 September 2017 Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran  Iran 2–2 2–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 5 October 2017 Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong, Malaysia  Australia 1–1 1–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 10 October 2017 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia  Australia 1–0 1–2 (a.e.t.)
4 24 March 2018 Basra Sports City, Basra, Iraq  Qatar 1–0 2–2 2018 International Friendship Championship
5 6 September 2018 Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Uzbekistan 1–1 1–1 Friendly
6 10 September 2018 Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan  Kyrgyzstan 1–1 1–2
7 11 October 2018 Bahrain National Stadium, Rifaa, Bahrain  Bahrain 1–0 1–0
8 15 January 2019 Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates  Australia 2–2 2–3 2019 AFC Asian Cup
9 5 September 2019 Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines  Philippines 1–1 5–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 4–1
11 10 October 2019 Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Maldives 1–0 2–1
12 2–0
13 15 October 2019  Guam 1–0 4–0
14 2–0
15 3–0
16 12 October 2021 King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan  Lebanon 2–3 2–3 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 12 October 2021 Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Iraq 1–0 1–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours[]

Al Futowa

  • Syrian Premiere Division Under 18 League: 2007–08[2]
  • Syrian Second Division Northern Group: 2009–10

Al Qadsia

Al Ahli

Syria

Individual

  • Syrian Premiere Division Under 18 top scorer: 2007–2008 (29 goals)[3]
  • Kuwaiti Premier League top scorer: 2013–14 (23 goals)
  • Saudi Professional League Player of the Month: October 2014, October 2015, November 2020[16]
  • Saudi Professional League Golden Boot: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
  • Al-Ahli Player of the Year: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • The best player of the season in the Saudi League, season 2015/16.
  • Golden Boot as top scorer in the King's Cup 2015/16.
  • Arab top scorer in the 2015/16 season.
  • Golden Boot as top scorer in the crown prince Cup 2016/17.
  • Best Arab player chosen by the Arab Athletes Committee in the 2017/18 season.
  • Best striker in the Saudi League 2017/18
  • Best Syrian Professional 2019/20
  • Best Syrian player in the 2019/20 season.
  • The greatest Arab scorer in the decade 2011-2020 by the International Federation of History and Statistics and ranked 14th in the world.
  • IFFHS AFC Men's Team of the Decade 2011–2020[17]

Numbers and priorities

  • The historical top scorer for the Saudi Professional League.
  • The 2016/17 season became the fastest player in the world to score [50 goals] in [45 matches], surpassing the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo's record in (51 games).
  • The first player in the history of the Saudi Professional League to win the Golden Boot title 3 times in a row.
  • Al-Ahli club's all-time top scorer.
  • Al-Ahli club's all-time top scorer in foreign tournaments.
  • Al-Ahli club’s all-time top scorer in local championships.
  • Al-Ahli club's all-time top scorer in the AFC Champions League.
  • Al-Ahli club's all-time top scorer for foreign players.
  • Al-Ahli club's historical top scorer in the Saudi Super Cup.
  • The most foreign player in Saudi stadiums scored in the history of the Saudi League since its inception.
  • The most foreign player in Saudi stadiums scored in the history of the Saudi Professional League.
  • The most foreign player in Saudi stadiums scored in foreign tournaments.
  • The most foreign player in Saudi stadiums scored in all local tournaments.
  • He scored in all the clubs he faced in the AFC Champions League except for one club.
  • He scored against all Saudi clubs in the league except for two clubs.
  • The fastest player in the history of the Saudi League scores 100 goals in 102 matches.
  • The fastest player to reach the 108th goal out of 109 matches in the Saudi League.
  • The fastest player in the history of Saudi football to reach the 127th goal out of 139 matches.
  • 8 hat-tricks in the history of the Saudi Professional League (the most in the history of the tournament).
  • In 2019, from the group stage of the AFC Champions League, he won the Man of the Match award 3 times out of 6 matches.
  • More than he managed to score goals in 18 different stadiums in the history of the Saudi Professional League.
  • He is the only player who has scored more than 10 goals in 7 consecutive seasons in the Saudi Professional League, without any other player equaling him.
  • He is the only player who has scored more than 20 goals in 3 consecutive seasons in the Saudi Professional League, without any other player equaling him.
  • He has a record for scoring in 27 stadiums in all the tournaments he participated in.
  • He scored in all the tournaments he participated in.
  • British magazine four four two chose him among the 50 best players in the history of the continent of Asia.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Omar Al Somah". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "دوري الشباب السوري". Kooora.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b "دوري الشباب السوري". Kooora.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. ^ "الأزرق دوت كوم". Alazraq.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Nottingham Forest trialists hope to do Arab football proud". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Omar Al Soma". soccer24.com.
  7. ^ "هدف الأهلي الأول ضد الاتحاد (عمر السومة) في الجولة 22 من دوري كأس الأمير محمد بن سلمان للمحترفين". Dawri Plus (in Arabic). 1 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Quarter-final: Al Nassr 2-0 Al Ahli Saudi FC". AFC. 30 September 2020.
  9. ^ "السومة يلحق بالشمراني بقائمة تاريخية بالدوري السعودي". Kooora (in Arabic). 29 November 2020.
  10. ^ "رسميا.. عمر السومة الهداف التاريخي للدوري السعودي". Kooora (in Arabic). 22 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Saudi Pro League Statistics 2014/2015". Slstat.com. 28 March 1989. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  12. ^ "عمر السومة يرزق بولدين "توأم" ويعلن عن اسميهما". akhbaar24 (in Arabic). 31 July 2017.
  13. ^ Omar-Al-Somah http://leartishasic.com. Retrieved 15 May 2021
  14. ^ Omar Al Somah at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Omar Al Somah". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  16. ^ "أفضلية نوفمبر تذهب إلى رازافان والسومة وبخاري".
  17. ^ "IFFHS MAN TEAM - AFC - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 30 January 2021.

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