Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail Labid Al-Zirjawi ( ar, عبد الوهاب أبو الهيل لابد الزيرجاوي; born 21 December 1975) is an Iraqi professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player who is the head coach of Iraqi club

Zakho Zakho, also spelled Zaxo ( ku, زاخۆ, Zaxo, syr, ܙܵܟ݂ܘܿ, Zākhō, , ) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, at the centre of the eponymous Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Iraq–Turkey bo ...

Club career

Abu Al-Hail started his career by playing for Al-Talaba in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He has also played for Al-Shaab of the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. In 2003, he moved to the Iranian Pro League club

Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Ahvaz Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال اهواز, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Esteqlâl Ahvaz''), commonly known as Esteghlal Ahvaz, was an Iranian football club based in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, that competed in the khu ...

. After three seasons he joined the

Esfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...

i club

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club ( fa, باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی فولاد مبارکه سپاهان اصفهان, ''Bâšgâh-è Varzeši-ye Fulâd-è Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan S.C., are an Iranian spor ...

. And stayed there for another 3 season where he won the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

once during his time and played many matches in ACL and CWC. He moved to

Foolad Foolad Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. ...

for 2009–10 season but he was rejected by the new coach

Majid Jalali Majid Jalali ( fa, مجید جلالی, born 6 September 1956 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian football manager and a former player. He has served as the manager in several clubs in Iran like Pas Tehran, Saba Battery, Foolad, and also national ...

. Abu Al-Hail started his career with Al Talaba in 1992. He left the club in 1999, moving to Al-Akhaa Al-Ahli of

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, and then to Al-Shaab of the United Arab Emirates. In 2003, he moved to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, playing for

and

. While at Esteghlal, Abu Al-Hail was given the captain's armband: it was the first time in the history of the Iranian league that a foreign player had become captain.

International career

Abdul-Wahab Abou Al-Hail was a key member of the Iraqi national team and one of the most coveted properties in Iraqi football. A jewel in midfield, equipped with remarkable ball control, accurate passing, shooting and is particularly threatening at free-kicks. His coach

Milan Zivadinovic Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

once described him as 'Our Ronaldo', due to his importance to the side and his short 'Ronaldoesque' hair cut. He came into the international scene during the Nehru Cup in 1997, missing a penalty in the shoot-out win over India. At international level, Abu Al-Hail featured prominently in

's qualifying campaign for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

under then coach Rudolf Belin. Olympic manager Adnan Hamad called the midfielder into his squad for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Abu Al-Hail was a member of the

Iraq national football team The Iraq national football team ( ar, منتخب العراق لكرة القدم) represents Iraq in international Association football, football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association (IFA), the governing body for football in Ira ...

. and was part of Iraq Olympic team in the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, reached the 4th place. Abu Al-Hail was not selected in Iraq's title-winning

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

as the national authorities stayed faithful to players from the former youth team that had won the

AFC Youth Championship 2000 The 2000 AFC Youth Championship was held between November 12 and 26 in Iran. It was won by Iraq 2–1 over Japan. Participants * Iran (qualified as hosts) * * * * * * * * * The teams that reached the semi-final qualified for the 2001 FIFA Wo ...

Managerial career

Abu Al-Hail started his managerial career at Al-Talaba in 2013, remaining in charge until 2015. In December 2016, Abu Al-Hail became the head coach of his former club Akhaa Ahli Aley, in the

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, ...

, for the 2016–17 season. In his second season as head coach, he finished fourth in the league. On 21 January 2020, he was appointed head coach of Ansar. He resigned on 20 March 2020, following Ansar's 2–2 draw to Safa. On 21 April 2021, Abu Al-Hail was appointed head coach of

in Iraq.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.''

Managerial

Honours

Player

Sepahan * Iranian Hazfi Cup: 2005–06 Iraq *

WAFF Championship The West Asian Football Federation Championship (), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the g ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Notes

References

External links

* *
Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail
at iraqsport.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Al-Hail, Abdul-Wahab Living people 1975 births Iraqi footballers Sportspeople from Baghdad Association football midfielders Al-Talaba SC players Iraqi expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Lebanon Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Lebanon Lebanese Premier League players Akhaa Ahli Aley FC players Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates UAE Pro League players Al-Shaab CSC players Expatriate footballers in Iran Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Iran Persian Gulf Pro League players Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. players Sepahan S.C. footballers Iraq international footballers 2000 AFC Asian Cup players 2004 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers of Iraq Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Iraqi football managers Iraqi expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Lebanon Lebanese Premier League managers Akhaa Ahli Aley FC managers Al Ansar FC managers Iraqi Premier League managers