Abou Bakr Ali Al-Mel ( ar, أبو بكر المل; born 15 November 1992), also known as Bako ( ar, باكو, links=no), is a Lebanese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for club

Sagesse ''Sagesse'' (literal trans. "Wisdom") is a volume of France, French poetry by Paul Verlaine. First published in 1881 (see 1881 in poetry, 1880), it was important in the symbolism (arts), symbolist and modernism, modernist movements. The subject m ...

Club career

Nejmeh

Abou Bakr made his debut in Lebanese Premier League with Nejmeh SC in 2011 as an 18-year-old and made five appearances with his came on 30 December 2011 in the match where

Al-Safa' SC Safa Sporting Club () is a football club based in Wata El Msaytbeh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . Founded in 1939, they won three league titles, three domestic cups, one Super Cup, and two Elite Cups; they have also ...

against Nejmeh SC when he was substituted in to replace

Hassan Al Mohamed Hassan Jamal El Mohamad ( ar, حسن جمال المحمد; born 24 August 1988) is a Lebanese former footballer who played as a forward. Early life El Mohamad was born on 24 August 1988 in Lagos, Nigeria, to Lebanese parents. His father was ...

on minute 85, and able to make 5 appearances as a substitute for the club and had 38 minutes of play.

Egtmaaey

Abou Bakr signed for Al Egtmaaey Tripoli for the 2012–13 season. On 19 March 2013 he scored his first goal in his career and for Al-Shabab in a 5–3 win over Shabab Al-Ghazieh. He had 770 minutes played after had played 17 matches where he had 6 appearances as first eleven.

Salam Zgharta

2013–14 season

Abou Bakr joined Salam Zgharta for 2013–14 season and made his debut against his former club, Nejmeh SC where they lost 0-2. He scored his first goal for the club on 2 November 2013 against

Racing Beirut Racing Club (), known as Racing Beirut or simply Racing, is a football club based in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . They play their home matches at the Fouad Chehab Stadium and are primarily supported by the ...

. On 14 November 2013, he scored two goal against his former club,

Al Egtmaaey Tripoli Al Egtmaaey Sporting Club (), known as Egtmaaey Tripoli or simply Egtmaeey, is a association football, football club based in Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, Lebanon, that competes in the . Club rivalries Egtmaaey plays the Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripo ...

which is the first time he scored twice in a match in his career. He also started to make more appearances as the first eleven as he made 20 appearances where 19 of them is as the first eleven. He is also one of the Lebanese FA Cup winning squad on that year as Salam Zgharta won 1-0

after extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Draw (tie), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is ...

on 31 May 2014.

2014–15 season

He stayed at Salam Zgharta for 2014-15 season to make it his first club where he played for two seasons straight. His first season this season came on 23 November 2014 against Al-Nabi Shayth F.C. He make 15 appearances with 5 goals for this season. For winning the Lebanese FA Cup in the previous season, Salam Zgharta was given the chance to compete in

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

which will be his and the club inaugural season competing in the cup. His debut in

came on 17 February 2015 in

2015 AFC Cup qualifying play-off The 2015 AFC Cup qualifying play-off was played from 9 to 17 February 2015. A total of 14 teams competed in the qualifying play-off to decide five of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2015 AFC Cup. Format The bracket for the qualifying play-o ...

against

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

club,

Khayr Vahdat FK Khayr Vahdat FK is a football club from Vahdat, Tajikistan who have played in the Tajik League, the top division in Tajikistan, since 2010. History Sharif Nazarov was appointed as the club's manager on 17 March 2016. Domestic history Perfor ...

where they won 3-0 and qualified to the group stage. His first goal in the

was during the match against Al-Nahda Club, an

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

based club where he scored twice to make a 2–1 win. Their journey in the

2015 AFC Cup Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

came to an end after placed in 4th position with only 3 points after only 1 match won from 6 matches.

Tripoli

2015–16 season

After making 35 appearances and 9 goals with Salam Zgharta, he signed with Tripoli SC and his debut came on 16 October 2015 against

Al-Ansar SC Al Ansar Football Club ( ar, نادي الأنصار الرياضي, lit=The Supporters Sporting Club) is a football club based in Tariq El Jdideh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . Formed in 1951, the club did not win its ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 1 November 2015 against

. As Tripoli SC was the Lebanese FA Cup champion for 2014–15 Lebanese FA Cup, he get another chance in the

where he get to scored two goals also in this campaign but still failed to pass the group stage after Tripoli only placed 3rd in group

2016–17 season

2016-17 was a great season for Abou Bakr as he was named as Lebanese Premier League top scorer as he scored 16 goals.

Kelantan

On 18 May 2017, Abou Bakr joined

Liga Super The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malaysi ...

side,

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in the ...

on a one and a half year contract that will end in November 2018. He was signed to replace his fellow countryman, Mohammed Ghaddar. This was also the first time in his career for him to expatriate from

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 ...

to play at foreign country. It was also revealed he had rejected a trial offer from West Ham United and an offer from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

based club to joined

. He made his debut on 24 May 2017, playing against

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

PSIS Semarang

Abou Bakr signed for

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n side PSIS Semarang in the

2018 Liga 1 The 2018 Liga 1, also known as Go-Jek Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the second season of Liga 1 under its current name and the ninth season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs since its establishm ...

. He made his first team debut on 30 July 2018 in a 1–1

home draw against PSM Makassar, replacing Bayu Nugroho after 56 minutes and assisting Hari Nur Yulianto's goal.

Return to Nejmeh

On 10 September 2018, Bako returned to Lebanon, signing for Nejmeh. In his debut game in the league, 21 September 2018, he scored a goal against Ansar in a 4–2 domestic win. On 29 January he scored a brace in the Lebanese FA Cup Round of 16 game against Takadom Ankoun in a 6–0 win. Bako was chosen as the best player of the season by a public referendum held by Football Lebanon.

Bourj

On 8 September 2020, Bako joined Bourj on a permanent deal. He played seven games, scoring two goals and making one assist in the first half of the

2020–21 Lebanese Premier League The 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League was the 59th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league was initially scheduled to start on 18 Septe ...

UiTM

In December 2020 Bako moved back to Malaysia, joining

UiTM The MARA Technological University ( Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mala ...

ahead of the

2021 Malaysia Super League The 2021 Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia 2021), was the 18th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia. The defending champions from the 2020 Malaysia Super League season, Johor Daru ...

. He made his debut on 6 March 2021, losing 2–1 in the first matchday against

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

Return to Bourj

On 22 May 2021, Bako returned to Bourj. He helped his side win the

2021 Lebanese Challenge Cup The 2021 Lebanese Challenge Cup was the 8th edition of the Lebanese Challenge Cup. The competition included the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League, and the two newly promoted teams from the 2020–21 Lebane ...

as the competition's top goalscorer, with three goals.

Sagesse

On 4 July 2022, Bako moved to

, alongside Bourj teammate Akram Moghrabi.

International career

Bako first appearance for

came on 5 February 2016, as a substitute in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

against

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Salam Zgharta * Lebanese FA Cup: 2013–14 Bourj *

Lebanese Challenge Cup The Lebanese Challenge Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the previous season of the Lebanese Premier League and the two newly promoted teams from the Lebanese Second Divisio ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual * Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season: 2016–17 *

Lebanese Premier League Best Goal The Al-Manar Football Festival () was an event organised by the Al-Manar television station between the 1996–97 and 2018–19 seasons in order to award players, managers, referees and teams who were considered to have performed the best over ...

: 2013–14 * Lebanese Premier League top scorer:

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first conc ...

* Lebanese Challenge Cup top scorer: 2021

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mel, Abou Bakr 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Tripoli, Lebanon Lebanese footballers Association football forwards Nejmeh SC players Al Egtmaaey SC players Salam Zgharta FC players AC Tripoli players Kelantan FA players PSIS Semarang players Bourj FC players UiTM FC players Sagesse SC footballers Lebanese Premier League players Malaysia Super League players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Lebanese expatriate footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Expatriate footballers in Indonesia Lebanon international footballers Lebanese Premier League top scorers