Camille Rouhana Cordahi ( ar, كميل روحانا قرداحي; 11 September 1919 – 11 May 2011) was a Lebanese

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 played 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 ...

. He is the Lebanon national team's first official goalscorer, scoring his side's lone goal in a

friendly game 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

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1940. Cordahi began his senior club career in 1935 at

DPHB Association Sportive DPHB,) known as Al Sikkat Al Hadid Wal Marfa' in Arabic ( ar, نادي السكة الحديد والمرفأ, lit=Railway and Port Club),) was a multi-sports club based in Forn El Chebbak, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. D ...

, winning three

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, ...

titles. In 1942 Cordahi played one season at

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 ...

, before joining

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 ...

in 1943, which he helped form. He remained at the club until his retirement in 1950. Known as "the Golden Foot" (), Cordahi represented Beirut XI unofficially as their captain between 1937 and 1950; his first official

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for Lebanon was the 1940 friendly against Mandatory Palestine, Lebanon's first official game, in which he scored. Following his retirement as a player, Cordahi assumed various managerial roles at his former clubs Sagesse and Racing Beirut, and was the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of the

Lebanese Football Association The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) ( ar, الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم, Al-Ittiḥād Al-Lubnānī Likurat Al-Qadam; french: Fédération Libanaise de Football) is the governing body of association football in Lebanon. ...

in 1979. He was also the first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of his hometown

Faitroun Faitroun ( ar, فيطرون; also spelled ''Faytroun'') is a town in the Keserwan District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Located 33 kilometers north of Beirut and at an average altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level and its total land area of ...

, and was awarded the Lebanese Medal of Merit in 1974.

Early life

Cordahi was born on 11 September 1919 in

, Lebanon, to Rouhana Cordahi and Catherine Massaad. He had six siblings: Marie, Joseph, Georgette, Eva, Laure, and Marcelle. Cordahi grew up in the

Achrafieh Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter ...

district of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, and studied at the

Sagesse High School Sagesse High School, Mary Mother of Wisdom is a private school, private, Catholic school, Catholic co-educational school located in the suburb of Ain Saadeh, Matn District, Lebanon (30 minute drive from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport). ...

, playing football for the school's team. While studying at Sagesse, Cordahi was noticed by various French football clubs, who offered him to move to France with a scholarship. Cordahi's parents declined, and he remained in Lebanon.

Club career

Cordahi began his senior football career at

, the football club of the

Lebanese railways Rail transport in Lebanon began in the 1890s as French projects under the Ottoman Empire but largely ceased in the 1970s owing to the country's civil war. The last remaining routes ended for economic reasons in the 1990s. At its peak Lebanon had ...

, in 1935; he played at the inaugural game of the

Beirut Municipal Stadium Beirut Municipal Stadium () is an 18,000 capacity multi-purpose stadium in Beirut, Lebanon. It is currently mostly used for football matches. History The stadium was built by the French colonials in 1935. DPHB played at the inaugural game of the ...

that year, alongside teammate

Joseph Nalbandian Joseph Nalbandian ( ar, جوزف نلبنديان; 1919 – after 1985) was a Lebanese football player and manager. During the 1930s and 1940s, Nalbandian played as a goalkeeper for DPHB, Hilmi-Sport, Sagesse, Homenetmen, and Nahda, at club le ...

. With DPHB Cordahi won three

titles, in 1935–36, 1938–39, 1940–41. In 1942 Cordahi moved to

for one season. In 1943 he helped

form a senior football team, playing their first season in the 1943–44

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...

. Cordahi helped Sagesse win the Second Division in their first season, but were not promoted to the Premier League. In 1947–48, he won the Second Division with Sagesse once again, gaining promotion back to the Premier League. Cordahi retired from football in 1950, prior to Sagesse's relegation to the Second Division.

International career

Camille Cordahi v Mandatory Palestine, 1940

Nicknamed "the Golden Foot" (), in 1940 Cordahi took part in

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 ...

's first international match, in a friendly against

. He scored Lebanon's lone goal of the match, assisted by

Muhieddine Jaroudi Muhieddine Jaroudi ( ar, محي الدين الجارودي) was a Lebanese footballer who played as an forward. A player for Riyadi Beirut, Nahda, Hilmi-Sport, and Racing Beirut, Jaroudi took part in Lebanon's first international match again ...

of Hilmi Sports, becoming his country's first international goalscorer. Cordahi represented Lebanon twice more, in friendlies against

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

in 1942 and 1947. Between 1937 and 1950, Cordahi also represented Beirut XI internationally as their captain in unofficial international games. In May 1946, he played for Beirut XI in a friendly game against Egyptian club

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. Cordahi also received offers to play for the national teams of

and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, but he declined.

Managerial career

Following his retirement as a player, Cordahi worked at Sagesse first, and Racing Beirut later, as an administrator. On 18 January 1971, Cordahi was nominated

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

of Racing Beirut by the club's General Assembly. In 1979 he was the

of the

Personal life

Cordahi worked for the Lebanese railways between 1935 and 1942, while playing for their football club DPHB. Between 1944 and 1953, Cordahi worked at Régie des Tabacs et Tombacs, a tobacco manufacturing and trade company. In 1962 he became the first

of his hometown

, an occupation he held for over 45 years. On 1 June 1965, Cordahi founded a table tennis club, called Sporting Club Faitroun. The club was located in his home, and the table was put in his garage. In August 1974, Cordahi was awarded the Lebanese Medal of Merit at Racing Beirut's 40th anniversary. On 15 December 1962, Cordahi married his wife Sonia Farid Rizk; the couple had three children: a son, Rouhana, and two daughters, Catherine and Zeina. Cordahi died on 11 May 2011.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lebanon goal''.

Honours

DPHB *

: 1935–36, 1938–39, 1940–41 *

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is a Lebanese football annual cup competition. The first edition, held in 1937, was won by Nahda. The most successful club in the competition is Ansar with 15 titles, followed by Nejmeh ...

runner-up: 1939–40 Sagesse *

: 1943–44, 1947–48

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordahi, Camille 1919 births 2011 deaths People from Keserwan District Lebanese footballers Association football forwards AS DPHB players Racing Club Beirut players Sagesse SC footballers Lebanese Premier League players Lebanese Second Division players Lebanon international footballers Mayors of places in Lebanon Recipients of the Order of Merit (Lebanon)