Ghazi Fahad ( ar, غازي فهد ; born 1978) is a coach and former international

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 ...

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 ...

player, he played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Playing career

Ghazi started his playing career at Basra club

Al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...

, where he was scouted by Al Minaa manager

Hadi Ahmed Hadi Ahmed Basheer ( ar, هادي أحمد بشير; born November 1, 1951) is an Iraqi association football, football coach and former player. He played as a midfielder and spent the majority of his career with Al-Minaa club. He was capped Iraq ...

who signed him for the first team. Ghazi made his debut against

Al Quwa Al Jawiya Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya ( ar, نادي القوة الجوية الرياضي, lit=Air Force Club) is an Iraqi sports club based in Rusafa District, Baghdad that competes in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 1931 ...

and remained an important player for the club in all four seasons he spent there. Ghazi then moved to

Duhok SC Duhok Sports Club ( ar, نادي دهوك الرياضي, ku, یانه‌یا وه‌رزشی یا دهوکێ), founded in 1970, is a Kurdish professional sports club, based in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan, that competes in the Iraqi Premier League, ...

for one season playing under

Natiq Hashim Natiq Hashim Abid-Aoun (15 January 1960 – 26 September 2004) was an Iraqi football midfielder who played for Iraq in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. Natiq started his career at Amana youth team in Baghdad along ...

. The player showed his quality in many matches including one against his former team Al Minaa where he scored. Following his season with Duhok, Ghazi wanted a move to a

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

club in order to improve his chance of making the national team, his first choice was

, but he failed to agree to a contract and signed for rivals

Al-Zawraa Al-Zawraa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الزوراء الرياضي) is an Iraqi sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team compete in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi footbal ...

instead. In the Baghdadi club, Ghazi Fahad continued his impressive performances and finally received a call-up to the

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

in 2002, where he won the

2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship The 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship took part in Syrian Capital of Damascus. Iraq won the final against Jordan 3–2 after extra time coming back from 0–2 at half time. The 6 entrants were Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Lebano ...

. Fahad Ghazi returned to Al Minaa and helped the team achieve 2nd place in the

2004–05 Iraqi Premier League The 2004–05 Iraqi Premier League kicked off on October 20, 2004. The 36 teams were split into four groups. At the end of the group stage, the top three teams from each group (a total of 12 teams) advanced to the Elite Stage, while the bottom thre ...

. Ghazi returned once again to

and spent a season with the Kurdish club. Following their elimination in the second round of the

2006–07 Iraqi Premier League The 2006–07 Iraqi Premier League kicked off on December 22, 2006 and finished on July 6, 2007. Erbil were crowned champions for the first time in their history, defeating Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 in the final, hosted at the Franso Hariri Stadium, ...

, Ghazi Fahad retired and joined the coaching staff at

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

Managerial career

Following his retirement, Ghazi joined Al Ain's youth setup as a coach, and was eventually promoted to the head of academy in 2009. As a coach, Ghazi is credited to having scouted and neutered Emirati superstar

Omar Abdulrahman Omar Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Raqi Al Amoudi ( ar, عمر عبد الرحمن أحمد الراقي العمودي; born 20 September 1991) is an Emirati professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Emirati club Al Wasl F.C. and ...

. In 2013 Al Ain agreed to loan Ghazi Fahad to his boyhood club Al Minaa for six months. Ghazi managed the team for 11 matches, winning five and losing five, while achieving a draw in the remaining one. He cut his time short after only four months due to receiving

death threats A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...

. Ghazi returned to coach Al Minaa once again in 2017, replacing Romanian

Ion Marin Ion Marin (born 8 July 1960) is a Romanian-Austrian conductor. He is internationally renowned both in operatic and symphonic domains. Early life Born in Bucharest, son of choir conductor Constantin Marin, founder of the Madrigal Choir, Ion Mari ...

. The Manager led Al Mina'a to a sixth-place finish, winning four of the nine matches he was in charge for. Following his performances as a manager, Al Mina'a signed him on a full-time contract to manage the club for the 2017-18 season. However he resigned before the start of the season due to a dispute with club president

Jalil Hanoon Jalil Hanoon Motar Al-Asadi ( ar, جليل حنّون مطر الأسدي; born 1952) is an Iraqi former footballer who is the president of Al-Minaa club. Sport history Jalil Hanoon played as a forward and spent the majority of his career with ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Club

Iraqi Premier League The Iraqi Premier League ( ar, الدوري العراقي الممتاز) is the top level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it is operated by the Iraq Football Association (IFA) and operates on a system of promotion ...

** Runner up 2004–05 with Al Minaa

International

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 ...

: ** Winner in

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 ...

References

External links

Ghazi Fahad
at Dsg-widgets.com *
Interview with Fahad in 2013

Al-Minaa Club: Sailors of south
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahad, Ghazi 1978 births Iraqi footballers Iraq international footballers Association football midfielders Living people

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

People from Basra Sportspeople from Basra Al-Mina'a SC players Duhok SC players Al-Zawraa SC players Iraqi football managers Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Al-Mina'a SC managers