Joan Noureddine Oumari (, ; born 19 August 1988) is a 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

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for the Lebanon national team. After playing for eight seasons in Germany, between the fifth and

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, Oumari moved to Turkish side

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 201 ...

in 2016. In 2017, he signed for

UAE Pro-League The UAE Pro League ( ar, دوري المحترفين الإماراتي), known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al O ...

club Al-Nasr, before moving on a six-month loan to Japanese side

Sagan Tosu is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J1 League. The team is located in Tosu, Saga Prefecture. ''Sagan'' is a coined word with a couple of meanings behind it. One of its homophones is in Japanese. This symbolises ...

the following season. After returning to Al-Nasr for one year, Oumari moved back to Japan in 2019, playing for

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

FC Tokyo Football Club Tokyo, commonly known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chōfu, Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team is one of only four in the J.League to be si ...

and Sagan Tosu. Born in Germany, Oumari has represented Lebanon internationally since 2013. He has played in the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...

, Lebanon's first participation in the competition through qualification.

Early life

Oumari was born on 19 August 1988 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany, to Lebanese Kurds from

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 ...

. Oumari's parents emigrated from Lebanon to Germany in 1980 due to the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. He has two brothers, Ahmed and

Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

; the latter also plays football.

Club career

Early career in Berlin

Oumari's career began at . After a few years in the youth department, he moved to the youth section of Reinickendorfer Füchse. There, he made the leap to the first team during the 2006–07 season, which was playing in the fifth division (

Verbandsliga Berlin The Berlin-Liga (VI), formerly the Verbandsliga Berlin, is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German capital. Since German reunification in 1990, it has been the highest level of domestic football in the city, replacing the A ...

). Oumari played 22 league games that season, scoring one goal, and finished in third place. The following season, Oumari established himself as a regular player, playing 31 out of 33 league games, and scoring five goals. At the end of the season, his team came first in the league with the fewest goals conceded.

SV Babelsberg 03

The following season Joan Oumari, alongside his older brother Hassan, who also played regularly for Reinickendorfer Füchse, moved to

Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...

side

SV Babelsberg 03 SV Babelsberg 03 is a German association football club based in Potsdam-Babelsberg, on the outskirts of Berlin. The team was founded as ''Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903'' and again as ''SG Karl-Marx Babelsberg'' in 1948 as successor to the pre-war ...

. While his older brother was only used sporadically, Joan Oumari played in about half of the season games, mostly as a substitute. During the 2009–10 season, Oumari only played 11 league games. His best performance was on 5 March 2010, in 3–0 home win over

ZFC Meuselwitz Zipsendorfer Fußballclub Meuselwitz is a German association football club from Meuselwitz, Thuringia. History The origins of the club go back to the establishment of ''Aktivist Zipsendorf'' in 1919. After World War II the club played as ''BSG ...

, where he gave two assists and was declared the man of the match. At the end of the season, his team came first with the fewest goals conceded in the league and were promoted to the 3.Liga. There, Oumari became a regular; initially deployed as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, Oumari was later moved as a

center-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Rot-Weiß Erfurt and FSV Frankfurt

In May 2011, Rot-Weiss Erfurt announced the signing of Oumari on a two-year deal. In his first season he immediately took a regular place in central defence and played 29 league games. After another year in the third division, Oumari made the jump to the 2. Bundesliga, moving to

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...

in the summer of 2013.

Sivasspor

During the winter transfer window of the 2015–16 season, Oumari moved to Turkish side

. His first game for the club came on 16 January 2016, as a starter in a 3–1 away loss to

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

. On his last game in the season, Oumari scored a goal against Fenerbahce on 19 May 2016 in a 2–2 draw. However, the draw wasn't enough as his team was relegated to the

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

. Oumari played a total of 17 games in the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

during his first season. In his six-month stay in the

, Oumari played 13 league matches and scored one goal, on 10 December 2016 against Göztepe.

Al-Nasr

2017–18: First two seasons

On 3 January 2017, Oumari moved to

side Al-Nasr SC on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He played 32 league games in his first two seasons at the club.

2018: Loan to Sagan Tosu

In August 2018 Oumari signed for

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

side

on a six-month loan, becoming the first Lebanese player to play in the

. His first and only goal for the club came on 20 October 2018 against

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in J2 League. The team is located in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. Soccer Club'', Vegalta joined the J-League in 1999 after p ...

in a 2–3 away win. Oumari played a total of 11 league games for the club.

2018–19: Third season

Upon returning from loan to Al-Nasr, Oumari played nine league games in the 2018–19 season, as well as one cup game. He also debuted in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

, playing against

Pakhtakor Tashkent FC Pakhtakor Tashkent ( uz, Paxtakor futbol klubi) is an Uzbek professional association football, football club, based in the capital city Tashkent, that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Pakhtakor literally means "cotton-grower" in Englis ...

in the 2019 play-off round.

Vissel Kobe

On 23 July 2019,

side

announced the signing of Oumari on a free transfer. He made his club debut on 17 August 2019, in a 3–0 home win against

Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

in the league. He scored his only goal for Vissel Kobe on 19 October 2019, in a 1–3 home defeat against his eventual future club

. Oumari ended the 2019 season with one goals in four appearances in the league. He also made one appearance in the 2019 Emperor's Cup, which he won as his side defeated

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

2–0 in the final.

FC Tokyo

2020 season

On 10 January 2020, Oumari joined

runners-up

. His debut came on 12 July 2020 in the league, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 away win against

Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese professional football club based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club competes in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Having won the J-League title four times an ...

. Oumari's debut from the starting lineup came two matchdays later, on 22 July, in a 1–1 draw against

Consadole Sapporo is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...

. On 10 October, in a match against

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

, Oumari lost a tooth in an aerial duel. Oumari's first goal came on 19 December in the final matchday of the

2020 J1 League The 2020 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league began on 21 February and eventu ...

, scoring the sole goal of the game against his former club Vissel Kobe. On 4 January 2021, Oumari played in the

2020 J.League Cup The 2020 J.League Cup, known as the 2020 J.League YBC Levain Cup ( ja, 2020 JリーグYBCルヴァンカップ) for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of J.League Cup, a Japanese association football cup competition. It began on 16 Februar ...

final, helping FC Tokyo win 2–1 against

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadiu ...

. He finished the season with 19 games: 12 in the league, one in the league cup, and six in the AFC Champions League. On 10 February 2021, Oumari's contract was extended for a further year.

2021 season

Oumari scored his first goal of the 2021 season on 25 August 2021, opening the scoring with a header in a 2–1 win against

. He left the club on 5 December 2021, following the expiration of his contract.

Return to Sagan Tosu

After Oumari's contract expired with FC Tokyo, Sagan Tosu signed him on a free transfer on 25 February 2022. After having played only one league game and three cup games, Oumari terminated his contract with Sagan Tosu on mutual consent on 21 August.

International career

Oumari made his debut for Lebanon on 7 September 2013, under coach

Giuseppe Giannini Giuseppe Giannini (; born 20 August 1964) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent the majority of his 15-year playing career with A.S. Roma, and was regarded by supporters as a club symbol, before his ...

, in a friendly 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 ...

. He came on as a substitute in the 55th minute and, seven minutes later, received a direct

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

. Giannini excluded Oumari from the national team, who played his next game in 2015 under

Miodrag Radulović Miodrag Radulović (; born 23 October 1967) is a Montenegrin professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Montenegro national team. Club career Born in Titograd, Montenegro, his football career began in 1980 at Bu ...

. Oumari's first goal for Lebanon came on 12 November 2015, scoring a 30-meter volley against

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

in the

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...

. His second goal came five days later, scoring a header in a 1–0 friendly win against Macedonia. In December 2018, he was called up for the

squad. He played the whole 90 minutes in all three group stage matches, however Lebanon wasn't able to reach the knock-out stages of the tournament. On 5 September 2019, 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. ...

(LFA) announced Oumari's indefinite exclusion from the national team, alongside teammate

Bassel Jradi Bassel Zakaria Jradi ( ar, باسل زكريا جرادي, ; born 6 July 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Thai League 1 club Bangkok United and the Lebanon national team. After playing for three year ...

, for refusing a call-up for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. After issuing an apology explaining his reasons for refusing the call-up, the LFA lifted the exclusion and Oumari was reintegrated to the national team on 19 September 2019. On 5 June 2021, Oumari scored two goals against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, including a scissor kick, to help Lebanon win 3–2 in the 2022 World Cup qualifying game. He was voted West Asia Player of the Month of June by the AFC for his performance.

Style of play

Oumari's strengths lie mainly in his physicality and aerial threat. In 2008, his former coach

Dietmar Demuth Dietmar Demuth (born 14 January 1955) is a German former 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, ...

stated that Joan Oumari, aged 20, had a "frighting commitment and aggressiveness", as well as "the maturity of an experienced footballer".

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Reinickendorfer Füchse *

Berlin-Liga The Berlin-Liga (VI), formerly the Verbandsliga Berlin, is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German capital. Since German reunification in 1990, it has been the highest level of domestic football in the city, replacing the A ...

: 2007–08 SV Babelsberg 03 *

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...

: 2009–10 *

Brandenburg Cup The Brandenburgischer Landespokal ( en, Brandenburg Cup), known as the '' Krombacher Pokal Brandenburg'' for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition, held by the ( en, Brandenburg Football Association). It is one of the 21 re ...

: 2008–09 Al-Nasr *

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions League. His ...

runner up: 2016–17 Vissel Kobe *

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

FC Tokyo *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of YB ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Individual *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

All-time Lebanon Men's Dream Team * Brandenburg U21 player: 2008

References

External links

* *
Joan Oumari
at

(in Arabic) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oumari, Joan 1988 births Living people Footballers from Berlin Lebanese people of Kurdish descent German people of Kurdish descent German people of Lebanese descent Lebanese footballers German footballers Kurdish sportspeople Association football central defenders Füchse Berlin Reinickendorf players SV Babelsberg 03 players FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players FSV Frankfurt players Sivasspor footballers Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Sagan Tosu players Vissel Kobe players FC Tokyo players Regionalliga players 3. Liga players 2. Bundesliga players Süper Lig players TFF First League players UAE Pro League players J1 League players Lebanon international footballers 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Lebanese expatriate footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Japan German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey German expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates German expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Japan

Early life

Club career

Early career in Berlin

SV Babelsberg 03

Rot-Weiß Erfurt and FSV Frankfurt

Sivasspor

Al-Nasr

2017–18: First two seasons

2018: Loan to Sagan Tosu

2018–19: Third season

Vissel Kobe

FC Tokyo

2020 season

2021 season

Return to Sagan Tosu

International career

Style of play

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links