Joseph Abou Mrad (; 18 April 1933 – 28 October 2003) 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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

for

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 ...

and the Lebanon national team. Abou Mrad was awarded Lebanese Premier League top-scorer with 18 goals during the 1964–65 season. Abou Mrad played for the Lebanon national team, and scored the opening goal at the

Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (CCSC) ( ar, ملعب مدينة كميل شمعون الرياضية; french: Cité sportive Camille-Chamoun) is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 49,500 seats, located in the Bir Hassan area of Beir ...

in 1957 against Romanian club Energia Ploiești. He was also the captain of the national team in 1966. Abou Mrad was Racing Beirut's

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 ...

in 1971. He coached

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 ...

during the 1970s, failing to qualify Lebanon to the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

during their first qualifications in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

Club career

Abou Mrad started his senior career at Intisar Chiyah, before moving to Lebanese Premier League club

in 1953, with whom he stayed until his retirement in 1966. Abou Mrad helped his side win two league titles, in 1955–56 and 1964–65. In the latter season, Abou Mrad was the season top-goalscorer, with 18 goals. This award was both preceded and succeeded by fellow national

Levon Altonian Levon Aram Altounian ( ar, ليون ارام التونيان; 15 February 1936 – 6 September 2020) was a Lebanese Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger or an midfielder, attacking midfielder. Altoun ...

. Abou Mrad retired from football in 1966.

International career

Abou Mrad represented

internationally between 1953 and 1966. He played 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

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, on 23 January 1955, scoring one goal in a 2–3 defeat. Abou Mrad also played in another friendly against Hungary, on 29 February 1966, which ended in a 1–4 defeat. In 1957 Abou Mrad scored in the

's opening game against Romanian club Energia Ploiești. Abou Mrad captained Lebanon at the

1966 Arab Cup The 1966 Arab Cup was the third edition of the Arab Cup hosted by Baghdad, Iraq. The host nation and defending Champions Iraq won the title for the 2nd time. Participated teams The 10 participated teams are: Venues Squads Group stag ...

, where Lebanon came fourth.

Managerial career

On 18 January 1971, Abou Mrad was nominated

by the club's General Assembly. He coached

from 1971 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1979, failing to qualify Lebanon to the

during their first qualifications in

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Player

Racing Beirut * Lebanese Premier League: 1955–56, 1964–65 Lebanon *

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Game ...

third place:

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

* Arab Cup third place:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

Individual * Lebanese Premier League top goalscorer: 1964–65

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abou Mrad, Joseph 1933 births 2003 deaths Association football forwards Lebanese footballers Lebanese Premier League players Racing Club Beirut players Lebanon international footballers Lebanese football managers Lebanon national football team managers Lebanese Premier League top scorers