Levon Aram Altounian ( ar, ليون ارام التونيان; 15 February 1936 – 6 September 2020) 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

right winger 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 ...

or an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...

. Altounian played his whole club career at Homenetmen, between 1952 and 1973, finishing as top scorer of the

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, ...

twice: in 1962–63 and in 1966–67. Altounian also represented the Lebanon national team, captaining them to a third-place finish at the 1963 Arab Cup.

Club career

Born on 15 February 1936 in

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 ...

, Lebanon, Altounian played his whole club career at Homenetmen, between 1952 and 1973. He was awarded top scorer of the

twice, during the 1962–63 and 1966–67 seasons, scoring respectively 14 and 19 goals.

International career

Altounian played for the Lebanon national team, scoring two goals in the

1957 Pan Arab Games The 2nd Pan Arab Games were held in Beirut, Lebanon between October 12 and October 28, 1957. 914 athletes from 10 countries participated in events in 12 sports. Sports * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Medals won by country References External li ...

and helping Lebanon reach third place. He also participated in the 1963 Arab Cup as Lebanon's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

; he scored six goals, with Lebanon coming in third place in the competition.

Style of play

Altounian started out as an

, before developing as a

. He was known for his speed,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

, and technical ability, as well as for scoring difficult top-corner goals.

Personal life

Levon's favourite player was

Mardik Tchaparian Mardiros Tchaparian ( ar, مارديروس تشاباريان), commonly known as Mardik ( ar, مارديك, links=no), is a Lebanese former footballer who played as a striker. Active during the 1950s and 1960s, he used to play as a striker for ...

in Lebanon, and

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...

worldwide; his favourite coach was Joseph Nalbandian. His brother, Manuel, also played football, and represented Lebanon internationally.

Death

On 6 September 2020, Altounian died in the Daher El Bachek Hospital in

Roumieh Roumieh is a village north-east of Beirut in Lebanon. Surrounded by pine-forested hills, Roumieh is a 10- or 15-minute drive from the coast. Roumieh is known as a pleasant, picturesque small mountain town with many gardens. Agriculture In addi ...

, Lebanon.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Homenetmen *

: 1954–55, 1962–63, 1968–69 *

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 ...

: 1961–62 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 The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

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: 1962–63, 1966–67

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altounian, Levon 1936 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Beirut Lebanese footballers Lebanese people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Association football wingers Association football midfielders Homenetmen Beirut footballers Lebanese Premier League players Lebanon international footballers Lebanese Premier League top scorers