Mohammad Ali Kassas ( ar, محمد علي قصاص; born 1 July 1976) is a Lebanese former professional footballer who 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 ...

. He is the technical director of club Nejmeh. Kassas was the Lebanese Premier League top goalscorer for Nejmeh twice in a row, scoring 22 goals in 2003–04 and 21 goals in 2004–05. He also represented the Lebanon national team, scoring three goals in 23 appearances.

Club career

Kassas started his senior career in 1988, aged 12, at Mabarra in the Lebanese Fourth Division. He helped the side reach the Lebanese Second Division, before moving on a trial to Ansar during the summer of 1997. In 1997 Kassas moved to Safa and played for one season. During the 1999–2000 season, Kassas played for Shabab Sahel, before moving to

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 ...

for two seasons; he scored 18 league goals in 45 games with the side. In 2002, Kassas moved to

Olympic Beirut Tripoli Sporting Club (), also known as AC Tripoli or simply Tripoli, is a football club based in Tripoli, Lebanon, that competes in the . Founded as Al Majd Sports Association (), the club was renamed Olympic Beirut Sporting Club () in 2001, w ...

for $500,000 in the largest deal in Lebanese history, with whom he won the

domestic double The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sections examin ...

, then to Nejmeh in 2003. At Nejmeh, Kassas was crowned top goalscorer of the Lebanese Premier League twice in a row, scoring 22 goals in 2003–04 and 21 goals in 2004–05. He also won the Lebanese Premier League in both seasons. In 2005, Kassas moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Qadsiah for one season, where he scored six league goals. He returned to Lebanon the following season, signing for Sagesse in 2006. He then moved to Ahed, before moving to Syria in 2008 as he signed for Nawair. After half a season in Syria, Kassas returned once again to Lebanon, signing first for Shabab Sahel in 2009, for whom he scored 6 league goals, then for

in 2009. In 2010, Kassas joined Safa, helping them reach the final of the

2010 AFC Cup The 2010 AFC Cup was the seventh edition of the AFC Cup, playing between clubs from nations who are members of the Asian Football Confederation. With the Asian Football Confederation currently reviewing the format of the AFC Champions League bet ...

. In 2011, he left Lebanon to sign for Jordanian side

Al-Ramtha Al-Ramtha Sports Club ( ar, نادي الرمثا الرياضي) is a Jordanian professional football club based in Ar Ramtha, Jordan. Abdel-Halim Samara, was the president of the club (from 1967 to 2018), is considered to be the oldest club p ...

; he scored 16 league goals in 33 games in two seasons at the club. Kassas was also sent on loan to Mabarra in 2012. helping them gain promotion to the Lebanese Premier League. Kassas returned to Lebanon in 2013, signing for Nabi Chit and also helping them gain promotion to the Lebanese Premier League. In 2014 Kassas returned to Al-Ramtha, before making his final return to Lebanon in 2014, signing for Sagesse. In 2016, Kassas joined Safa and scored three goals in 11 matches during the 2016–17 season, where he retired. In March 2021, Kassas returned from retirement, resigning for Sagesse in the Lebanese Second Division ahead of the second leg.

International career

In 2002, Kassas played for the Lebanon Olympic team at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

, scoring a hat-trick in an 11–0 win against Afghanistan.

Managerial career

In April 2022, Kassas was appointed technical director of Nejmeh.

Honours

Olympic Beirut * Lebanese Premier League: 2002–03 * Lebanese FA Cup: 2002–03 Nejmeh * Lebanese Premier League: 2003–04, 2004–05 Ahed * Lebanese Premier League: 2007–08 Individual * Lebanese Premier League top scorer: 2003–04, 2004–05 * Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kassas, Mohammad 1976 births Living people People from Baalbek District Lebanese footballers Association football forwards Al Mabarra Club players Al Ansar FC players Safa SC players Shabab Al Sahel FC players Sagesse SC footballers Olympic Beirut players Nejmeh SC players Al-Qadsiah FC players Al Ahed FC players Nawair SC players Al-Ramtha SC players Al Nabi Chit SC players Lebanese Premier League players Saudi Professional League players Syrian Premier League players Jordanian Pro League players Lebanese Second Division players Lebanon youth international footballers Lebanon international footballers Asian Games competitors for Lebanon Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Lebanese Premier League top scorers Lebanese expatriate footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Syria Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Jordan Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in Syria Expatriate footballers in Jordan