Nader Charbel Matar ( ar, نادر شربل مطر, ; born 12 May 1992) 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 ...

who plays 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 ...

for club Ansar and the Lebanon national team. Matar began his senior career in 2008 in Portugal, playing for

Sporting CP B Sporting Clube de Portugal B is the reserve team of Portuguese football club Sporting CP, a team based in Lisbon. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cann ...

and Oeiras. He moved to Spain in 2010, where he played for Atlético Madrid C and Canillas, before moving to Ghana-based Asante Kotoko in 2012. He returning to Portugal in 2014, playing six months at Beira-Mar. Matar signed for his first Lebanese club in 2016,

Nejmeh Nejmeh Sporting Club ( ar, نادي النجمة الرياضي, lit=The Star Sporting Club) is a football club based in Manara, a district in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . The club was established in Beirut in 1945, and ...

, where he won three Lebanese Elite Cups and one

Lebanese Super Cup The Lebanese Super Cup () is Lebanese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Lebanese Premier League season and the holders of the Lebanese FA Cup. If the Lebanese Premier League champions also won the Lebanese FA ...

in his four-year stay. In 2020, Matar moved to cross-city rivals Ansar, helping them win their first league title in 14 years in his first season. He then moved back abroad, joining Qatar-based Muaither, before returning to Ansar in 2022. Born in the Ivory Coast to a Lebanese father and a Moroccan mother, Matar chose to represent Lebanon internationally. He made his debut in a friendly against

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

in 2012, and also played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Matar helped Lebanon qualify to 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 F ...

, where he played. His first goal came at the

2019 WAFF Championship The 2019 West Asian Football Federation Championship, also called Asiacell WAFF Championship Iraq 2019 due to sponsorship by Asiacell, was the 9th edition of the WAFF Championship, an international tournament for member nations of the West As ...

, against Syria.

Early life

Matar was born in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

, Ivory Coast, to a Lebanese father and Moroccan mother. He grew up in Angola, and played for several local clubs.

Club career

Early career

After playing at youth level for Alcorcón in Spain, in 2008 Matar moved to Portugal, playing one year for

, and one year for Oeiras. He returned to Spain in 2010, joining Atlético Madrid C, before moving to Canillas, Real Madrid's ''de facto'' C team. Matar signed for

Ghana Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), t ...

side Asante Kotoko in 2012. In 2014 he returned to Portugal, at Beira-Mar in the

Liga Portugal 2 The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pri ...

, where he was released after six months.

Nejmeh

On 2 September 2016, Matar moved to Lebanon and signed for

. He scored one goal in 17 league games in 2016–17, helping his team win the

and

Lebanese Elite Cup The Lebanese Elite Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the top six teams of the previous Lebanese Premier League season. Founded in 1996 as the Super League Cup, the first edition was contested by the top five finish ...

. He was included in the Lebanese Premier League Team of the Year. In 2017–18 Matar improved his tally, scoring four in 19, winning the

once again. He renewed his contract for an additional season on 28 March 2018. The following season, in 2018–19, Matar scored three goals in 20 games, and helped Nejmeh win the

for the third time in a row. He renewed his contract for three more years on 21 March 2019. On 25 October 2019, Matar was warned and fined by Nejmeh for throwing his kit on the floor following a substitution against Racing Beirut in a friendly. On 20 January 2020, Matar's contract was terminated by mutual consent following financial disputes between the two parties.

Ansar

Matar joined cross-city rivals Ansar on 21 September 2020. In 2020–21, he helped them win their first league title since 2007, and their 14th overall. Matar scored two goals and made three assists in 14 games. He also helped Ansar win the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, scoring a long-distance goal against Nejmeh in the 2020–21 Lebanese FA Cup final, which Ansar won on penalty shoot-outs.

Muaither

On 16 August 2021, Matar moved to

Qatari Second Division The Qatari Second Division ( ar, دوري الدرجة الثانية القطري), QSD or Second Division League, also was known as Qatargas League due to sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of football league competition in Qatar. Contested ...

side Muaither on a free transfer. He made his debut on 15 September, in a 1–0 defeat to Lusalil.

Return to Ansar

On 17 January 2022, Matar returned to Ansar in the Lebanese Premier League, signing a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

Matar made his debut for Lebanon in a 1–0 home win against

in a friendly on 22 January 2012. He was called up for the

squad, playing in all three group stage games. Matar's first international goal came on 2 August 2019, in a 2–1 win against Syria at the

Style of play

An attacking-minded midfielder, Matar's main characteristics are his

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 flair; he is also a set-piece specialist. Starting out as an

attacking 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 ...

, Matar developed into a more central role during his stay at Nejmeh.

Personal life

On 9 January 2021, Matar married a Moroccan woman in Casablanca, Morocco.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Asante Kotoko *

: 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2013–14 *

Ghanaian FA Cup The Ghanaian FA Cup, currently known as the MTN FA Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the top knockout tournament of the Ghanaian association football. The competition is played between the clubs of the Premier League, Division One League, Ghana ...

: 2014 *

Ghana Super Cup The Ghana Super Cup is a football competition involving a match played between the champion of the Ghana Premier League and the winner of the Ghanaian FA Cup in Ghana. The first Ghana Super Cup competition took place in the 1996–1997 season, af ...

: 2012, 2013 Nejmeh *

: 2016 *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Ansar *

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, ...

: 2020–21 *

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 ...

: 2020–21; runner-up: 2021–22 *

runner-up:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Individual *

Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season The Al-Manar Football Festival () was an event organised by the Al-Manar television station between the 1996–97 and 2018–19 seasons in order to award players, managers, referees and teams who were considered to have performed the best over ...

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matar, Nader 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Abidjan Lebanese people of Moroccan descent Moroccan people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Moroccan descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Lebanese footballers Association football midfielders Sporting CP B players AD Oeiras players Atlético Madrid C players CD Canillas players Asante Kotoko S.C. players S.C. Beira-Mar players Nejmeh SC players Al Ansar FC players Muaither SC players Ghana Premier League players Liga Portugal 2 players Lebanese Premier League players Qatari Second Division players Lebanon international footballers 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Lebanese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Angola Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Ghana Expatriate footballers in Qatar Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Angola Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Ghana Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Qatar