Walid Bahij Ismail ( ar, وليد بهيج إسماعيل; born 10 November 1984) is a Lebanese 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

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 ...

. Ismail began his career in Lebanon at Islah Borj Shmali, before playing 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 then

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 ...

, with whom he won the 2013–14 league title. In 2014 he moved to Zob Ahan in Iran, winning two consecutive

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

titles—in 2014–15 and 2015–16. Ismail returned to Lebanon in 2016, playing for Safa,

Salam Zgharta Salam Zgharta Football Club ( ar, نادي السلام الرياضي زغرتا, lit=Zgharta Peace Sporting Club), known as Salam Zgharta or simply Salam, is a football club based in Zgharta, Lebanon, that competes in the . Founded in 1933 ...

, Bourj and

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 ...

. He is one of his country's most

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

players, having represented

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 ...

internationally 68 times between 2010 and 2019. Ismail participated at the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifications, and the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications. He has also played at 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 ...

, in Lebanon's first participation through qualification.

Club career

Starting his career at Islah Borj Shmali in the

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...

, Ismail played for

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, ...

side

, before moving to

in 2013 where he won one league title, one

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

, one Elite Cup and helped them reach the round of 16 of the

2013 AFC Cup The 2013 AFC Cup was the tenth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. In an all-Kuwait final, defending champions Al-Kuwait defeated Al-Q ...

. In 2014, he moved to Iranian club Zob Ahan with whom he won two Hazfi Cups and played 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 ...

. In 2016 he returned to Lebanon at Safa, where he spent two seasons, before joining

in 2018. On 3 June 2019, Ismail joined newly promoted side Bourj. Ismail moved to newly-promoted side

on 12 June 2021, on a one-year deal. He left the club on 13 July 2022.

International career

Ismail represented

at the

. On 21 January 2019, Ismail announced his retirement from international football.

Playing style

While not a fast

, Ismail is known for his calmness and experience on the field.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Nejmeh *

: 2013–14 Zob Ahan *

: 2014–15, 2015–16 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 ...

: 2012–13, 2013–14

References

External links

*
Walid Ismail
at

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Walid 1984 births Living people Footballers from Beirut Lebanese men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Islah Borj Al Shmali Club players Racing Club Beirut players Nejmeh SC players Zob Ahan Esfahan F.C. players Safa SC players Salam Zgharta FC players Bourj FC players Sagesse SC (football) players Lebanese Second Division players Lebanese Premier League players Persian Gulf Pro League players Lebanon men's international footballers 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Lebanese expatriate men's footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in Iran Expatriate men's footballers in Iran