Talal Yousef Mohammed (born 24 February 1975), known mainly as Talal Yousef, is a former

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

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 ...

. Yousef played mainly as 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 ...

and sometimes as a striker. He is currently retired from playing with the

Bahrain national football team The Bahrain national football team ( ar, منتخب البحرين لكرة القدم) represents Bahrain in international football and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association, which was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. The ...

, where he made 21 appearances in

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualifying matches.

Early career

Talal started his career with

Isa Town Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country. Etymology The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...

, where he also captained. He met Salman Isa, another legend of Bahraini football, at the club. After some amazing performances, he was noticed by

Bahrain Riffa Club Al-Riffa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الرفاع الرياضي) is a Bahraini professional football club based in Riffa, that competes in the Bahraini Premier League, the top flight of Bahraini football. The club was founded in 1953. History ...

. They signed him along with Isa for an undisclosed fee.

Al Riffa Club

After signing for Al Riffa (Riffa Club), Talal Yousef made a huge impact. He helped them to the league title and the Crown Prince Cup and established himself as the superstar of Al Riffa.

Asian Cup

During the 2004 Asian Cup, Talal Yousef peaked and put on his best performances. He scored two goals, one coming from his trademark free kick against fierce rivals Iran in the 3rd and 4th place playoff. Talal Yousif was named in the team of the tournament along with fellow Bahraini's

A'ala Hubail A'ala Ahmed Mohamed Hubail ( ar, علاء أحمد محمد حبيل; born 25 June 1982) is a Bahraini former professional footballer who played as a striker. With the Bahrain national team, he was the top scorer in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. 201 ...

, who was joint top scorer, and

Mohamed Salmeen Mohamed Ahmed Youssef Salmeen ( ar, محمد احمد يوسف سالمين; born 4 November 1980) is a Bahraini former professional footballer who played for Muharraq and the Bahrain national team. He was captain of the Bahrain national team a ...

.In this tournament the Bahraini National Team had their best ever performance at a major tournament as they reached the semi-finals. Talal Yousif was a major part of that success and after the tournament he was named Captain of the National team.

Kuwait

After the Asian Cup success, many of Bahrain's top players headed for Qatar although Talal opted for a move to Kuwait. He was later joined by Bahraini defender Hussain Ali Baba, also a former Al Riffa player. When Kuwait SC did not renew his contract, he then signed with Qadsiya for the 2007/08 season.

Awards

* 2004 Asian Cup – All-Star Team

Retirement

Talal announced his official retirement from International Football in January 2006, then was convinced to return and helped Bahrain qualify for the Asian Cup 2007. He also stayed on for the 18th & 19th GCC Cup's and then announced his final retirement from International Competitions.

Goals for Senior National Team

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yousef, Talal 1975 births Living people Bahraini footballers Bahrain men's international footballers Expatriate footballers in Kuwait 2004 AFC Asian Cup players 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Men's association football midfielders Kuwait SC players Kuwait Premier League players Qadsia SC players Bahraini expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Bahraini expatriate footballers Al-Riffa SC players Bahraini Premier League players