Younis Mahmoud

Younis Mahmoud Khalaf ( ar, يونس محمود خلف; born 3 February 1983) is an Iraqi former professional footballer who played as a forward for the Iraq national football team and is currently the second vice-president of the Iraq Football Association. One of the country's greatest ever players, Mahmoud captained the team for ten straight years and became an icon of Asian football. He also played for a number of clubs including teams in Iraq, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, winning three Golden Boots in Qatar and breaking numerous records.

Mahmoud's first official international goal was an equaliser in the 89th minute of the final of the 2002 WAFF Championship, which Iraq then went on to win in extra-time. Three years later, Mahmoud scored in the final of the 2005 West Asian Games to lead his team to another tournament win, before becoming the national team captain a year later. In 2007, Mahmoud achieved the best honour of his career, leading his country to win the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, their first such success, scoring the winning goal in the final and also winning the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards at the tournament. In the 2007 Ballon d'Or, Mahmoud finished in 29th place, becoming the only Iraqi player ever to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

He continued to feature prominently for the national team until 2016, playing in all three of Iraq's 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup matches and becoming the most-capped player in Iraq's history as well as their third-highest goalscorer ever. He is also the only player in history to score in four different (and consecutive) AFC Asian Cup tournaments, with one goal in 2004, four in 2007, one in 2011 and two in 2015.

Club career

Early career

Mahmoud started out as a basketball player, playing as a shooting guard for the Kahrabaa Al-Dibis basketball team. The team's football coach, Muwafaq Nouraddin, persuaded him to switch to football as there was more money involved in football in Iraq, so Mahmoud joined Shaabiya Al-Dibis and then began playing for Kahrabaa Al-Dibis football team in the fourth division of Iraqi football. He became a regular player for the side.What next for Iraq’s beleaguered captain? Hassanin Mubarak
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Kirkuk

In 1999, Mahmoud moved to Kirkuk's biggest team, Kirkuk FC, and scored his first goal for Kirkuk in Round 8 of the 1999–2000 Iraqi Premier League (then known as the Iraqi First Division) in a 3–0 win over Al-Kadhimiya. He scored a penalty kick in Round 12 in a 6–1 loss against Al-Diwaniya and scored two goals in Round 13 in a 2–2 draw with Al-Ramadi. His fifth goal came in a 1–1 draw with Al-Naft in Round 35 (although the result was changed to a 3–0 defeat due to the fielding of an ineligible player), and he scored again in Round 39 in a 1–0 win over Al-Karkh (then known as the Iraqi Elite League) and therefore played in the second-tier, but they managed to get promoted back to the top division at the first time of asking by winning the league, with Mahmoud being the second-highest scorer of the second-tier with 19 goals. At Kirkuk, he was discovered by scouts of Baghdad-based teams Al-Shorta and Al-Talaba, two of Iraq's biggest clubs, and he went on trial with Al-Shorta only to be turned down by their manager Ahmed Radhi. After this, Mahmoud transferred to Al-Talaba.

Al-Talaba

Mahmoud's first match for Al-Talaba was the opening game of the 2001–02 Iraqi Elite League against his former club, Kirkuk. Al-Talaba won the match 8–0 and Mahmoud scored a hat-trick within the space of 10 minutes. Mahmoud won his first trophy with the club when Al-Talaba defeated Al-Zawraa 2–1 in the 2001 Baghdad Day Cup; Mahmoud scored Al-Talaba's second goal in the game. Al-Talaba's penultimate league game of the season was a 2–0 win over Al-Karkh that season to secure the double. Mahmoud scored 6 goals in that competition and assisted the winning goal in the final. That season, Al-Talaba also reached the final of the Iraqi Elite Cup, but they lost the final 1–0 to Al-Shorta; Mahmoud scored 4 goals in that competition.

Mahmoud's Al-Talaba started the 2002–03 campaign by winning the 2002 Perseverance Cup (now known as Iraqi Super Cup) 2–1 against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. The Iraqi Elite League was renamed 'Iraqi First Division' for the 2002–03 season and Mahmoud scored 13 goals in the league that season before it was cancelled due to war. Al-Talaba won the Iraq FA Cup again and also lost the Iraqi Elite Cup final to Al-Shorta again. They also played in the 2002–03 AFC Champions League but were knocked out at the group stage; Mahmoud scored 2 goals in that tournament, both against Turkmen club Nisa Aşgabat.

While an Al-Talaba player, Mahmoud also represented the Iraq Police team in the 2002 Arab Police Championship, a competition for Police teams in the Arab world, along with the rest of the Iraq youth team players. Iraq Police won all 4 matches they played and they conceded only 1 goal in the tournament. They won the competition finishing 7 points ahead of the 2nd-placed team. It was the 5th time that Iraq won the Arab Police Championship in its history.

Al-Wahda

After the start of the Iraq War in 2003, football in Iraq was put on hold, so Mahmoud moved to Abu Dhabi club Al-Wahda in October. He scored in the 2004 AFC Champions League in a 3–0 win against Iraqi club Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. A few months into his loan, he got into a verbal argument with the club's manager, Rinus Israël, who subsequently refused to play him in any matches from there on.

Al-Khor

After the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, Mahmoud joined Qatar Stars League club Al-Khor with his compatriots Haidar Jabar and Qusay Munir. In the 2004–05 Qatar Stars League, Al-Khor finished in 3rd place and Mahmoud scored 19 goals, the 3rd-highest amount in the league. He broke three records in one game in an 8–0 victory over Al-Shamal. Having scored 6 goals in the match, he became the only player to have scored two hat-tricks in a single league match. He also scored the fastest goal in a league match, taking 30 seconds to score after the game had started. Furthermore, he was the only player that season to score three goals in each half against two different goalkeepers. He assisted in the two other goals in the match. Al-Khor were knocked out of the 2005 Emir of Qatar Cup at the quarter-final stage, losing on penalties to Al-Sadd after a 2–2 draw in which Mahmoud scored. Al-Khor won the Qatar Crown Prince Cup though with Mahmoud scoring 4 goals in that competition including 2 goals in the final which Al-Khor won 2–1.

Al-Khor finished in a disappointing 7th position in the 2005–06 Qatar Stars League, but Mahmoud scored an impressive 20 league goals, the 2nd-highest amount in the league. They were again knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the Emir of Qatar Cup and Mahmoud scored 2 goals in that competition.

Al-Gharafa

Mahmoud transferred to Al-Gharafa in 2006 and he would stay there for the next 5 years. Al-Gharafa finished as runners-up of the 2006–07 Qatar Stars League, and Mahmoud's 19 goals saw him take the Golden Boot award for the first time in his career. Al-Gharafa were runners-up of the Qatar Crown Prince Cup and Mahmoud scored 1 goal, in the semi-final. They were knocked out of the Emir of Qatar Cup in the semi-final, and Mahmoud scored 1 goal, in the quarter-final.

Mahmoud started the season by winning the 2007 Sheikh Jassim Cup and scoring 2 goals in the final, both in extra-time. Mahmoud won his first Qatar Stars League title in 2007–08 and scored 16 league goals, the 4th-highest amount in the league. Al-Gharafa lost the final of the Qatar Crown Prince Cup, with Mahmoud scoring 2 times in the semi-final. They also lost the final of the Emir of Qatar Cup, and Mahmoud scored 3 goals in that competition including 1 in the final. Al-Gharafa were knocked out of the group stage of the 2008 AFC Champions League and Mahmoud scored 1 goal in that competition.

Al-Arabi (loan)

Mahmoud joined Al-Arabi at the start of the 2008–09 season on loan and won the Sheikh Jassim Cup with the club. He scored 2 league goals for Al-Arabi in the 2008–09 Qatar Stars League.

Return to Al-Gharafa

Mahmoud returned to Al-Gharafa midway through the season and scored 1 goal for them in the 2008–09 Qatar Stars League, as they were crowned the league champions again. He played in the Qatar Crown Prince Cup but Al-Gharafa lost the semi-final to Qatar SC. However, they won the 2009 Emir of Qatar Cup and Mahmoud scored 3 goals in that competition.

Mahmoud won the league title for the third straight time with Al-Gharafa in this season, and he scored 21 goals which earned him the Golden Boot award again. He scored 4 goals in the 2009 Sheikh Jassim Cup, where Al-Gharafa were knocked out in the semi-finals, and 3 goals in the 2009 Qatari Stars Cup (including 2 in the final) which Al-Gharafa won. In the 2010 Qatar Crown Prince Cup Final, Mahmoud scored 2 goals to lead Al-Gharafa to yet another cup win. Al-Gharafa were knocked out of the 2010 Emir of Qatar Cup at the quarter-finals, and the 2010 AFC Champions League (in which Mahmoud scored 4 goals) at the quarter-finals too.

His campaign started off with the 2010 Sheikh Jassim Cup where Al-Gharafa were knocked out at the group stage; Mahmoud scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Al-Markhiya in that competition. In the 2010–11 Qatar Stars League, Al-Gharafa finished in second place and Mahmoud won the Golden Boot award for the third time, with 15 league goals. Al-Gharafa were knocked out at the group stage of the 2010 Qatari Stars Cup, but they won the 2011 Qatar Crown Prince Cup and lost the final of the 2011 Emir of Qatar Cup (where Mahmoud scored 1 goal in the quarter-final). In the 2011 AFC Champions League, Al-Gharafa were knocked out at the group stage, where Mahmoud scored a hat-trick against Al-Jazira.

Al-Wakrah

In 2011, Mahmoud signed for Al-Wakrah, who had finished in 7th place in the league the previous season. Al-Wakrah were knocked out of the 2011 Sheikh Jassim Cup at the group stage, and they finished in 7th place again in the 2011–12 Qatar Stars League; Mahmoud scored 8 goals in the league. Mahmoud earned his first honour with Al-Wakrah when they won the 2011 Qatari Stars Cup, with Mahmoud scoring 1 goal in the semi-final (and also missing a penalty). In the 2012 Emir of Qatar Cup, Al-Wakrah lost the quarter-final to Mahmoud's future club Al-Sadd.

Al-Wakrah were knocked out at the group stage of the Sheikh Jassim Cup again in 2012. Mahmoud scored 8 league goals for Al-Wakrah this season. They were knocked out at the group stage of the 2012–13 Qatari Stars Cup.

Al-Sadd

On 8 February 2013, days after Al-Wakrah were knocked out of the Qatari Stars Cup, Mahmoud signed for Al-Sadd, joining until the end of the 2012–13 season. He made his league debut on 11 February 2013, in Al-Sadd's 3–0 win over Al-Sailiya. Mahmoud scored 2 league goals for Al-Sadd in the 2012–13 season and Al-Sadd won the league as Mahmoud achieved his fourth Qatar Stars League title. Mahmoud equalled Nasser Kamile's record for goals in the Qatar Crown Prince Cup after scoring against Al-Rayyan in the semi-final on 26 April. He scored what would be his 10th goal, tying him with Kamile, who participated in the tournament since its inception in 1995. Mahmoud went on to score in the final of that competition too, but Al-Sadd lost the match 3–2 to Lekhwiya SC. Mahmoud also scored in the semi-final of the 2013 Emir of Qatar Cup, and Al-Sadd reached the final, only to lose it 2–1 against Al-Rayyan.

Al-Ahli

On 16 September 2013, Mahmoud signed for Saudi Professional League side Al-Ahli, signing a 4-month contract with the club. He made his league debut on 23 September 2013, in Al-Ahli's 5–1 win over Al-Nahda, scoring Al-Ahli's opening 2 goals. Just over a month later, he scored his 3rd (and final) goal for the club in a 5–2 victory over Al-Shoulla. Younis ended his contract 2 weeks before the official end of it.

Erbil

In February 2015, after the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Mahmoud returned to Iraq to play for Erbil, but only in AFC Cup games, because he did not want to compete in the Iraqi Premier League against his former club Al-Talaba. On 15 April, he made his debut for the club against FC Ahal and scored 2 goals in the match (a header and a Panenka penalty), but could not prevent his side from being defeated 3–2 in the game. He was given the captain's armband for Erbil's next AFC Cup match against FC Istiklol, but the game finished goalless and Erbil crashed out of the tournament at the group stage.

Al-Talaba

On 12 September 2015, Mahmoud returned to play for his former club Al-Talaba. He was given the captain's armband and the number 9 shirt and he scored 3 goals in the 2015–16 Iraqi Premier League (against Al-Karkh

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