Fajr Ibrahim
Syrian footballer (born 1964)
 Fajr Ibrahim in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fajr Ibrahim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-06-22) 22 June 1964 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | Damascus, Syria | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Syria (caretaker manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1979 | Al-Wahda | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1996 | Al-Wahda | ||
| International career | |||
| 1981 | Syria U20 | ||
| 1982–1987 | Syria | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2008 | Syria | ||
| 2008–2010 | Syria | ||
| 2011–2012 | Al-Shorta | ||
| 2013 | Duhok | ||
| 2015–2016 | Syria | ||
| 2017–2018 | Al-Minaa | ||
| 2018 | Kelantan | ||
| 2019 | Syria | ||
| 2020– | Al-Horgelah | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Fajr Ibrahim (Arabic: فَجر إبرَاهِيْم; born 22 June 1964) is a Syrian football coach and former player.[2][3]
Club career
Fajr started playing in the Syrian League with Al-Wahda team in 1979. He remained with the club until he retired from the playing. He won the Syrian Cup in 1993 with Al-Wahda team and won the title of best left back in 1986 season.[4]
International career
Fajr played several international matches with Syria for five years from 1982 until 1987.[4]
Coaching career
He managed the Syrian first team more than 50 matches between 2006 and 2019. He did an emergency mission and replaced the German manager Bernd Stange in the last match for the team in 2019 Asian Cup against Australia. Many pundits referred that he had the UAE visa since the middle of December,[5] so he could be ready to replace the manager if the things went wrong.
Widely unpopular with the fans and criticized by the media,[6] Ibrahim is often considered one of the reasons for the Syria national team's poor results after their 2019 Asian Cup exit,[7] citing his lack of achievements,[8] and lack of vision,[9] as some of his weakest traits, although Syria at that time had already in problem before Fajr took charge.[10] However, he has repeatedly and openly refused to resign and has been kept as manager by the Syrian Federation,[11] despite losing to many lesser-ranked and weaker teams, much to the bewilderment of both fans and journalists.[12]
However, the sentiment changed surprisingly during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round. Syria, under the same command of Fajr Ibrahim, surprised the whole qualifiers by topping the group with five straight victories, including two important victories against rising Philippines,[13][14] and a resounding 2–1 win in the UAE against China.[15] However, he was later replaced by Tunisian coach Nabil Maâloul.
In September 2020, Ibrahim joined newly-promoted club Al-Horgelah.[16]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 19 November 2019
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Syria |  | 5 August 2006 | 26 March 2008 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 054.17 |
| Syria | | 13 November 2008 | 13 September 2010 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 062.50 |
| Al-Shorta | | 28 August 2011 | 10 April 2012 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 075.00 |
| Duhok |  | 1 February 2013 | 4 December 2013 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 046.88 |
| Syria | | 7 January 2015 | 30 March 2016 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 076.92 |
| Al-Minaa | | 8 September 2017 | 21 January 2018 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 020.00 |
| Kelantan |  | 21 March 2018 | 5 June 2018 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 016.67 |
| Syria | | 11 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 038.89 |
| Total | 139 | 73 | 32 | 34 | 052.52 | |||
Honours
Player
Al-Wahda
- Syrian Cup: 1993
- Syrian Super Cup: 1993
Manager
Al-Shorta
Syria
Individual
- 1985–86 Syrian League: Best Left Back of the season[4]
References
- ^ "Syria - Fajr Ebrahim - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ الميناء يعين فجر ابراهيم مديراً فنياً للفريق بدلاً لغازي فهد (in Arabic). almirbad.com. 4 September 2017.
- ^ السوري فجر ابراهيم مدرباً للميناء (in Arabic). aynaliraqnews.com. 4 September 2017.
- ^ a b c فجر ابراهيم .. مسؤولية اتخاذ القرارات المناسبة (in Arabic). esyria.sy. 18 June 2013.
- ^ مداخلة فجر إبراهيم في برنامج المجلس بعد تعيينه مدرباً لمنتخب سوريا. SHOOT HD (in Arabic). 10 January 2019.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ مصير مدرب سوريا بين مطرقة الوديات وضغط الجمهور. Kooora (in Arabic). 19 June 2019.
- ^ 3 أسباب تعجل برحيل مدرب سوريا. Kooora (in Arabic). 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Coach Fajr Ibrahim wants to quit Kelantan after three games in charge". Fox Sports Asia. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Intercontinental Cup 2019: Fajr Ibrahim - India have a different mentality now". Yahoo!. 16 July 2019.
- ^ نتائج سوريا في غرب آسيا مخزية. Kooora (in Arabic). 14 August 2019.
- ^ الاتحاد الرياضي العام يجدد الثقة بالمدير الفني لمنتخب سوريا. Kooora (in Arabic). 14 August 2019.
- ^ عفش يستغرب بقاء فجر إبراهيم. Kooora (in Arabic). 16 August 2019.
- ^ "Philippines 2-5 Syria". 6 September 2019.
- ^ "Syria 1-0 Philippines". 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Own goal gifts Syria 2-1 win over China in FIFA World Cup qualifier - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019.
- ^ حرجلة يلهب الميركاتو بالتعاقد مع إبراهيم وعالمة. Kooora (in Arabic). 28 September 2020.
- ^ فجر إبراهيم : مسيرة حافلة مع المنتخب الأول (in Arabic). old.syrian-soccer.com. 9 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
External links
- Fajr Ibrahim at Goalzz.com (also in Arabic at Kooora.com)
- v
- t
- e
Syria squad – 2019 AFC Asian Cup
- 1 Alma
- 2 Al Saleh
- 3 Ajan
- 4 Al Baour
- 5 O. Midani
- 6 Jenyat
- 7 Khribin
- 8 Al Mawas
- 9 Al Somah
- 10 Osman
- 11 Omari
- 12 Jwayed
- 13 Sabagh
- 14 Haj Mohamad
- 15 Al Anizan
- 16 Ashkar
- 17 Kalfa
- 18 Z. Midani
- 19 Mardikian
- 20 Mobayed
- 21 Youssef
- 22 Al Youssef
- 23 Madania
- Coach: Stange (first two matches) / Ibrahim (last match)
