Saeed Al-Owairan

Saeed Al--Owairan
Personal information
Full name Saeed Ali Al Owairan Al Dossari [1]
Date of birth (1967-08-19) 19 August 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Riyadh, Saudi Arabia[1]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–2001 Al-Shabab
International career
1991–1998 Saudi Arabia 75 (24)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Saudi Arabia
FIFA Arab Cup
Runner-up 1992
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 1992
AFC Asian Cup
Runner-up 1992
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Saeed Ali Al-Owairan Al-Dossari (Arabic: سعيد علي العويران الدوسري‎; born 19 August 1967) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward for Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab. Widely considered to be one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time,[2] Al-Owairan is renowned for his goal against Belgium in the 1994 World Cup, which was considered the sixth-best in FIFA's Goal of the Century rankings. He scored 283 goals across his 13-year career.

Career

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Owairan spent his entire club career at Al-Shabab, a Saudi club based in Riyadh.[citation needed]

He won 85 caps for the Saudi Arabia national team, scoring 34 goals, including seven in 1994 World Cup Qualifiers.[citation needed] He achieved international renown at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, in which he scored a stunning individual goal against Belgium at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. that was later voted the sixth best in FIFA's Goal of the Century rankings.[3] The goal sent Saudi Arabia through to the second round of the World Cup for the first time.[citation needed] They subsequently lost 3–1 to Sweden in the Round of 16.[citation needed]

Following the World Cup, Owairan returned to Saudi Arabia. The same year he was named as Asian Footballer of the Year.[4] Despite interest from European clubs, he was unable to leave the country due to a national law preventing Saudi footballers from playing abroad.[5] Although he was selected as part of the Saudi Arabia national team at the 1998 World Cup in France, he only made two appearances as Saudi Arabia went out in the group stages.[citation needed]

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 13 September 1992 Aleppo, Syria  Palestine 2–? 2–1 1992 Arab Cup
2. 17 September 1992  Egypt 2–2 2–3
3. 20 October 1992 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Argentina 1–3 1–3 1992 King Fahd Cup
4. 2 November 1992 Onomichi, Japan  Thailand 1–0 4–0 1992 AFC Asian Cup
5. 6 November 1992 Hiroshima, Japan  United Arab Emirates 1–0 2–0
6. 1 May 1993 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Macau 2–0 6–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7. 3–0
8. 14 May 1993 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Macau 4–0 8–0
9. 6–0
10. 7–0
11. 18 May 1993  Kuwait 1–0 2–0
12. 24 October 1993 Doha, Qatar  Iraq 1–1 1–1 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
13. 29 June 1994 Washington, D.C., United States  Belgium 1–0 1–0 1994 FIFA World Cup
14. 10 November 1994 Abu Dhabi, UAE  Bahrain 2–0 3–1 12th Arabian Gulf Cup

Club career stats

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As of match played 1 July 2023
Club Season League King Cup Saudi Crown Prince Cup Arabian Compétitions GCC Champions League Asian Compétitions
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al Shabab 1988–89 SPL
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92 16
1992–93 4 [a] 3 4 [b]
1993–94 4
1994–95 1 [c] 1 [d]
1995–96
1996–97 1 [e]
1997–98
1998–99 11
1999–2000 4 4[f][g]
2000–01 2
Career total 60 10 10 8 5

Honours

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Al-Shabab

Saudi Arabia

Individual

References

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  1. ^ a b "Saeed Al-Owairan". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. ^ "The greatest Asian footballer of all time - ranked". 90min. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Diego Maradona goal voted the FIFA World Cup Goal of the Century". FIFA. Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Asian Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. ^ "World Cup's Greatest Goals: Saeed Al-Owairan (1994, SAUDI ARABIA vs. Belgium)". espnfc.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  6. ^ "8th Arab Club Champions Cup 1992". Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  7. ^ "15th Arab Club Champions Cup 1999". Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Saudi Arabia 1990/91". Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia 1991/92". Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Saudi Arabia 1992/93". Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Asian Club Competitions 2000/01". Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Arab Cup". Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Intercontinental Champions Cup Saudi Arabia 1992 - Argentina 3:1 (2:0) Saudi Arabia - Overview". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Japan - Saudi-Arabien 1:0 (Asian Cup 1992 Japan, Finale)". Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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