Kassem_El_Zein
Kassem El Zein
Lebanese footballer (born 1990)
Kassem Mohammed El Zein (Arabic: قاسم محمد الزين, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʔæːsim mˈħammad zˈzeːn]; born 2 December 1990) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as a defender for Lebanese Premier League club Nejmeh and the Lebanon national team.[3]
|
El Zein with Nejmeh in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kassem Mohammed El Zein[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 33) | ||
| Place of birth | Maarakeh, Lebanon[1] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Nejmeh | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Nejmeh | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011– | Nejmeh | 111 | (5) |
| 2020 | → Al-Mina'a (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Al-Nasr (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014– | Lebanon | 43 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:37, 2 September 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 January 2024 | |||
El Zein began his senior career in 2011 at Nejmeh, playing over 100 league matches. In 2020 he was sent on a loan, to Iraqi club Al-Mina'a and Kuwaiti club Al-Nasr, respectively. El Zein made his international debut for Lebanon in 2014, and was part of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad.
Al-Mina'a
On 28 January 2020, El Zein was sent on a three-month loan to Iraqi Premier League side Al-Mina'a.[4][5] He made his debut on 17 February 2020, in a 1–0 home win over Naft Al-Janoob in the first matchday of the season.[6] El Zein played four league games for Al-Mina'a; however, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Al-Nasr
On 18 June 2020, El Zein was sent on a one-year loan to Kuwaiti club Al-Nasr.[8] He made his debut on 16 October, in a 2–1 win against Al-Shabab in the classification league between Kuwait Premier League and Kuwaiti Division One clubs.[9] El Zein helped his side finish first in the qualifying stage.[10][11]
His debut in the 2020–21 Kuwaiti Premier League came on 22 January 2021, in a 1–0 away win against Al-Shabab.[12] El Zein scored a goal on 25 April, helping his side to a 2–1 away win against Al-Fahaheel.[13] He finished the season with 17 league games.[14]
Nejmeh
El Zein returned to Nejmeh for the 2021–22 season. His contract was renewed in 2022.[15]
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El Zein debuted for the Lebanon national team on 14 October 2014, in a friendly against Saudi Arabia.[3] In December 2018, he was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup,[16] where he played a group stage game against Saudi Arabia.[3]
El Zein scored his first international goal against India on 10 September 2023, to help Lebanon finish third in the 2023 King's Cup.[17]
On December 2023, El Zein was included in the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[18]
Initially starting out as a full-back, El Zein progressed into a centre-back with the years; his main abilities are his tackling and reading of the game.[19]
El Zein works as a part-time chef at L'Avenue Du Parc, a restaurant in Beirut.[20] He stated that "while in other countries football can be a full-time job, in Lebanon it’s necessary for a player to have a second job."[20][21]
El Zein's favourite club is Manchester United, while his favourite player is former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidić.[22]
International
- As of match played 22 January 2024[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 43 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each El Zein goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 September 2023 | 700th Anniversary Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand |  India |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2023 King's Cup |
Nejmeh[23]
- Lebanese Premier League: 2013–14
- Lebanese FA Cup: 2015–16, 2021–22, 2022–23
- Lebanese Elite Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
- Lebanese Super Cup: 2014, 2016, 2023; runner-up: 2021
Individual
- "Kassem El Zein". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- "AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qatar Squad Lists" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. p. 13. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- "Kassem El Zein". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- Lebanon, Football. "الزين إلى الميناء العراقي لمدة 3 أشهر". football-lebanon.com. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- Nehme, Ale (18 February 2020). "Lebanese abroad: winter transfer window summary". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "الزين يقود الميناء لفوزه الأول". football-lebanon.com. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- "الغاء دوري الكرة الممتاز بتوصيات من خلية الازمة". Almaalomah (in Arabic). 3 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- "نادي النصر يتعاقد مع قاسم الزين مدافع النجمة اللبناني لمدة موسم على سبيل الاعارة". q8hashtagat.com. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- Abou Diab, Rami (19 October 2020). "Lebanese Players Abroad: October 2020, Week 3". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- "النصر يقسو على العربي.. والسالمية يكتسح التضامن". كووورة. 26 December 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- Mahfoud, Maroun (1 February 2021). "Lebanese Players Abroad: January 2021, Week 4". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- Abou Diab, Rami (25 January 2021). "Lebanese Players Abroad: January 2021, Week 4". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
- Abou Diab, Rami (27 April 2021). "Lebanon Players Abroad: April 2021, Week 4". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- "Kassem El Zein". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- "رسميا.. النجمة يحسم مصير قاسم الزين". كووورة. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- "AC2019 Final Squads". Asian Football Confederation. p. 19. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- "India lose 0-1 to Lebanon in King's Cup third-place game". The Economic Times. 10 September 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- "منتخب لبنان يعلن تشكيلته إلى كأس آسيا" [The Lebanon national team announces its squad for the Asian Cup] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- "The final 23: who are they?". Lebanese Football Review. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Lebanon and Nejmeh player Kassem Zein's second job: Chef of an excellent restaurant in Beirut". @falebanon. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- اللواء, جريدة. "السلة ليست وحدها!." جريدة اللواء (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- "الزين في حوار لكووورة: منتخب لبنان سيتأثر سلبًا بالتوقف". كووورة. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- "Lebanon - Kassem Al Zein - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- "معتوق ومرمر الأفضل هذا الموسم بحسب مهرجان المنار الـ 23". Mulhak (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- Kassem El Zein at FA Lebanon
- Kassem El Zein at National-Football-Teams.com
- Kassem El Zein at Soccerway
- Kassem El Zein at Goalzz.com (also in Arabic at Kooora.com)
- Kassem El Zein at Lebanon Football Guide