Mansour Muftah
Personal information
Full name Mansour Muftah Faraj Bekhit Al-Abdullah
Date of birth 1955 (age 68–69)
Place of birth Doha, Qatar
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Al-Rayyan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1994 Al-Rayyan (+168)
1994–1998 Al-Wakrah (14)
2001 Al-Saliya
International career
1976–1994 Qatar 81 (42)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mansour Muftah Faraj Bekhit Al-Abdullah, or simply Mansour Muftah (Arabic: منصور مفتاح, born 1955) is a Qatari former footballer who played as a forward. He was the top scorer in the Qatar Stars League a record 7 times, as well as being the top scorer for the Qatar national team till this day with 42 goals.

Club career

Youth career

Muftah attended the New Rayyan School; the school's football pitch was shared by Al Rayyan's first team. He joined in on an Al Rayyan training session, and scored two goals in a training match, prompting head coach Ashour Salem to ask him to join Al Rayyan's youth teams. Muftah rejected as he was a fan of Al Arabi, and was under pressure from his family to play for Al Arabi. Nonetheless, his sister-in-law presented him a contract with Al Rayyan, and he signed it without knowledge of the contents. Shortly after, his brother coerced him into signing a contract binding him to Al Arabi. This caused the two respective clubs to involve the QFA, which offered him a chance to select between the two clubs. He chose to play for Al Rayyan, to the indignation of his brother. The next day, the Al Rayyan youth team won 3–1 against the Al Arabi youth team, with Muftah scoring 2 of the goals.[1]

International career

Muftah made his international debut in the 1976 Gulf Cup of Nations against Saudi Arabia.[2] He scored 4 goals in 6 games in the tournament, including a two-minute brace against Bahrain.[3] He also featured in the 1979 Gulf Cup of Nations held in Iraq, scoring a single goal against UAE, and again in 1982 Gulf Cup of Nations, scoring a goal against Oman.

In 1981, he participated in the World Military Cup held in Qatar, helping them finish as runners-up.[4] From 1980 til 1986, the national team was coached by Evaristo de Macedo, who he describes as "undoubtedly the most influential person in his playing career".[5] He competed in the men's tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[6]

He scored two goals and attained three assists in the group stage of the 1988 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar. After Qatar made an early exit, Muftah, who was team captain, stated he felt humiliated for not at least reaching the knock-out stage. In a post-tournament interview, he apologized to the Qatari fans on behalf of the team. Despite losing the tournament, he earned 45,000 QR for winning 2 of the games.[5]

He retired from international football in 1990, due to differences with the coach, Dino Sani.[4] In total, he participated in 6 Gulf Cup of Nations and 3 AFC Asian Cups.[7]

Mansour Muftah award

Starting from the 2013–14 Qatar Stars League, the top scorer award was renamed the "Mansour Muftah award" to honor his immense contribution to Qatari football.[8]

Personal life

His brother, Faraj Muftah, is a volleyball referee.[9]

He participated in the Syria International Rally in 2004.[10] He has a son, Tamim Mansour, who plays for Al Rayyan as well as the Qatar national team.[11]

Career statistics

    Club Season Qatar Stars League GCC Champions League Crown Prince Cup Qatar Emir Cup AFC Champions League Total
    Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
    Al-Rayyan SC 1973–74 15
    1975–76 12
    1976–77 13
    1977–78 11
    1978–79 9
    1979–80 5
    1980–81 8
    1981–82 186
    1982–83 10
    1983–84 7
    1984–85 ?1
    1985–86 1222
    1986–87 8
    1987–88 4
    1988–89 0
    1989–90 6
    1990–91 5
    1991–92 7
    1992–93 85
    1994–93 ?
    Career total +16874
      Club Season Qatar Stars League Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup Crown Prince Cup Qatar Emir Cup Other Total
      Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Assist
      Al-Wakrah Sport Club 1994–95 50000720077
      1995–96 166433221002512
      1996–97 12342003200197
      1997–98 601100000071
      1998–99 001000000010
      Career total 341410632125005927


        Club Season Qatar Stars League Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup Crown Prince Cup Qatar Emir Cup Other Total
        Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Assist
        Al-Sailiya Sports Club 2000–01 000000440044
        Career total 000000440044

        Honours

        Club

        • Al-Rayyan
        • Al-Wakrah

        International

        • Qatar

        Individual

        References

        1. ↑ "منصور مفتاح: ماجد أسطورة لم تتكرر". alyaum.com. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
        2. ↑ نجوم قطرية سطعت في سماء العرس الخليجي (in Arabic)
        3. ↑ RSSSF - Gulf Cup '76
        4. 1 2 ثعلب الكره القطريه والخليجيه Archived 2010-11-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Arabic)
        5. 1 2 أسطورة الكرة القطرية منصور مفتاح في حديث خاص للشرق :كنا مرشحين بقوة للقب آسيا88 وسوء الحظ سبب خروجنا (in Arabic)
        6. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mansoor Bakheet Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
        7. ↑ منصور مفتاح من ابرز اللاعبين العرب في تاريخ كاس اسيا (in Arabic)
        8. ↑ "Belhadj, Trabelsi win top football awards". gulf-times.com. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
        9. ↑ "قطر تتجاهل منصور مفتاح". akhbar-alkhaleej.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
        10. ↑ "مفتاح يشارك في رالي سورية". daharchives.alhayat.com. 15 April 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
        11. ↑ "منصور مفتاح: بكيت على مشواري في الملاعب.. والقطريون تجاهلوا تكريمي". aawsat.com. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
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