Adnan Al Sharqi
Al Sharqi with Lebanon at the 1966 Arab Cup
Personal information
Full name Adnan Hussein Mekdache
Date of birth (1941-11-15)15 November 1941
Place of birth Beirut, Lebanese Republic
Date of death 1 June 2021(2021-06-01) (aged 79)
Place of death Beirut, Lebanon
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1954–1957 Ansar
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1957–1965 Ansar
1965 Nejmeh
1966–1967 Salam Achrafieh
1967 Olympic Club
1967–1975 Ansar
International career
1966–1971 Lebanon 10+ (9+)
Managerial career
1967–2000 Ansar
1974–1976 Lebanon
1987–1993 Lebanon
2004–2005 Ansar
2006–2008 Lebanon
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Adnan Hussein Mekdache (Arabic: عدنان حسين مكداش; 15 November 1941 – 1 June 2021), commonly known as Adnan Al Sharqi (Arabic: عدنان الشرقي, lit. 'Adnan the Oriental'), was a Lebanese football player and manager.

After leading Ansar to the Lebanese Premier League for the first time as a player-coach, Al Sharqi coached the club between 1967 and 2000, and during the 2004–05 season. He won 11 league titles in a row, becoming the football manager to have won the most league titles in the world. Al Sharqi also coached the Lebanon national team in various periods spanning between 1974 and 2008.

Early life

Born on 15 November 1941 in Beirut, Lebanon,[1][2] Al Sharqi grew up in the Tariq El Jdideh district.[3] He used to play football with his friends in the hills and fields in the area.[3]

Club career

Al Sharqi joined Ansar aged 10; they obtained their official license in 1954, and he played for their youth team.[3] A winger, in 1957 he played his first senior match for Ansar aged 15 against Massis in the Lebanese Second Division,[2] and became a first-team player the following year.[3]

In 1965, Al Sharqi was due to join Safa, but joined Nejmeh instead due to bureaucratic issues.[3] He played only four games, two friendlies and two official matches.[3] In 1965, Al Sharqi moved to Cairo, Egypt to study physical education at the Helwan University;[4] he was forced to return to Beirut one year later following the death of his father.[4]

In the first half of the 1966–67 season, Al Sharqi played for Salam Achrafieh.[5] He left the club in January 1967,[6][7] moving to Olympic Club in Alexandria, Egypt for a short stint.[4] Al Sharqi returned to Ansar in the Second Division as a player-coach prior to the end of the season,[8] leading them to promotion to the Lebanese Premier League for the first time.[2] He remained at Ansar as a player-coach in their first Premier League years, retiring as a player in 1975.[2]

International career

Al Sharqi first played for the Lebanon national team at the 1963 Mediterranean Games in Italy;[3] he was the first footballer playing in the Lebanese Second Division to be called up to the national team.[2] Al Sharqi also represented Lebanon at the 1966 Arab Cup, scoring two goals in a 2–1 win over Kuwait on 5 April 1966.[9]

Managerial career

Al Sharqi coached Ansar between 1967 and 2000, and during the 2004–05 season.[1][10] He won 11 league titles in a row,[1] becoming the coach to have won the most league titles in the world.[2] He also won eight cup titles, as well as various other domestic cups.[11] Al Sharqi was named AFC Coach of the Month for July 1995.[10][12]

Al Sharqi also coached the Lebanon national team in various periods spanning between 1974 and 2008, coaching for 11 years.[1][13] He was Lebanon's coach in their first World Cup qualification campaign, in 1993.[13] After two wins, two losses and four draws, Lebanon finished third in their group and were eliminated.[14]

Personal life

Al Sharqi's brother Mounir helped Ansar obtain their official license in 1954, working as an administrator for the club.[15] His brother Khalil was responsible for the equipment at Nahda.[15] His nickname "Al Sharqi" (Arabic: الشرقي, lit. 'the Oriental') came after his brother Mounir, who had the same nickname as a player.[15]

Al Sharqi was married, and has two children: a son and a daughter.[2]

Death

On 1 June 2021, after spending 45 days in the Military Hospital in Beirut, Al Sharqi died after struggling with cancer.[16] His funeral was held on 2 June at the Beirut Municipal Stadium, Ansar's home stadium, and was attended by a large crowd of Ansar fans.[17]

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Al Sharqi goal.
List of international goals scored by Adnan Al Sharqi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 3 April 1966 Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq  Bahrain – 6–1 1966 Arab Cup
2 5 April 1966 Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq  Jordan – 2–1 1966 Arab Cup
3 6 April 1966 Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq  Kuwait 1–0 2–1 1966 Arab Cup [9]
4 –
5 10 April 1966 Al-Kashafa Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq  Libya – 1–6 1966 Arab Cup
6 5 June 1966 Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal  Senegal – 3–2 Friendly
7 –
8 6 October 1967 Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Philippines – 11–1 1968 Summer Olympics qualification
9 9 October 1967 Tokyo National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Republic of China – 5–2 1968 Summer Olympics qualification

Honours

Player

Ansar

Manager

Ansar

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Asian Coaches Year: Lebanon". afcasiancup.com. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "عدنان الشرقي: ديكتاتور على الملعب... "فنّان" في الحياة". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Harb, Abdel Nasser (1 June 2021). بعد رحيله... 'النهار' تستعيد مع 'الشرقي' الزمن الذهبي [After his departure... "Al-Nahar" relives with "Al Sharqi" the golden time]. An-Nahar (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "تشييع عدنان الشرقي من الملعب البلديّ وداعاً لباني أمجاد الأنصار والمنتخب الوطنيّ". جريدة البناء | Al-binaa Newspaper (in Arabic). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "38 sélectionnés (choisis par la FLFA) seront confiés à l'entraîneur hongrois Albert Joseph". L'Orient (in French). 31 December 1966.
  6. ↑ "Premiére sortie (cette saison) de la sélection du Liban face aux amateurs ouest-allemands". L'Orient (in French). 22 January 1967.
  7. ↑ "Double match de sélection en football". L'Orient (in French). 23 March 1967.
  8. ↑ "Dix séances d'entraînment, en juin, pour la sélection nationale". L'Orient (in French). 27 May 1967. p. 10.
  9. 1 2 "LEBANESE NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM". www.abdogedeon.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "ADNAN AL CHARKI". www.abdogedeon.com. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "Lebanon - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "تكريم الشرقي وغازاريان". نداء الوطن. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  13. 1 2 Olenev, Maxim (15 July 1999). "Lebanon National Team Coaches (since 1993)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  14. ↑ "World Cup 1994 qualifications". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 "عدنان الشرقي.. «شيخ المدربين» وأيقونة كرة القدم اللبنانية". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "Legendary Lebanese football coach, Adnan Al-Sharqi, who won 11 league titles in a row, dies aged 80". Arab News. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "بالصور.. تشييع جثمان الشرقي وسط حشد كبير". كووورة. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  18. ↑ "مهرجان كرة المنار". Shoot (166 ed.). 31 March 1997. p. 3.
  19. ↑ "مهرجان كرة المنار". Shoot (232 ed.). 8 June 1998. p. 4.
  20. ↑ "مهرجان كرة المنار". Shoot (288 ed.). 5 July 1999. p. 8.
  21. ↑ "مهرجان كرة المنار". Shoot (599 ed.). 20 June 2005. p. 13.
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