Ali Al Habsi

Football player infobox
playername = Ali Al Habsi


fullname = Ali Abdullah Harib Al Habsi
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|12|30
cityofbirth = Muscat
countryofbirth = Oman
height = height|m=1.96
currentclub = Bolton Wanderers
clubnumber = 26
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears = 1997–1998
youthclubs = Al Nasr
years = 1998–2002
2002–2003
2003–2005
2006–
clubs = Al-Midhaibi
Al Nasr
Lyn Oslo
Bolton Wanderers
caps(goals) = 0? (?)
0? (?)
62 (0)
16 (0)
nationalyears = 2002–
nationalteam = Oman
nationalcaps(goals) = 66 (0)
pcupdate = 18:55, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 12:00, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Ali Abdullah Harib Al Habsi ( _ar. علي بن عبد الله بن حارب الحبسي), born December 30, 1981 in Muscat) is an Omani goalkeeper who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers in the FA Premier League.

Club career

Al Habsi played three seasons for Norwegian club Lyn Oslo, and was voted Arab Goalkeeper of the Year and Norwegian Goalkeeper of the Year in 2004. He finished his Lyn career with a third-place finish in the league - his goalkeeping abilities being one of the main reasons behind this good finish.

Then Bolton Manager Sam Allardyce said: "It is very satisfying to finally sign Ali. We've been monitoring his development for quite some time and I am delighted that he has selected us ahead of a number of other high profile clubs who were keen to sign him."

Al Habsi did not make any first team appearances in his first year at Bolton, though he was on the bench a number of times, and played regularly for the reserve side.

His transfer from Lyn Oslo to Bolton in January 2006 is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the apparent conflict of interest between agent Craig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce - and the club itself [cite news | title = What Stevens said about each club | publisher = www.telegraph.co.uk| date = 2007-06-16| url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/06/16/sfnste116.xml
accessdate =2007-06-17] .

Al Habsi made his full Bolton debut in the 2-1 extra time Carling Cup victory over Fulham in September 2007.He played excellently against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup and produced several good saves against the star studded German team.

Al Habsi made his first Premier League start against Wigan Athletic. With Jussi Jääskeläinen injured and needing surgery on his back, Al Habsi has snatched this opportunity and is playing valuable minutes for Bolton which are the most vital, because of Bolton's risk of being relegated from the English Premiership.

After been heavily linked to moves away from Bolton to Galatasaray after not been a key first teamer at Bolton, Al Habsi had this to say to newspaper Daily Mail

"I want to concentrate on Bolton. This is my club and we are having a hard time. We must keep the club in the Premier League, and we can do it.

"I am not in a rush. A goalkeeper can play until 40 or older - I am 26. One day I will have a bad time, every player does, but it's how you cope with it that matters.

"I hope that this year I am one of the players who helps keep Bolton up. We have experienced players, very good players - you can go right through the team-sheet, but we need wins." [ [http://kr.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=640052 Goal.com - Asia - Ali Al-Habsi Focused On Bolton Survival ] ]

Club Career Stats

Last update: 17 August 2008

International career

Ali started playing in his native Oman at the age of seventeen, and joined the ranks of the Oman under-19s squad, before he was spotted by John Burridge in 2001. Due to the difficulty of securing a work permit, he was unable to join the top English league.

He played for Oman in all of their three group matches at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China and also made four appearances for the team in their qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, which they exited in the first group stage after finishing second in a group with Japan, India and Singapore. He was also Oman's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, appearing in all of their three group matches. [http://www.weltfussball.de/spieler_profil.php?id=16823&modus=4]

Trivia

*Ali won the best goal keeper award in the Gulf Cup 3 times in a row, the most ever won by an Arab goalkeeper.
*Al-Habsi won the best goal keeper award in 2004 in Norway.
*He is the second player from the Arabian Gulf region to enter a team on the Premiership.
*He is also the second Arab goalkeeper in history to be in the Premiership.

References

External links

* [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/players/profile.php?id=1 Bolton Wanderers Profile] at [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/ Burnden Aces]
*soccerbase|id=43617|name=Ali Al Habsi
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/6054976.stm Bolton would lend Chelsea a keeper]
* [http://www.football.co.uk/bolton/players/ali_al_habsi_74395.shtml Ali Al Habsi appearances]