 Fajr Ibrahim in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fajr Ibrahim[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-06-22)22 June 1964 (age 61) | ||
| Place of birth | Damascus,Syria | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1979 | Al-Wahda | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1996 | Al-Wahda | ||
| International career | |||
| 1981 | Syria U20 | ||
| 1982–1987 | Syria | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006–2008 | Syria | ||
| 2008–2010 | Syria | ||
| 2011–2012 | Al-Shorta | ||
| 2013 | Duhok | ||
| 2015–2016 | Syria | ||
| 2017–2018 | Al-Minaa | ||
| 2018 | Kelantan | ||
| 2019 | Syria | ||
| 2020–2021 | Al-Horgelah | ||
| 2021 | Yemen | ||
| 2024–2025 | Al-Karamah | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Fajr Ibrahim (Arabic:فَجْر إِبْرَاهِيم; born 22 June 1964) is a Syrianfootball coach and former player.[2][3]
Fajr started playing in theSyrian League withAl-Wahda team in 1979. He remained with the club until he retired from the playing. He won theSyrian Cup in 1993 with Al-Wahda team and won the title of best left back in 1986 season.[4]
Fajr played several international matches withSyria for five years from 1982 until 1987.[4]
He managed the Syrian first team more than 50 matches between 2006 and 2019. He did an emergency mission and replaced the German managerBernd Stange in the last match for the team in2019 Asian Cup againstAustralia. Many pundits referred that he had theUAE visa since the middle of December,[5] so he could be ready to replace the manager if the things went wrong.
Widely unpopular with the fans and criticized by the media,[6] Ibrahim is often considered one of the reasons for the Syria national team's poor results after their 2019 Asian Cup exit,[7] citing his lack of achievements,[8] and lack of vision,[9] as some of his weakest traits, although Syria at that time had already in problem before Fajr took charge.[10] However, he has repeatedly and openly refused to resign and has been kept as manager by theSyrian Federation,[11] despite losing to many lesser-ranked and weaker teams, much to the bewilderment of both fans and journalists.[12]
However, the sentiment changed surprisingly during the2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round. Syria, under the same command of Fajr Ibrahim, surprised the whole qualifiers by topping the group with five straight victories, including two important victories against risingPhilippines,[13][14] and a resounding 2–1 win in the UAE againstChina.[15] However, he was later replaced by Tunisian coachNabil Maâloul.
In September 2020, Ibrahim joined newly-promoted clubAl-Horgelah.[16] In September 2021, he was appointed as manager ofYemeni national team.[17] In October 2024, he became the head coach ofAl-Karamah.[18] In April 2025, he parted ways with the latter by mutual consent, despite leading the league, and was succeeded byMohammad Kwid.[19]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Syria |  | 5 August 2006 | 26 March 2008 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 054.17 |
| Syria | | 13 November 2008 | 13 September 2010 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 062.50 |
| Al-Shorta | | 28 August 2011 | 10 April 2012 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 075.00 |
| Duhok |  | 1 February 2013 | 4 December 2013 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 046.88 |
| Syria | | 7 January 2015 | 30 March 2016 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 076.92 |
| Al-Minaa | | 8 September 2017 | 21 January 2018 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 020.00 |
| Kelantan |  | 21 March 2018 | 5 June 2018 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 016.67 |
| Syria | | 11 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 038.89 |
| Total | 139 | 73 | 32 | 34 | 052.52 | |||
Al-Wahda
Al-Shorta
Syria
 | ||