| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mahmoud Yassen Soufi | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-10-20)20 October 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Mogadishu,Somalia | ||
| Date of death | 2 June 2019(2019-06-02) (aged 47) | ||
| Place of death | Qatar | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1997 | Al-Gharafa | ||
| 1997–1998 | Al Sadd SC | 15 | (5) |
| 1998–2001 | Al-Arabi | ||
| 2001–2002 | Muaither SC | 6 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1988–1999 | Qatar | 83 | (31) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mahmoud Soufi (Arabic:محمود صوفي ياسين دعالة), was a naturalized Qatarifootball footballer who played forAl-Gharafa in the 1980s, and also represented theQatar national team in the 1980s and 1990s.
Born inSomalia's capitalMogadishu, Soufi moved to Qatar as a young adult. He was eventually naturalized and chosen to represent theQatar national team.
Soufi was originally playing with Al-Ittihad's Basketball team but was recommended to play football by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Faisal Al Thani.[1] Soufi started playing forAl-Gharafa in the 1984–1985 season, the following seasonAl-Gharafa SC facedAl Ahli SC in theSheikh Jassim Cup semi-finals, Soufi arrived late in the second-half, due to this the head coach left the stadium in frustration. When Soufi was substituted on he scored a brace and his teammate also scored to win the match by 3–2.[1] He was tied with his fellow teammateAdel Khamis for the top goal-scorer award in the 1990/1991 season with 8 goals. And again in the 1993/1994 season alongsideAhmed Daham with 9 goals. He moved toAl-Arabi in 1998 and had also played forAl-Sadd andMuaither SC.
Soufi represented theQatar national team from 1988 to 1999 scoring 31 goals in 83 appearances for the national side. He was selected to play in the1988 Gulf Cup, He also helpedQatar win their firstArabian Gulf Cup title in1992 scoring againstKuwait andUnited Arab Emirates in the tournament. However, after retirement, Soufi had his citizenship rescinded and had to return toSomalia.[2] Soufi was instrumental inWorld Cup Qualifiers, one of his most memorable moments was the game againstChina where he scored in the 87' minute, with his teammateMansour Muftah following a few seconds later to win the game by 2–1. He holds the record for the most goals by a Qatari in the World Cup Qualifers with 12 goals in 20 matches.
Soufi was remembered as a intelligent, tall, and highly skillful player in his playing days. To celebrate him, for theFIFA U-17 World Cup,Aspire Zone Pitch 8 was selected to be named after him.[3]
Soufi died on 2 June, 2019.
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