Ahmad Sharbini (; born 21 February 1984) is a Croatian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

former professional player who is playing as a striker, and working as a sporting director for OŠK Omišalj.

Club career

Ahmad Sharbini began his professional career with

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...

in the Croatian

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

in January 2003, when he signed his first professional contract. In the first four seasons with the club, he scored 39 league goals and 9 cup goals. With 21 goals to his account, he was the club's leading goalscorer in the 2006–07 season. He was also the league's second top goalscorer behind

Eduardo da Silva Eduardo Alves da Silva (, ; born 25 February 1983), known as simply Eduardo or Dudu, is a former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for multiple clubs and the Croatia n ...

. In late 2007 and early 2008, he had stints with

Al-Wahda FC (Abu Dhabi) Al Wahda Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League. The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blu ...

and

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (). It is best known for its professional association football, football team, which plays in the Swiss Super League, Super League, the top tier of the ...

. In mid-2008, Sharbini returned to Rijeka, and in the 2008–09 season, with 17 goals in all competitions, he was the club's joint top goalscorer with his brother Anas Sharbini. After the first league match in the new season, on 13 August 2009, he signed for

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

with his brother Anas. During his three years with Hajduk, Ahmad scored only 5 goals and most of the time struggled to make the starting line-up. Following his departure from Hajduk, he had three short stints in late 2012 and 2013, with

NK Istra 1961 Nogometni klub Istra 1961 (), commonly referred to as Istra 1961, is a Croatian professional football club based in Pula, that competes in the Croatian First League. It is a common opinion amongst many people that ''Istra 1961'' was founded i ...

Al-Wehda Club (Mecca) Al-Wehda FC () is a multi-sports club based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. History Al-Wehda 5th oldest club in Saudi Arabiahttps://makkahnewspaper.com/article/1116315/ The football section plays in the Saudi Pro League. They also have a handball sectio ...

and

NK Jedinstvo Bihać Nogometni klub Jedinstvo Bihać is a professional association football club based in the city of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club's stadium is called Pod Borićima Stadion and it has capacity for 7,500 spectators. The fans of NK Jedinstv ...

, respectively. Following an 18-month break, since August 2015, Ahmad has been playing for NK Rječina in Croatia's fifth tier. Since mid-2014, he has also been serving as the club's chairman, and in 2016, the coach. Since 2016, and at the same time, he also played for NK Grobničan. In 2020, Sharbini returned to football, joining OSK Omišalj, where he would take the position of sports director mid-2022 as well.

International career

Sharbini played in the

2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2001, the ninth edition of the tournament, was held from 13 to 30 September 2001 in the cities of Trinidad and Tobago; in Port of Spain, Malabar in Arima, Marabella in San Fernando, Couva, and Bacolet in Scarbo ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. He also played for

Croatia national under-21 football team The Croatia national under-21 football team represents Croatia in international association football, football matches for players 21 or under. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is ...

. He was capped last on 15 August 2006, against

Italy national under-21 football team The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 Association football, football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, held every two ...

Career statistics

Personal life

Sharbini is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Anas Sharbini. He is of Albanian, Croatian and Palestinian descent. He was born in Rijeka to a local Albanian Croatian mother and

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

father, Jamal Al-Sharbini, who is from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Achievements

Ahmad Sharbini is

's leading goalscorer in the

Croatian First Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establishe ...

and the

Croatian Football Cup The Croatian Football Cup (), is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the HNL championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS ...

with 54 and 14 goals to his account, respectively. Brothers Ahmad and Anas Sharbini are the only siblings to have scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

each in a single match in top-tier European football leagues. In the first round fixture of the

2009–10 Croatian First Football League The 2009–10 Croatian First Football League (officially known as the T-Com Prva HNL for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croat ...

season against

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 19 ...

, the brothers took turns. Ahmad opened the scoring after four minutes, Anas doubled the lead in the 27th minute and Ahmad made it 3–0 in the 35th minute. In the second half Anas converted a penalty in 51st minute, Ahmad completed his hat-trick in the 68th minute and two minutes later Anas scored his third goal.

Honours

;HNK Rijeka *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

;HNK Hajduk Split *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

;Grobničan * 4. HNL – Zapad: 2017–18 ;Records *Most goals for

in all official matches since 1974–75: 70 goals *Most goals for

: 54 goals *Most goals for

: 14 goals *Most goals for

Adriatic derby Adriatic derby () is the name given to matches between two largest Croatian football clubs coming from the Adriatic coast, Hajduk Split and Rijeka. The teams are supported by their fanbases called Split's Torcida and Rijeka's Armada. Games of ...

: 7 goals *Most goals for

in one season in

: 21 goals ''(shared with

Andrej Kramarić Andrej Kramarić (; born 19 June 1991) is a Croatian professional association football, footballer, who plays as a Forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, TSG Hoffenheim and the Cr ...

)'' *Most goals for

scored against single opposition: 9 goals *Most braces for

: 10 ''(including hat-tricks)'' *Most

s for

: 4 *Second all-time league goalscorer for

: 54 goals

References

External links

* *
Ahmad Sharbini
at the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

Semafor site {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharbini, Ahmad 1984 births Living people Footballers from Rijeka Croatian people of Palestinian descent Croatian people of Albanian descent Croatian Muslims Men's association football forwards Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers HNK Rijeka players Al Wahda FC players FC Luzern players HNK Hajduk Split players NK Istra 1961 players Al Wehda FC players NK Jedinstvo Bihać players NK Grobničan players Croatian Football League players UAE Pro League players Swiss Super League players Saudi Pro League players First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina