Nabil Ali Baalbaki (; born 27 May 1978) is a Lebanese

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 ...

coach and former player who is a coach for youth teams at club Safa. He played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the Lebanon national team.

Club career

Baalbaki began his senior career at

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

side Tadamon Sour, during the 2000–01 season. In his first season at the club, Baalbaki helped his side lift their first

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic Lebanese football. In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1� ...

. After two seasons, in 2002 Baalbaki moved to Olympic Beirut. He won a

domestic double The Double, in association football, is the achievement of winning a country's top tier division and its primary domestic cup competition in the same season. The lists in this article examine this definition of a double, while derivative sectio ...

with the club in his first season, winning both the 2002–03 Lebanese Premier League and the 2002–03 Lebanese FA Cup. The Lebanese midfielder remained at Olympic Beirut for three seasons, before moving to Ansar 8 September 2005. Once again Baalbaki won in his first season at his new club, helping his side lift a domestic double in 2005–06. The following season, Baalbaki won another domestic double, winning both the league and cup in the 2006–07 season. Baalbaki remained with Ansar for six seasons, where he also won another FA Cup ( 2009–10). In the 2009–10 season, Baalbaki was also included in the Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season. In 2011 Akhaa Ahli Aley bought Baalbaki from Ansar; the player stayed two seasons at Akhaa, before returning to Ansar on 16 September 2013. Baalbaki retired after two seasons, in 2015, having won a total of three league titles and five FA Cups in his career.

International career

Baalbaki made his international senior debut for

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

on 19 September 2003, in a friendly against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

; Lebanon lost 4–3. The midfielder played 13 games for Lebanon, between 2003 and 2007.

Managerial career

Baalbaki was appointed assistant coach of Ansar ahead of the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League. On 1 September 2019, Baalbaki resigned from his position due to internal problems, but returned on 27 September. He moved to train Safa youth teams in October 2021.

Honours

Tadamon Sour *

: 2000–01 Olympic Beirut *

: 2002–03 *

: 2002–03 Ansar *

: 2005–06, 2006–07 *

: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2009–10 Individual * Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season: 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baalbaki, Nabil 1978 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Lebanese men's footballers Lebanon men's international footballers Lebanese Premier League players Tadamon SC Sour players Al Ansar FC players Olympic Beirut players Akhaa Ahli Aley FC players Footballers from Beirut Lebanese football managers Lebanese football coaches