Said Ali (born October 26, 1980) is a Jordanian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who began his career in 2004 with

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

in the USL Pro Select League. After a successful season in the USL Pro Select League he managed to play in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

with the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

, and the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

. He would later conclude his career in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

with the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

, and

Hamilton Croatia Hamilton Croatia is a Croatian Canadian amateur soccer team founded in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1957. It is supported by the Croatian Sports and Community Centre of Hamilton Inc. (formerly the Croatian National Sports Club of Hamilton, Inc. ...

Playing career

College soccer

Ali began playing soccer at the college level in 2002 while attending

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American Revolution". It enr ...

. In his first season with Robert Morris he was named to the All-Northeast Conference first team after contributing 11 goals and 3 assists. The following season he netted in 13 goals and recorded four assists, and for the second consecutive year was named to the All-Northeast Conference first team.

Professional career

In 2004, he transitioned to the professional realm after signing with

in the USL Pro Soccer League. Where in his rookie season he finished as the team's top goalscorer with 15 goals, and finished second in league scoring. He helped Pittsburgh win their first Conference title, but were eliminated in the semifinals by the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

. Once the season came to a conclusion Ali was named the USL Pro Soccer League Rookie of the Year, and throughout the season he was also named to the PSL Team of the Week eight times including Player of the Week once. On February 8, 2005 the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

announced the signing of Ali to a one-year deal with an option. Throughout the season he made minimal appearances, and as a result was traded midway through the season to the

in return for Josue Mayard. During his tenure in Toronto he featured in 15 matches, and recorded an assist. In 2008, he featured in the

with the

Serbian White Eagles FC Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

. He contributed by assisting the White Eagles in claiming their first

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final, or CSL Championship, is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion as in other North American sports le ...

by defeating the

Trois-Rivières Attak Trois-Rivières Attak was a Canadian Association football, soccer team that played three seasons in the Canadian Soccer League. They formally served as a reserve and academy team for the USL First Division side Montreal Impact (1992–2011), Mont ...

2-1 on penalties. In 2010, he played with

, and made his debut for the club on May 15, 2010 in a match against

TFC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

. He recorded his first goal for the club on June 25, 2010 in 6-1 victory over St. Catharines Wolves.

Personal life

Ali was born in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and played with the Jordan national under-16 football team from 1994 till 1995. He immigrated to Canada in 1996 where he settled in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, and became a citizen in 1998.

Honours

Player

;Serbian White Eagles *

: ::

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Said Living people 1980 births Soccer players from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Robert Morris Colonials men's soccer players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Toronto Lynx players Serbian White Eagles FC players USL First Division players USL Second Division players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Sportspeople from Tripoli, Lebanon Jordanian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Jordanian descent Hamilton Croatia players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen