Hassan Maatouk

On 3 July 2019, cross-city rivals Ansar announced the signing of Maatouk on a three-year deal after he had run out his previous contract with Nejmeh. His wage of $900,000, distributed over the three years, was the highest amount in Lebanese football history. Maatouk's first goal for Ansar came on 24 July 2019, in the 2019 Lebanese Elite Cup group stage game against former club Nejmeh. He scored on the 44th minute in a 3–1 victory, helping his side qualify for the knock-out stages of the competition. In the semi-finals, held on 18 August 2019, Maatouk scored his first brace for his new club in a 5–0 win over Chabab Ghazieh. On 25 August 2019, he scored in the final against Shabab Sahel becoming the tournament's top goalscorer with four goals. However, as his team lost on penalty shoot-outs after drawing 3–3 after extra time, Maatouk failed to secure his first cup with his new club.

Maatouk's league debut for his new club came on 20 September 2019, in the Beirut derby against his former club Nejmeh. His side lost 1–0 due to a 90th minute penalty by Feiz Shamsin. His first league goal came on 29 September 2019, scoring a penalty in a 3–1 home win against Shabab Sahel. On 21 January 2020, the Lebanese Football Association decided to suspend the league. Therefore, Maatouk's three appearances in the 2019–20 season were cancelled. On 24 February 2020, Maatouk scored a header against Al-Faisaly in a 2020 AFC Cup group stage game to help Ansar win 4–3 at home.

Two years later, in 2016, Maatouk became the captain of the national team following Roda Antar's retirement from international football. Maatouk was fundamental to his team's success during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifications. He scored five goals in six matches in the Third Round, thus qualifying Lebanon to their first ever AFC Asian Cup through qualification. In December 2018 he was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, during which he received a yellow card for handling the ball in the first group stage match, on 9 January 2019, against Qatar; they scored from the subsequent free-kick. On 17 January, Maatouk converted a penalty kick against North Korea, giving Lebanon the 3–1 lead. With this goal Maatouk became Lebanon's joint top scorer, equaling Roda Antar's tally of 20 goals. However, Lebanon lost out to Vietnam in the third-place ranking on the fair play rule and were knocked out of the competition. On 15 October 2019, he scored the first goal against Sri Lanka in a 3–0 win to become his country's all-time top goalscorer.

At the 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup play-off rounds Maatouk scored twice in three matches, one goal being a penalty in a 1–0 win against Tunisian team Club Africain on 23 May 2018. This enabled Nejmeh to gain all three points and qualify to the Round of 36 against Al Ahly, where his team lost 4–1 on aggregate and was subsequently knocked out of the competition. On 2 July 2018, amidst speculation of his departure, Nejmeh confirmed Maatouk would remain with the club for the following season. On 25 August 2018, Maatouk won his second consecutive Elite Cup for Nejmeh, his fifth in total, after beating Akhaa Ahli 1–0 in the final.

His first league goal of the 2018–19 season came against Salam Zgharta on 21 October 2018, when he scored the first goal in a 2–0 win. On 12 February, Maatouk was involved in all five goals in a 5–1 win against Tripoli, scoring a brace and assisting the other three goals. He was voted the best player of Matchday 14 for his performances. On 6 April 2019, Maatouk's penalty kick allowed his team to beat Ansar 1–0 in the Beirut derby, in a vital fight for second place. Maatouk's first AFC Cup goal for Nejmeh came on 3 May 2019, in a 2–1 away defeat against Hilal Al-Quds. On 14 May he scored his second goal in the 2019 AFC Cup, in a 2–2 draw against Al-Jaish.

Theo Bücker, the Lebanon national team's former coach, portrayed Maatouk as the kind of player who "comes around every 10 years" and "is almost impossible to substitute", while his former manager at Ajman, Abdul Wahab Abdul Qadir, noted how Maatouk "is very fast, beats many players and works very hard in the game". Diego Maradona also called him an "outstanding" player. On 22 August 2018, Miodrag Radulović, Lebanon's coach during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, characterized Maatouk as a "leader" and "a really good player", as well as "one of the very best players in the Middle East" and "right at the top level", comparing him to the likes of "Stevan Jovetić, Mirko Vučinić and Stefan Savić".

In his last season for the club, played in the UAE First Division, Maatouk scored 12 goals in 16 appearances. He was released by Fujairah on 11 July 2017, despite having a year remaining on his contract. The Lebanese player's desire to terminate his contract came after his team failed to gain promotion to the first division during the 2016–17 season. Maatouk said that the appointment of Diego Maradona as coach was not tempting enough for him to remain, and he would rather depart from the Division One side. He scored a total of 46 goals in 91 league appearances, as well as one league cup goal in five appearances for his club, leaving as Fujairah's all-time top goalscorer with 56 total goals.

Maatouk decided to return to Lebanon in 2017, signing for Nejmeh. Less than a month after signing, he helped the side win the 2017 Lebanese Elite Cup, winning on penalties against his former club Ahed in the final played on 20 August. On his league debut, played on 15 September, Maatouk faced Ahed once again in a 2–2 draw, scoring in the 22nd minute from the penalty spot. His first brace for Nejmeh came two months later, on 5 November, against Tadamon Sour in a 2–0 away win.

Upon his return to the Lebanese Premier League, he scored 13 goals and made 14 assists in 21 league appearances, making him the second-highest scorer and the player with the most assists in the 2017–18 season. He won the Lebanese Golden Ball for the third time, and was included in the Lebanese Premier League Team of the Season for his performances.

His first Pro League goal for the team, which also happened to be a brace, came on 4 February 2015 against Emirates in a 1–2 win. His next league goal for Fujairah also came in the form of a double against Al-Ittihald Kalba on 21 March 2015, with his 89th-minute goal being the match decider in a 2–3 away win. He scored a total of five goals and provided three assists in 26 appearances in the league.

On 8 September 2014, Maatouk played against the Brazil Olympic team in an unofficial friendly that ended in a 2–2 draw. In the last minute of the first half, trailing by one goal, he set up Mohamad Ghaddar who scored the equalizer. In the 53rd minute, Maatouk scored a low-driven shot on a volley from a free kick taken by Abbas Ahmed Atwi to put his team in the lead. 28 minutes later, Ghaddar reciprocated the previous favour as he assisted Maatouk with a back heel pass. Maatouk scored after dribbling past the goalkeeper, but the goal was incorrectly ruled offside.

Maatouk moved to Al-Shaab on 11 September on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored four league goals for the team during the 2012–13 season. He also scored two League Cup goals, one of which was against Al-Nasr on 16 January 2013, Maatouk's third against them in the competition.

In 2013 Maatouk moved on a free transfer to UAE First Division side Fujairah. In his debut season he scored 20 league goals in 23 games, helping his side gain promotion for the first time in their history to the UAE Pro League for the following season.

In 2012 his performances attracted the attention of various European teams, such as Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and Ligue 1 sides Olympique Marseille, Ajaccio, and Nice.

On 18 June 2012, it was announced that Maatouk had signed a one-year deal for Emirates Club for $800,000. His former club Ajman had been unable to pay the fee that Ahed asked to renew the loan deal. However, as Emirates was unable to gain promotion through to the play-offs, Maatouk was sold without having played a single match.

On 27 September 2011, it was announced that Maatouk had completed a loan deal to Ajman from Ahed worth $180,000. He later stated in an interview that during a match played for the Lebanon national team, against the United Arab Emirates on 6 September 2011, Ajman's coach was present and showed interest in signing him.

During the 2011–12 season he scored six goals for his club, as well as a brace on his debut, on 10 October 2011, in a UAE League Cup match against Al-Nasr. His first league goal, however, came on 3 December of the same year, against Dubai in a 3–1 away win. On 4 January 2012, Maatouk's first UAE Pro League brace came against Sharjah in a 1–3 win, when he scored in the first minutes of both halves.

His senior career had already began in 2006 with a friendly match against Saudi Arabia, won by Lebanon 1–2. His first goal, however, came in 2011 during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Bangladesh; he scored the opener in a match that finished 4–0. On 10 October 2011, during the same qualifications, Maatouk scored his first international brace against Kuwait in a 2–2 draw. In an interview in 2020, the player described his second goal against Kuwait as the most beautiful goal he had scored in his career.

In a 2020 interview, Maatouk said that the best period of his football career was at Fujairah; the worst was his second season at Nejmeh. His most influential coach at the club level was Džemal Hadžiabdić at Fujairah, and he cited Miodrag Radulović at the national-team level. According to Maatouk, Lebanon's best players of all time were Youssef Mohamad and Roda Antar. He considered his goal for the Lebanon national team against Kuwait, on 10 October 2011, the most beautiful goal of his career.

On 30 January 2010, he scored a brace in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Nejmeh, despite his side being a man down. This secured the team's entry into the semifinals, which they lost to Ansar 1–3. Three months later, on 7 April, Maatouk scored his first brace in the AFC Cup against Al-Jaish as a substitute from the 46th minute; his side lost 6–3. Following up on his previous season's success, Maatouk scored 12 goals in the league; his second win. He was also awarded the Lebanese Golden Ball.

Maatouk was the top scorer of the 2008 Lebanese Elite Cup with three goals, on a par with his teammate Salih Sadir. He also scored in both of the 2009 AFC Cup group stage games against Busaiteen, but his team failed to qualify to the next round. He won a domestic treble with Ahed during the 2008–09 season, winning the FA Cup, Elite Cup, and Super Cup.

Maatouk was called up for the Lebanon national under-23 team at the 2008 Olympics qualifiers, scoring one goal in five appearances in the second round, and one goal in six matches in the third round.

Maatouk began the 2007–08 season with a hat-trick against Tripoli on Matchday 5, in a match that ended 7–1. Thanks to three other goals scored throughout the season, Maatouk helped Ahed win their first-ever Lebanese League title.

He made his debut for the national team in 2006 in a match against Saudi Arabia, with his first goal coming in 2011 against Bangladesh. With five goals in six matches in the Third Round of qualification for the 2019 Asian Cup, Maatouk helped Lebanon qualify for their first Asian Cup through qualification unbeaten. In 2019 Maatouk became his country's all-time top goalscorer, surpassing Roda Antar whom he followed as captain in 2016.

On 5 February 2006, during the 2005–06 Lebanese Premier League season, Maatouk scored his first domestic hat-trick against Salam Zgharta in an 8–0 win. He scored a total of eight goals in the league, improving on his previous tally. His 2006–07 Lebanese Premier League season, however, was not as prolific. He scored only two league goals and one cup goal.

Maatouk began his senior career at age 17 in 2005 at Ahed in Lebanon. He won a total of 11 trophies with his team, including three Lebanese Premier League titles and three Lebanese FA Cups in his seven-year stay. He moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2011 on loan to Ajman, before signing for Al-Shaab one year later. In 2013 he transferred to Fujairah, where he remained a total of four seasons scoring 46 league goals for the team, becoming their all-time top goalscorer. In 2017 he returned to his home country signing for Nejmeh: in his first season he won the Lebanese Elite Cup and was the second top scorer in the league, as well as the player with the most assists. In his second season he won his fifth Elite Cup, and was the second player with the most assists in the league. In both years Maatouk won the Lebanese Golden Ball. In 2019 he joined cross-city rivals Ansar on a free transfer.

Coming through the youth system, Maatouk's senior career began in 2005, at age 17, with Ahed in the Lebanese Premier League. He made his first-team debut as a centre-forward, before moving to the wings later on in his career.

His first league goal for Ahed came on 20 March 2005 against Al Rayyan when he scored the match winner in a 2–1 win. His first domestic brace came two months later on Matchday 19, when he scored the only two goals in a match against Tadamon Sour. Maatouk also scored three goals in the 2005 AFC Cup, two of which were against Al-Hussein of Jordan on 25 May. He ended his 2004–05 season with three league goals, as well as helping his side win the Lebanese FA Cup after defeating Olympic Beirut 2–1 in the final.

Hassan Ali Maatouk (Arabic: حسن علي معتوق ‎, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈħasan ˈʕali maʕˈtuːʔ] ; born 10 August 1987) is a Lebanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Lebanese Premier League club Ansar and the Lebanon national team. Known for his pace and technical skills, Maatouk is Lebanon's all-time top goalscorer and joint most-capped player; he became a key part of the national team as their captain from 2016 onwards.

Born in Sir el Gharbieh, Lebanon on 10 August 1987, Maatouk and his family fled to Germany when he was young due to the Lebanese Civil War. Maatouk's football career started in Germany when he was seven years old; he moved to Rot-Weiss Essen's youth team at age 12, staying there for three years. He cited his experience in Europe as essential to his development. Maatouk remained in Germany for about a dozen years, before he returned to Lebanon and signed with Ahed's youth team.