Abdelhamid Abuhabib

Abdelhamid Abuhabib

Personal information
Date of birth	(1989-08-06) 6 August 1989
Place of birth	Khan Younis, Palestine
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Shabab Al-Khaleel
Number	19
Youth career
2000–2005	Shabab Khan Younis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2009	Shabab Khan Younis
2009–2012	Merkaz Balata		(27)
2012–	Shabab Al-Khaleel		(1)
International career‡
2009–2013	Palestine U23	6	(1)
2012–	Palestine	34	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 06, 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of January 20, 2015

Abdelhamid Abuhabib (Arabic: عبد الحميد أبو حبيب; born 6 August 1989) is a Palestinian footballer currently playing for Hebron-based Shabab Al-Khaleel of the West Bank Premier League.

Early years

Abuhabeeb grew up playing football in the streets of Khan Younis from an early age.

Club career

Merkaz Balata

Like many other Gazan footballers, Abuhabib went to the West Bank in search of more steady league play as the Gazan league had been victim of political turmoil. He signed with Merkaz Shabab Balata in 2009 and was able to secure an exit visa to travel to the West Bank. Upon his arrival, he was surprised to learn that he had not signed with a top-tier side, but with a side playing in the second division. Abuhabib had a fantastic first season with Balata, scoring 9 goals and helping them earn promotion to the West Bank Premier League. His sublime skill caught the eye of the more established Shabab Al-Khaleel whom he signed with but voided the contract over undisclosed disputes. In 2010, Abuhabib signed a one-year deal keeping him in Nablus with Balata.

His second season with the club would prove to be even more spectacular. In the league, Abuhabib scored 12 goals in 22 matches helping power the newly promoted side to fourth place in the 12-team league. He also turned in numerous man of the match performances in the Palestinian FA Cup scoring 8 goals in 8 games helping Balata reach the final where they lost to Hilal Al-Quds. In Abuhabib's first season in the Palestinian top flight he had 22 goals in the three competitions (12 league goals, 8 FA Cup goals, 2 Yasser Arafat Cup goals). He once again opted to extend his contract for an added year at the end of the season. He moved to Shabab Al-Khaleel at the end of the 2011–12 season.

International career

Abuhabib received his first call-up to the Olympic team in 2009 to face Tunisia. He played a pivotal role in Palestine's attempt to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Abuhabib also played in the next round against Bahrain helping Palestine win 0–1 in Manama. Palestine would eventually go out on away goals falling short of 3rd round of Olympic Qualifying.

Abuhabib made his debut as a late substitute in an October 2011 friendly against Iran. He scored his first and second goals in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup third place playoff against the Philippines.

International goals

Senior team

Scores and results list the Palestine's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 March 2011	Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal	Philippines	1–1	3–4	2012 AFC Challenge Cup
2.				2–3
3.	4 March 2013		Northern Mariana Islands	2–0	9–0	2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifier
4.				4–0
5.	19 May 2014	National Football Stadium, Malé, Maldives	Kyrgyzstan	1–0	1–0	2014 AFC Challenge Cup
6.	21 May 2014		Myanmar	1–0	2–0
7.	6 September 2014	Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Chinese Taipei	3–3	7–3	2014 Philippine Peace Cup
8.	9 November 2014	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam	Vietnam	1–0	3–1	Friendly

Olympic team

Scores and results list the Palestine's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	9 March 2011	Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram	Thailand	1–0	1–0	2012 Summer Olympics qualifier

Honours

National team

• AFC Challenge Cup: 2014