Buddy Farah

Badawi "Buddy" Farah (; born 18 August 1978) is a football agent and former professional player. Born in Australia, he played for the Lebanon national team.

After beginning his career with Marconi Stallions in the Australian National Soccer League, Farah went on to play for Nejmeh in the Lebanese Premier League and Keflavík in the Iceland Úrvalsdeild, before retiring in 2008. He played for the Australia national under-23 team prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and the Lebanon national team from 2001 to 2003.

Club career

Early career Born in Australia, Farah is of Lebanese descent. He played youth football for National Soccer League (NSL) club Marconi Stallions, where he joined the club's first-team in 1997. In 2001, he was transferred to fellow NSL side Wollongong Wolves, where he would stay until 2003. At the end of the 2002–03 season, Wollongong had offered to renew Farah's contract; however, it was declined due to the low wage which was worth one-third of his previous contract. Farah played for Nepean Association in the 2003 NSW State League Division 1, scoring two goals in seven appearances.

Nejmeh On 28 August 2003, Farah signed a two-year contract with Lebanese Premier League club Nejmeh; the contract was worth at least six times what he would have been receiving if he had stayed at Wollongong, an estimated $220,000 (€170,000). Farah established himself in the club's first-team while playing for Lebanon. Farah joined Bankstown City Lions before transferring to Malaysian side Selangor FA. He then signed a two-year contract with Iceland's Keflavík ÍF, where the club had finished fourth in the Úrvalsdeild. Farah joined APIA Leichhardt Tigers for the 2007 NSW Premier League season before retiring in 2008.

International career

Australia U23 Under coach Raul Blanco, Farah featured in 10 games for the Australia under-23 squad prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Blanco selected his squad for the tournament leaving out Farah.

Lebanon In 2000, Farah took up the opportunity to represent Lebanon, becoming the second Australian born player to do so after Michael Reda in 2000, where he would take part in the qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 Arab Nations Cup. Farah's moment of glory came on 4 September 2003, when he scored in the 56th minute of a 1–0 victory against North Korea in Pyongyang during a 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification match.

"I was always passionate about playing for Australia, but when the time came he [Blanco] always picked someone else," "It was a bit disappointing, but I guess it wasn't to be. Now I'm playing for Lebanon, I basically get picked for every game, and I'm playing for a club side which gets 40,000 to 50,000 people every game. It's been an incredible ride, I haven't had time to scratch myself. It was huge, scoring my first international goal," What made it even better was the way we had been treated before the game. They [North Korea] put us in a dump of a hotel, we had to cook our own food for a week, and our training field had goats and sheep on it. The experience bonded us together, and when we went out and beat them, well, let's just say we enjoyed it." – Farah on playing for Lebanon

Personal life Farah is Christian. and acts as an advisor for a number of Australian and international professional footballers and clubs.

Career statistics International

Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Farah goal.