Ismail Matar

Return to Al Wahda

2009–10 On 11 June 2009, rumors spread that Al-Wahda has received an offer of amount 50 million dirham from the arch-rivals Al Ain, and offers from other Arabic clubs specifically from Saudi clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad for Ismail, but Al-Wahda denied the rumors and extended Ismail's contract until 2014. To be the seventh player to extend his contract for five years, in an interview with club's website, Ismail has said that he had received offers from Saudi clubs and has offers from other clubs too but he rejected all because he loves the club that help him to improve.

On 28 September 2009, during Al-Wahda's 3–1 win against Al-Ahli, Ismail assisted Fernando Baiano. On 4 October 2009, Al-Wahda defeated Ajman 5–1 which Ismail scored one goal and assisted Fernando Baiano again. On 10 October 2009, Ismail injured in UAE's friendly match against Palestine, and was out for almost five weeks. On 24 November 2009, Ismail returned from injury and play against Baniyas in the UAE President's Cup and played in the last minutes.

On 1 December 2009, in week 7 of the season in match against Al Ain which known as UAE's El classico, he replaced Fahad Masoud in the 64th minutes., he had a chance in the last minutes but he did not succeed in the elusive and Waleed Salim which beyond ball. The match was ended 1–0 in favor of Al-Wahda. On 17 December 2009, Ismail named as The Most Popular Arab Player, commented Ismail, when received the award "This award is dear to his heart of pride and honor him, because the love of the fans and a badge on his chest and thanked everyone who voted him". On 20 December 2009, he played a key role in the match against Baniyas after scoring in 32 minutes, and was substituted on 79th minutes. The match ended 1–0 for Al-Wahda. Ismail had received invasion from Al-Ittihad to participate in the ceremony to retire star Hamzah Idris against Juventus on 30 December 2009.

AFC Champions League On 30 January 2010 during AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, he played against Al-Karamah. He assisted Mahmoud Khamees to score the only goal in the match in the 72nd minute. Seven days later, on 6 February 2010, he scored against Churchill Brothers SC in the 85th minute and assisted twice, one for Fernando Baiano in the 45th minute and again to Abdulrahim Jumaa in the 63rd minute. The win helped Al Wahda qualify for the group stage of the tournament. He played 13 matches against Saudi clubs in the Asian Champions League, during which he won twice over Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahly, and drew 6 times, compared to losing on 5 occasions, while scoring 3 goals during those confrontations. Ittihad Jeddah is considered the most team that Ismail Matar faced in the AFC Champions League with 5 matches starting from the 2010 version, as it lost 2-0 to it, 4-0 in that version, and in the subsequent version it lost 3-0 and tied it 0-0, before He achieved his first victory in the 2019 edition 4-1, when Ismail scored a goal in that match. Matar played 3 matches against Al-Ahly Jeddah, winning 2-1 in the 2008 edition and drawing 0-0 in the other match, without shaking the net. While he played against Al-Hilal twice in the 2007 edition, he tied in the first without goals and scored a goal in the second, which ended 1-1 and qualified Al-Wahda advanced to the next round, and tied a third 2-2 in a match that brought them together in the 2017 edition. Ismail played against Al-Nasr in the final price of the 2019 edition, losing in one and drawing in the other, to bid his team farewell to the championship from that round and the 2021 quarter-finals, and scored his team's only goal despite the exclusion.

2010–11 On 19 February 2011, Matar scored his first hat-trick of the season in a 5–3 loss against Ittihad Kalba, he overtook Mohamed Salem as Al Wahda's all-time greatest scorer in the Pro-League. In 2016, Matar has been rumoured to join Selangor FC in Malaysian Super league.

International career

2003 World Youth Championships Ismail was part of UAE's squad for 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship which held in home country. He began his stardom to reach to the quarter-finals when he scored the only goal in the tournament against Australia. However, UAE knocked out from tournament in match against Colombia. He won the Golden Ball award and became the first Arab player to wins this award.

2007 Gulf Cup Known Ismail when he leading United Arab Emirates national football team to their first ever trophy at the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup, and his goals was critical in the tournament. When he scored against Kuwait in the 90+1 minute, UAE qualify to semi-final and against Saudi Arabia in the 90+1 minute, UAE qualify to final. In the final match, he scored a goal against Oman in the 72nd minute to lead UAE to win their first title in the Gulf Cup, Matar was named as MVP player of the tournament after scoring five goals in the tournament that makes him top scorer of the edition. He is the third player to win both titles on the best player and top scorer in the tournament after Iraqi player Hussein Saeed in 1984 and Qatari Mubarak Mustafa in 1992.

2012 Olympic Matar was named as one of the three overage players to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.

Recent Ismail called up for two friendly matches against Palestine on 10 October 2009 and Jordan on 14 October. He was injured in match against Palestine and was replaced in 30th minute. On 5 November 2009, UAE coach Srečko Katanec announced the squad for the next training camp in November 2009, but Ismail was not called up because of injury. He was returned to the squad for the friendly match against Kuwait on 16 December 2009.

Matar faced cheekbone fracture during Arabian Gulf League in late 2018 and had to go through surgery.

Career statistics

Club

International

Ismail Matar: International goals # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 30 October 2003 Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah 1–1 1–1 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 2. 18 November 2003 Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai 3–1 3–1 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 3. 10 July 2004 Hohhot People's Stadium, Hohhot 2–0 2–2 Friendly 4. 11 November 2004 Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai 2–0 4–0 Friendly 5. 10 December 2004 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha 2–0 2–2 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 6. 9 February 2005 Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai 1–1 1–2 Friendly 7. 11 October 2005 Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain 1–0 2–2 Friendly 8. 16 November 2005 Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus 2–0 3–0 Friendly 9. 22 February 2006 Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai 1–0 1–0 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 10. 1 March 2006 People's Football Stadium, Karachi 2–1 4–1 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 11. 10 December 2006 Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–2 1–2 Friendly 12. 17 January 2007 Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–2 1–2 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 13. 23 January 2007 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–0 3–2 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 14. 23 January 2007 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 3–2 3–2 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 15. 27 January 2007 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium Abu Dhabi 1–0 1–0 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 16. 31 January 2007 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–0 1–0 17th Arabian Gulf Cup 17. 21 June 2007 MPPJ Stadium, Petaling Jaya 2–0 3–1 Friendly 18. 28 October 2007 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–0 5–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 19. 26 March 2008 Abbasiyyin Stadium, Damascus 1–1 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 20. 14 June 2008 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City 1–0 3–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 21. 14 June 2008 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City 2–0 3–2 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 22. 22 June 2008 Al-Qatara Stadium, Al Ain 1–2 1–3 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 23. 29 August 2008 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–1 2–3 Friendly 24. 21 January 2009 KLFA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur 1–0 5–0 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 25. 21 January 2009 KLFA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur 2–0 5–0 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 26. 1 April 2009 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh 2–1 2–3 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier 27. 7 September 2010 Al-Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi 2–0 3–0 Friendly 28. 11 October 2011 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon 1–2 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier 29. 15 November 2011 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City 1–0 1–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier 30. 29 January 2012 Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai 1–0 1–0 Friendly 31. 29 February 2012 Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi 3–2 4–2 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier 32. 12 October 2012 Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai 1–0 2–2 Friendly 33. 9 November 2013 Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi 3–0 4–0 Friendly 34. 19 November 2013 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 2–0 5–0 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifier 35. 9 November 2016 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 1–0 2–0 Friendly 36. 15 November 2016 Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi 2–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier

Honours

Al Wahda UAE Pro League: 2000–01, 2004–05, 2009–10 UAE President's Cup: 2016–17 UAE Federation Cup: 2001 UAE League Cup: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2023–24 UAE Super Cup: 2002, 2011, 2017, 2018

United Arab Emirates Arabian Gulf Cup: 2007, 2013

Individual FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 2003 Al Hadath Most promising Arab player of the Year: 2004 Pro-League Player of the Year: 2006 Arabian Gulf Cup Player of the Tournament: 2007 Arabian Gulf Cup top scorer: 2007 Al Ittihad Pro-League player of the Year: 2007 Al-Ahram Silver Team of the Year: 2007 Al-Ahram Golden Team of the Year: 2009

Personal life Matar has a close relationship with the midfielder of Oman national football team and Al Ittihad player Ahmed Hadid as they are cousins. Ismail has two footballer brothers. They are Ahmed (retired) and Yasser (born in 1987, playing for Al-Jazira since 2009). Matar is married to the daughter of Adel Khalifa Al Shamsi, they married in Abu Dhabi on 13 July 2007, the couple have two children, Alia (born 4 December 2008) and Ali (born 1 November 2010). His father died on 2 January 2009 and Matar was in the 19th Arabian Gulf Cup in Oman, he did not participate with the national team and instead left to the UAE to attend the funeral of his father.