Soony Saad

Hassan Ali "Soony" Saad ( ; He holds both American and Lebanese citizenship, the latter through paternal descent. His father, Ali, emigrated from Lebanon to the United States in the 1980s, fleeing the Lebanese Civil War, and later met Kristene, his future wife, at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Saad has two older sisters, Summar and Hannan, and one older brother, Hamoody. He attended Maples Elementary School in Dearborn.

Youth and college career

Early career Saad began his youth career at the Michigan Wolves, Derby County Wolves's academy team, joining their under-12s. He led them to the 2007 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship and was awarded the Golden Boot Award for Most Outstanding Player.

Saad later joined Vardar's U15/U16 team;

Derby County Wolves and Dearborn High School In summer 2009, Saad returned to the Derby County Wolves, He broke the previous state high school single-season goals record of 69 set in 2000, and previous state high school career goals record of 169 set in 1995.

At age 17, Saad received an offer to join German club Mainz 05, then managed by Thomas Tuchel. After featuring in a preseason friendly, he was offered a three-year professional contract worth €3,000 per month. However, he declined the deal in favor of accepting a scholarship to play collegiate soccer for the University of Michigan's Wolverines. In their debut game, both Soony and Hamoody scored in a 2–1 victory over Detroit, with Soony's goal coming off a free kick. surpassing the previous record of 14 for most goals by a freshman at the University of Michigan, while setting records for shots and overall points. He helped the team win their first Big Ten Soccer Tournament and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. However, he was unable to secure a move to a club in Europe; Saad returned to the United States and trained with the NSC Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League.

Club career Sporting Kansas City

2011: Debut season

"I'm a forward so scoring goals is always something in my mind. This is amazing to get a goal on my birthday, my debut. I'm just happy that I came in and was able to help the team." — Saad on scoring his debut goal for Sporting Kansas City on his 19th birthday. He scored a goal in the 72nd minute, just nine minutes after he came on, and FC Dallas, and scored once in a friendly against Guadalajara on October 12, 2011.

2012–2014: MLS Cup and Open Cup winner Saad was part of the Kansas City side that won the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, taking part in the final against Seattle Sounders FC, which was decided in a penalty shootout. He had scored a brace against Orlando City in the third round of the competition. Saad played nine games in the 2012 MLS season. His first Champions League goals came on August 28, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win against Honduran side Olimpia. Saad played twice in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs, which Sporting KC won. and helped Kansas City reach the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.

Move to Thailand Following the end of his contract with Sporting Kansas City, Saad signed with Thai club BEC Tero Sasana in October 2014, ahead of the 2015 season. He cited his goal scored with the Lebanon national team against Thailand the same year in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers as the reason for the club's interest in him. He was sent out on loan to Pattaya United for the 2016 Thai League 1 season; Saad scored nine goals and made nine assists in 28 league appearances,

Return to the United States

"We feel that bringing Soony back at this time is a great fit for us. There are certain aspects of his game that can really help us in areas of the field where we need additional support. We are excited to see how his game has matured over the past two years and look forward to working with him again." — Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes on Saad's return to the club in 2017. He made his second debut for the club against the San Jose Earthquakes on March 19, being brought on as a substitute; similarly to his first debut for Sporting in 2011, Saad helped his side win on his first game, with his 89th-minute shot being deflected into the goal by opposing goalkeeper David Bingham.

After being sent on loan to Swope Park Rangers, a USL Championship club affiliated with Sporting KC, Saad was waived during the 2018 preseason. On February 21, 2018, Saad joined fellow USL Championship side Indy Eleven, where he scored five league goals in 29 appearances. On his debut game in the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League, played on January 27, he scored and assisted once against Safa. On February 15, Saad scored from a 30-meter free kick in a 4–0 win against Salam Zgharta. This was the first time in over two years that the Beirut Municipal Stadium hosted a game. On May 10, Saad scored in the quarter-finals of the Lebanese FA Cup, helping his side defeat Nejmeh in the Beirut derby.

In his first year at the club Saad scored six league goals in 10 games with Ansar, as well as one cup goal, finishing second in both the league and the cup. On May 29, Ansar renewed Saad's contract for two seasons.

Saad's only goals of the 2019–20 season came on August 18, 2019, when he scored his only brace for Ansar in a 5–0 win over Chabab Ghazieh in the 2019 Lebanese Elite Cup semi-final. Saad was released by Ansar in March 2020 due to financial disagreements with the club, in the midst of the Lebanese liquidity crisis. He had already played in Ansan's home stadium, Ansan Wa~ Stadium, four years prior for the Lebanon national team, in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification game against South Korea. His first-minute debut came three days later, on May 26, in a 1–0 defeat against Daejeon Hana Citizen. Saad played 11 games in the 2020 season.

Al-Wehdat On March 27, 2021, Saad joined Al-Wehdat in the Jordanian Pro League on a one-year contract, reuniting with fellow Lebanese player Ahmad Zreik and former Ansar coach Abdullah Abu Zema. On April 14, Saad made his AFC Champions League debut against Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, drawing 0–0. His first goal came on April 29, scoring the lone goal against Iranian club Foolad in the AFC Champions League; he became the second Lebanese player to score in the competition, following Zreik's goal three days prior.

Saad made his league debut on May 4, as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 home win against Al-Jalil. He scored his first league goal on July 27, helping his team beat Shabab Al-Aqaba 4–1. On August 25, Saad scored in the 2021 Jordan FA Cup round of 16 against Al-Jalil, which Al-Wehdat won 4–0. Saad finished the season with four goals and three assists in 26 games. He helped his side finish runners-up in the 2021–22 Thai League Cup, losing 4–0 to Buriram United in the final.

Penang Saad moved to Penang in the Malaysia Super League on December 22, 2022, ahead of the 2023 season. Having played his first game on March 1, 2023, playing all 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw against Negeri Sembilan, Saad scored his first goals for Penang on March 17 and 31, in consecutive games against Sabah and Perak respectively. On April 9, Saad scored a brace to help his side win 4–2 against PDRM.

International career

United States In January 2008, Saad was called up to represent the United States internationally at the under-14 level; he played in unofficial friendlies against clubs from Mexico as part of a training camp in Guadalajara, scoring once against Jalisco's under-14s.

Saad played for the under-17 team during his stay in the U.S. Residency Program in Bradenton in 2008. Saad featured in six games against Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala as part of a Central America tour, scoring twice and assisting once. He also played in exhibition tours against club sides in the United States and France, most notably scoring against Paris Saint-Germain's under-18s. In February 2009, he played his final official game for the under-17s, in a 1–1 friendly draw against Ecuador.

Saad received a call-up to join the under-20s in December 2010. He played once in a friendly game against Canada, where he scored in a 2–0 win.

Lebanon

In May 2013, Saad obtained his Lebanese passport and became eligible to join the Lebanon national team. Saad made his international debut in the match and scored Lebanon's only goal in the 62nd minute in an eventual 1–1 draw. In March 2013, he scored Lebanon's third goal against Thailand in their 5–2 victory in the 2015 Asian Cup qualification and, two years later in September 2016, he scored his third for Lebanon against Afghanistan in a friendly. and the opening goal against South Korea. Despite losing both games, Lebanon qualified to the third (and final) round as results in other groups went in the Cedars ' favor. Saad scored in Lebanon's first win of the round, a 3–2 win against Syria on October 12, to help his team climb to third place in their group. He also scored a first-half goal against Iran on November 11, and was close to earning Lebanon a historic win before Iran scored twice in stoppage time to win 2–1. Lebanon finished their group in last place with only one win in 10 games.

In December 2023, Saad was named to the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. He participated in two group-stage matches in January 2024, facing Qatar and China. These games marked his final appearances for Lebanon, and he retired from international play with seven goals in 38 matches. Saad is a creative playmaker known for scoring from long range, often from free kicks.

Personal life A practicing Muslim, Saad observes Ramadan. In March 2020, he got engaged to Lebanese actress Malak Al Haj; the couple got married in December.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honors Michigan Wolverines Big Ten Soccer Tournament: 2010

Sporting Kansas City MLS Cup: 2013 U.S. Open Cup: 2012, 2017

Al-Wehdat Jordan Super Cup: 2021

PT Prachuap Thai League Cup runner-up: 2021–22

Individual Gatorade National Soccer Player of the Year: 2010 NSCAA All-American Second Team: 2010 NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team: 2010 All-Big Ten First Team: 2010 Big Ten Freshman of the Year: 2010 Big Ten Tournament Offensive Player of the Tournament: 2010