Bassel Jradi

In this Lebanese name, the father's name is Zakaria and the family name is Jradi.
Bassel Jradi
Jradi with Lebanon in 2019
Personal information
Full name Bassel Zakaria Jradi[1]
Date of birth (1993-07-06) 6 July 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark[1]
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 Bangkok United
Number 10
Youth career
1998–2000 Skjold
2000–2011 B.93
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 B.93 33 (8)
2012–2013 AB 28 (8)
2013–2014 FC Nordsjælland 4 (0)
2014–2015 Strømsgodset II 16 (9)
2014–2018 Strømsgodset 65 (14)
2016 → Lillestrøm (loan) 26 (4)
2018–2021 Hajduk Split 73 (5)
2021–2023 Apollon Limassol 41 (6)
2023– Bangkok United 17 (4)
International career‡
2008–2009 Denmark U16 3 (0)
2010 Denmark U17 3 (0)
2010 Denmark U18 3 (0)
2011 Denmark U19 4 (0)
2012 Denmark U20 3 (0)
2012–2013 Denmark U21 7 (2)
2015– Lebanon 25 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Bassel Zakaria Jradi (Arabic: باسل زكريا جرادي, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ˈbeːsil zakaˈrijja ˈʒraːdi, -de]; born 6 July 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Thai League 1 club Bangkok United and the Lebanon national team.

After playing for three years in Denmark – for B.93, AB, and Nordsjælland – Jradi moved to Norway in 2014, signing for Strømsgodset. Following a loan spell with Lillestrøm, he scored 10 goals and assisted seven upon his return to Strømsgodset in 2017; he was nominated for the "People's favourite player" award at the 2017 Fotballfesten [it]. In 2018, after four years in Norway, Jradi moved to Croatian side Hajduk Split, then to Apollon Limassol in Cyprus in 2021, helping them lift the 2021–22 league title. In 2023, Jradi joined Bangkok United in Thailand.

Born in Denmark to Lebanese parents, Jradi played for Denmark internationally at youth level before switching allegiance to Lebanon in 2015. He represented Lebanon at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Early life

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Lebanese parents, Jradi began his youth career at Skjold aged five.[3]

Club career

B.93

Jradi moved to B.93 aged seven, and made his senior debut in the Danish 2nd Division on 30 April 2011 in the 2010–11 season, in a 4–2 home defeat to LFA.[3] Jradi became the first player born after B.93's 100-year anniversary (19 May 1993) to debut for their first team.[3] In the following match, he scored a brace and assisted once in a 4–2 win against Avarta.[3]

Jradi started the 2011–12 season by scoring in his first two matches, against Hvidovre (2–1 defeat) and Skjold Birkerød (2–1 win).[3] In the second-to-last game of the season, he was sent off in a 2–1 defeat against Svebølle (it was his second red card of the season); B.93 were relegated outside of the "Danish tournament" (Danmarksturneringen [da]) for the first time.[3] Jradi played 33 games and scored eight goals for B.93.[3]

AB

Having gone on trial for Danish club OB and English club Blackburn Rovers in 2011,[4][5] Jradi moved to Danish 1st Division side AB in summer 2012.[3] He scored eight goals and made three assists,[6] making him the club's top scorer of the season.[7]

Nordsjælland

At the end of the 2012–13 season,[3] Jradi signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Superliga side Nordsjælland.[7] He didn't feature much for the side, only playing four league games and a match in the UEFA Europa League play-offs.[8]

Strømsgodset and loan to Lillestrøm

In July 2014, Jradi was purchased by Strømsgodset, and signed a contract which lasted until the end of 2017.[9]

In January 2016, he signed for Lillestrøm in Tippeligaen on loan until the end of the year,[10][11] scoring four league goals in 26 games.[8]

Thanks to his performances during the 2017 Eliteserien season with Strømsgodset, scoring 10 goals and assisting seven,[12][13] Jradi was nominated for the "Folkets favorittspiller" (People's favourite player) award at the 2017 Fotballfesten [it]; he then made it to the final shortlist of four people.[14]

Hajduk Split

2018–19 season

On 11 August 2018, Jradi joined Croatian First League club Hajduk Split on a two-year deal.[15] His first goal for the club came on 10 May 2019, in a 2–0 home win over Slaven.[16] He scored once again in the following matchday, played four days later, against Rudeš in a 4–1 away win.[17] Jradi ended the 2018–19 season with two goals in 25 appearances, helping his side finish fourth in the league.[8]

2019–20 season

On 18 July 2019, Jradi scored his first Europa League qualifier goal in the home game against Gżira United of Malta. However, his side lost on the away goals rule and were knocked out of the qualifiers.[18] In the Eternal derby against Dinamo Zagreb in the league, on 31 August 2019, Jradi scored the lone goal in the 56th minute, before being sent off after receiving two yellow cards during the match. Thanks to his performance in the game, Jradi was nominated Man of the Match and helped his side reach the top of the table for the first time in 1,399 days. After the game, the player stated: "This was a crazy game with crazy fans. Incredible. Red cards, goals, everything was crazy".[19]

On 29 June 2020, Hajduk Split extended Jradi's contract, which was due to expire in July, for an additional year.[20] On 25 July 2020, Jradi scored from outside the box and assisted a goal against Inter Zaprešić in a 4–1 away win on the last matchday of the season.[21] Jradi ended the season with three league goals in 32 games.[8]

2020–21 season

On 29 August 2020, in matchday 3 of the league, Jradi provided his first assist of the season against Slaven Belupo, in a 2–2 draw.[22]

In February 2021, Jradi refused to renew his contract with Hajduk Split, wanting to move to another team on a free transfer the following summer transfer window.[23] The management sent him to train with the reserves for the rest of the season as a form of "punishment".[24] According to the Croatian Football Federation, however, he couldn't play official games as "a player older than 21 who has already played at least five games during the season for the first team cannot play for the B team".[25]

On 21 May, Jradi and Hajduk Split agreed to terminate the contract on mutual consent;[26] he scored seven goals in 81 games in all competitions in his three-year stay.[27]

Apollon Limassol

On 22 June 2021, Jradi joined Cypriot First Division side Apollon Limassol.[28] He scored on his club debut on 22 July, in a 3–1 defeat to Žilina in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualification.[29] Jradi also scored in the away game against Žilina one week later, with the match ending 2–2.[30] On 23 August, he scored in the first matchday of the 2021–22 league season, helping Apollon win 4–2 against Ethnikos Achna.[31]

In May 2022, Jradi was shortlisted in the 2021–22 PASP Football Awards as one of 11 nominees in the forward position.[32] With three goals in 22 league games,[8] he helped Apollon win the league title for the first time in 15 seasons.[33]

Bangkok United

On 27 July 2023, Thai League 1 side Bangkok United announced the signing of Jradi; he was assigned the number 10 kit.[34]

International career

Denmark

After impressing during his season with AB in 2012–13, Jradi represented Denmark internationally at under-20 and under-21 levels.[7] He played for Denmark at all youth levels (from the under-16s to the under-21s) between 2008 and 2013, playing a combined 23 games and scoring twice.[35]

Lebanon

Jradi (right) with Lebanon against Iran in 2021

Eligible to represent Lebanon through his descent,[36] Jradi made his debut for their senior team on 26 August 2015;[37] he scored the temporary 2–1 goal in a friendly against Iraq, which eventually finished in a 3–2 defeat.[38] After the match, regarding his national team choice between Lebanon and Denmark, he stated: "both countries mean a lot to me. It's a big decision".[39]

Although in January 2018 Jradi had stated that he aimed to play for Denmark,[40] in November of the same year he was called up for Lebanon for the friendly matches against Uzbekistan and Australia.[41] In December 2018, he was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup squad.[42] After playing the whole 90 minutes in the first group stage game against Qatar,[43] Jradi fell into a disagreement with coach Miodrag Radulović and was subsequently ruled out of the national team for the rest of the tournament.[44][45]

On 5 September 2019, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) announced Jradi's indefinite exclusion from the national team, alongside teammate Joan Oumari, for refusing a call-up for a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against North Korea.[46][47] After issuing an apology explaining his reasons for refusing the call-up, the LFA lifted the exclusions and Jradi was reintegrated to the national team on 19 September.[48]

In December 2023, Jradi was included in the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[49]

Style of play

Usually deployed as an attacking midfielder, Jradi can also play on both wings, as a central midfielder, or as a false nine.[50][6]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 5 June 2023[8][51]
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
AB 2012–13 Danish 1st Division 28 8 — — — 28 8
Nordsjælland 2013–14 Superligaen 4 0 0 0 1[b] 0 — 5 0
Strømsgodset II 2014 Norwegian Second Division 7 3 — — — 7 3
2015 Norwegian Second Division 9 6 — — — 9 6
Total 16 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 9
Strømsgodset 2014 Tippeligaen 8 0 — — — 8 0
2015 Tippeligaen 12 2 0 0 4[c] 1 — 16 3
2017 Eliteserien 29 10 1 0 — — 30 10
2018 Eliteserien 16 2 1 1 — — 17 3
Total 65 14 2 1 4 1 0 0 71 16
Lillestrøm (loan) 2016 Tippeligaen 26 4 1 0 — — 27 4
Hajduk Split 2018–19 Croatian First League 25 2 3 1 0 0 — 28 3
2019–20 Croatian First League 33 3 1 0 2[c] 1 — 36 4
2020–21 Croatian First League 15 0 1 0 1[c] 0 — 17 0
Total 73 5 5 1 3 1 0 0 81 7
Apollon Limassol 2021–22 Cypriot First Division 22 3 1 0 2[d] 2 — 25 5
2022–23 Cypriot First Division 19 3 0 0 5[e] 0 0 0 24 3
Total 41 6 1 0 7 2 0 0 49 8
Career total 262 46 9 2 15 4 0 0 275 52
  1. ^ Includes Danish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup, Croatian Football Cup, Cypriot Cup
  2. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League play-off round
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League qualifying round(s)
  4. ^ Appearance in UEFA Conference League qualifying round
  5. ^ One appearance in UEFA Europa League qualifying round, four appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 26 March 2024[52][53]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Lebanon 2015 1 1
2016 1 0
2017 0 0
2018 3 0
2019 3 0
2020 1 0
2021 7 0
2022 1 0
2023 3 1
2024 5 1
Total 25 3
Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jradi goal.
List of international goals scored by Bassel Jradi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 26 August 2015 Rafic Hariri Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon  Iraq 2–1 2–3 Friendly [54]
2 7 September 2023 700th Anniversary Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand  Thailand 1–1 1–2 2023 King's Cup [55]
3 22 January 2024 Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Tajikistan 1–0 1–2 2023 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Strømsgodset

Apollon Limassol

Bangkok United

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Bassel Jradi". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qatar Squad Lists" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. p. 13. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jørgensen, Palle (19 October 2018). "Spillerprofiler (J)". b93.dk. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Jradi: Næste stop Superligaen". Tipsbladet.dk. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ Jradi: Kadriis succes motiverer mig
  6. ^ a b "The final 23: who are they?". Lebanese Football Review. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "FC Nordsjælland køber U/21-landsholdsspiller". FC Nordsjælland. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Bassel Jradi at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Klar for Godset". dt.no/ (in Norwegian). 19 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Leies ut til Lillestrøm". Strømsgodset Toppfotball. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016.
  11. ^ Alle Eliteserie-overgangene i januar, nettavisen.no
  12. ^ "Eliteserien 2017 - Scorers". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Eliteserien 2017 - Assists". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  14. ^ Aftenposten, Kurt B. M. Haugli (27 November 2017). "Hederspris til rørt Åge Hareide". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Bassel Jradi is a new Hajduk player!". HNK Hajduk Split. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Hajduk Split vs. Slaven Koprivnica - 10 May 2019 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Rudeš vs. Hajduk Split - 14 May 2019 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Watch - UEFA Europa League: Maroons make history with stunning comeback in Croatia - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  19. ^ Dubravec, Tom (31 August 2019). "Junak velike pobjede Hajduka Bassel Jradi: Bila je ovo luda utakmica s ludim navijačima!". tportal.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  20. ^ Mahfoud, Maroun (29 June 2020). "Bassel Jradi renews his contract with Hajduk Split". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Hajduk visoko slavio u Zaprešiću na Interovom oproštaju od prvoligaškog ranga". Sportnet (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Lebanese Players Abroad: August 2020, Week 4". FA Lebanon. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  23. ^ "جرادي يرفض تجديد عقده". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  24. ^ "عرض نرويجي لباسل جرادي". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Slobodna Dalmacija - Mijo Caktaš i Bassel Jradi neće igrati za drugu momčad Hajduka, evo i zašto". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  26. ^ "HNK Hajduk i Bassel Jradi dogovorili sporazumni raskid ugovora". hajduk.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  27. ^ Mahfoud, Maroun (22 May 2021). "Bassel Jradi leaves Hajduk Split officially". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Μ. Ζράντι: "Ο στόχος δεν είναι άλλος από την κατάκτηση του τίτλου!"". Apollon FC (in Greek). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Zorniger og co. tabte trods Jradi-scoring". bold.dk. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Ζίλινα-Απόλλων 2-2: Πάλεψε στο Ποντ Ντουμπνόμ, τον… έκαψε η Αρένα | Goal News Cy". goal.philenews.com (in Greek). 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  31. ^ "ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ-ΕΘΝΙΚΟΣ 4-2:H βραδιά του Πίττα με Χατ-τρικ και του VAR που διόρθωσε την διαιτησία" (in Greek). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Οι ποδοσφαιριστές επέλεξαν τους Κορυφαίους του Πρωταθλήματος 2021/22!". ΠΑΣΠ. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  33. ^ NEWSROOM, FWS (15 May 2022). "Ο Απόλλων Λεμεσού του Αυλωνίτη αναδείχθηκε πρωταθλητής Κύπρου μετά το 2006!". FWS Fueled With Sports (in Greek). Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  34. ^ "แบงค็อก เปิดตัว"บาสเซล จราดี้" จอมทัพคนใหม่ พร้อมมอบเสื้อหมายเลข 10". pptvhd36.com (in Thai). 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  35. ^ Bassel Jradi national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
  36. ^ "Tidligere U21-landsholdsspiller nægter vold mod politiet". Jyllands-Posten (in Danish). 12 November 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Jradi er i vildrede: Libanon sat på standby". bold.dk. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Bassel scoret for Libanon". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  39. ^ "Became sick after national team debut". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  40. ^ Jansen, Alexander. "Jradi: – Jeg skal selges nå eller til sommeren". Drammen Live24 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  41. ^ FaLebanon (8 November 2018). "The Lebanon squad to face Uzbekistan and Australia has been named". YOUR HOME OF NEWS. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  42. ^ "AC2019 Final Squads". Asian Football Confederation. p. 19. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  43. ^ "Group E: Qatar 2–0 Lebanon". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  44. ^ "Jradi se posvadio s izbornikom i iznenadio Hajduk u Turskoj". 24sata.hr (in Croatian). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  45. ^ "HAJDUKOVAC OTKRIO KAKO JE DOŠLO DO VELIKOG SUKOBA U REPREZENTACIJI 'Neću te više stavljati u momčad, sjedi na klupu do kraja prvenstva i gotovo!' – Sportske Novosti". sportske.jutarnji.hr. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  46. ^ "Circular No. 51/2019". Lebanese Football Association. 5 September 2019.
  47. ^ "استبعاد باسل جرادي وجوان العمري". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  48. ^ "عودة جرادي والعمري إلى المنتخب". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  49. ^ "منتخب لبنان يعلن تشكيلته إلى كأس آسيا" [The Lebanon national team announces its squad for the Asian Cup] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  50. ^ "The AFC Asian Cup 2019 contenders: Lebanon". FOX Sports Asia. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  51. ^ "Bassel Jradi alltime stats". superstats.dk/. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  52. ^ "Bassel Jradi". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  53. ^ "Bassel Jradi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  54. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Lebanon vs. Iraq (2:3)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  55. ^ Football: Lebanon Aims for Third Place at King's Cup 2023
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