Imad Zatara

Imad Zatara

Personal information
Full name	Imad Zatara
Date of birth	1 October 1984
Place of birth	Stockholm, Sweden
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current team	Al-Ahli (Manama)
Youth career
1997–2001	FC Inter Orhoy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2001–2002	Essinge IK	20	(2)
2003–2006	Vasalund/Essinge IF	16	(2)
2007	IF Brommapojkarna	34	(10)
2008	Zalaegerszegi TE	12	(3)
2008–2011	Syrianska FC	56	(7)
2010	→ Nîmes Olympique (loan)	26	(11)
2012	Sanat Naft Abadan	29	(11)
2012–2014	Åtvidabergs FF	48	(11)
2015	AFC United	11	(0)
2016–	Al-Ahli (Manama)	0	(0)
National team^‡
2004–	Palestine	28	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 February 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 8 September 2015

Imad Zatara (Arabic: عماد زعترة; born on 1 October 1984) is a Swedish-born Palestinian footballer who plays as a Striker for Bahraini Premier League side Al-Ahli (Manama).^[1]

Club career

Early career

Imad began his career in FC Inter Orhoy, a club famous for bringing players like Gabriel Özkan and Henok Goitom.

Vasalund/Essinge IF

Imad spent his first six seasons on senior level at Stockholm based Essinge IK (who was merged with Vasalunds IF in 2003 creating Vasalund/Essinge IF making his debut only 17 years old. It didn't take long for Imad to evolve into one of the most important players of the team and one of the most coveted players of Swedish third level.

IF Brommapojkarna

In 2007 Imad finally took the final step making his debut on the highest level of Swedish football when moving to another Stockholm based club, IF Brommapojkarna who were about to play their first season ever in Allsvenskan. Unfortunately the team struggled in the bottom of the table and at the end of the season the team got relegated to Superettan. Imad didn't get many chances in the starting eleven and often had to sit on the bench.

Zalaegerszegi TE

After about a week long trial in early 2008 Imad got a contract with Hungarian Zalaegerszegi TE. He soon became an important player of the team and scored 3 goals in 12 appearances as the club finished 7th in Nemzeti Bajnokság I.

Syrianska FC

Imad signed with Södertälje based Syrianska FC in early 2009 after being a very coveted name among the Stockholm-based clubs. Imad spent two seasons with the club and was consistently a very important part of the team who finished on 4th place of Superettan in 2009. He was also part of the side that would secure promotion to the Allsvenskan in 2010, he turned in several key performances the following year allowing the club to retain its top-flight status.

Nîmes Olympique

In February 2010 Imad signed a loan deal with French Ligue 2 club Nîmes Olympique. He made his debut against Le Havre AC on 12 February 2010 and also managed to score his first and only goal during his time in the club. He scored the equalizer in the 87th minute of a game that mainly will remembered for the 9 yellow and 2 red cards that were delivered in the game.^[2] Imad played 6 games for the club and returned to Syrianska FC after the season.

Sanat Naft

On 23 December 2011, he signed a 6-month contract with Iran Pro League side, Sanat Naft, becoming the first Palestinian to play in Iran.

Åtvidabergs FF

On 26 July 2012, Imad Zatara returned to Sweden with newly promoted Allsvenskan side Åtvidabergs FF. In 2013 Zatara scored 9 goals making him the second top scorer in the Allsvenskan, behind fellow Palestinian Imad Khalili.

International career

Imad early took the decision to play for his native country Palestine. The debut came in 2004 in the 1–4 defeat against Iraq, in which Zatara scored his first international goal. He has also been called up for Palestine in 2010. Zatara captained the national team for the first time in a friendly against the Malaysia national football team.

International goals

Scores and results list Palestine's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 November 2004	Doha, Qatar	Iraq	1–4	1–4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier
2.	14 December 2011	Doha, Qatar	Libya	1–1	1–1	2011 Pan Arab Games
3.	14 December 2012	Al Farwaniyah, Kuwait	Oman	1–2	1–2	2012 WAFF Championship

Personal life

On 30 January in 1992 Imad Zatara's father Hasan Zatara became the last victim of John Ausonius in Swedish media known as Lasermannen ("the Laser Man"). Hasan survived but was blinded in his right eye and lost the ability to speak.

References

1. Imad Zatara at National-Football-Teams.com
2. "Nîmes – Le Havre 12.02.2010". youtube.com. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.

External links

• Profile at PersianLeague