Belal Halbouni

[InglewoodJack]

He’s a dark horse prospect I have high hopes could become something, but hard to fault him for taking Syria. He didn’t take the step he maybe thought he would this year, and from where he’s at now, I think it would be tough to get on Canada’s radar for the next little while. If Syria opens the door to him, he should definitely take it.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 6/25/2022 at 1:52 PM, An Observer said:

Can’t wait to sing on the terraces when he plays for us:

White on white translucent black kits
Right at the back
Belal Halbouni’s red....

No.

 

The song of the moment is :

 

♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♪ A call-up's hard to get! ♪
♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♫♬ Halbouni! ♫♬
♪ ...but he can earn one yet! ♪

[Stoppage Time]

8 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

He’s a dark horse prospect I have high hopes could become something, but hard to fault him for taking Syria. He didn’t take the step he maybe thought he would this year, and from where he’s at now, I think it would be tough to get on Canada’s radar for the next little while. If Syria opens the door to him, he should definitely take it.

I wonder if there would any advantage in both improving his play and making himself more deserving of a future look by Canada if he was able to sign and get minutes with an MLS team? In short, I wonder about his potential. Ideas?

[Obinna]

10 hours ago, VinceA said:

True and ultimately there's no justification to calling him up right now. 

Unless you want to cynically cap tie him. Given the strength of the respective programs, I would suggest that us calling Halbouni to keep him away from Syria is on par with Serbia calling Mitrovic to keep him out of our hands. 

[beachesl]

Syria?...  He must be desperate, many other nations won't play them. It makes scheduling a match with Iran look like  having tea with your grandmother.  

 

Syrians have a great culture, and they are friendly people. I have many good Syrian friends, and I fondlyremember visiting there in the 90`s. But now and for the forseeable future... 

I watched him do some sweet moves earlier, sorry things went south for his skills...

 

[InglewoodJack]

13 hours ago, Stoppage Time said:

I wonder if there would any advantage in both improving his play and making himself more deserving of a future look by Canada if he was able to sign and get minutes with an MLS team? In short, I wonder about his potential. Ideas?

I think Canada wants to see players excel in Europe, so if he came back to MLS he’d have to outperform all of the guys in MLS we have ahead of him, and that’s tough for a guy who can’t crack the 2nd Bundesliga and is playing (average I think?) in the 6th tier of Germany. I think for him to get attention from Canada, he needs an Eustaquio-like rise where he went from the 3rd Portuguese tier to the first, despite some road bumps and went from obscurity to a guy that top clubs were looking at. 
 

I think he could've been on the (very) long list for Qatar if he actually cracked Madgeburg’s first team, but he’d have to solidly crack it- people were raising questions about Scott Kennedy because he wasn’t starting every day.

3 hours ago, beachesl said:

Syria?...  He must be desperate, many other nations won't play them. It makes scheduling a match with Iran look like  having tea with your grandmother.  

 

Syrians have a great culture, and they are friendly people. I have many good Syrian friends, and I fondlyremember visiting there in the 90`s. But now and for the forseeable future... 

I watched him do some sweet moves earlier, sorry things went south for his skills...

 

I thought with Syria they just couldn’t play games at home? They played a ton of games in 2022, including a close 2-1 against South Korea. He’s also eligible for Lebanon, I wonder if there was a little dual national competition between them. Also, this is just a friendly, so it doesn’t do anything for his eligibility.   

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

28 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Also, this is just a friendly, so it doesn’t do anything for his eligibility.   

It is one of three matches that you can play before the next one ties you permenantly and sets up the 3 year wait, if I am reading this right

A couple conditions to switch:

iv) was fielded in no more than three matches at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or non-official competition:

v) at least three years have passed since being fielded for his last match at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or nonofficial competition; and

[InglewoodJack]

11 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

It is one of three matches that you can play before the next one ties you permenantly and sets up the 3 year wait, if I am reading this right

A couple conditions to switch:

iv) was fielded in no more than three matches at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or non-official competition:

v) at least three years have passed since being fielded for his last match at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or nonofficial competition; and

I think you're right, I've read the FIFA rules, they aren't super clear about how friendlies are classified. For some strange reason, a friendly is added to the tally of official appearances for a country, however, a friendly does not cap tie Halbouni to Syria, even though he is 22, however, the second he steps on the pitch for Syria in an official game, he is officially theirs.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

14 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I think you're right, I've read the FIFA rules, they aren't super clear about how friendlies are classified. For some strange reason, a friendly is added to the tally of official appearances for a country, however, a friendly does not cap tie Halbouni to Syria, even though he is 22, however, the second he steps on the pitch for Syria in an official game, he is officially theirs.

Him being in any "official" game he is tied permanently, as you say, because he is over 21.  

But I think play 4 friendlies - which is what "non-official competition" means to me - and he is permanently tied.

And he would have to wait 3 years to play for us, if he plays on Friday against Jordan.

Maybe we are saying the same thing.

 

Friendlies are not super clear, I agree.  

This is all they say in that document - Commentary on the Rules Governing Eligibility to Play for Representative Teams

"20. The phrase “official competition” is defined in the FIFA Statutes as “a competition for representative teams organised by FIFA or any confederation”.13

20.1 Friendly matches are therefore not matches in an official competition.

20.2 Similarly, matches played as part of a representative team competition not organised by FIFA or a confederation (e.g. a regional association), are therefore not matches in an official competition."

 

I guess that implies they are matches in an non-offical competition?

 

It has become a word comprehesion puzzle more than anything else at this point.

[Jay striker]

He’s made it pretty clear his dream is to play for Canada. I’m sure he and his people would have looked into this before agreeing to play for Syria in the exhibition. I’m assuming he is doing it for the experience and exposure. Hopefully works out for him. A nice take away is we’ll get to see him play in a higher level of soccer

[InglewoodJack]

16 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Him being in any "official" game he is tied permanently, as you say, because he is over 21.  

But I think play 4 friendlies - which is what "non-official competition" means to me - and he is permanently tied.

And he would have to wait 3 years to play for us, if he plays on Friday against Jordan.

Maybe we are saying the same thing.

 

Friendlies are not super clear, I agree.  

This is all they say in that document - Commentary on the Rules Governing Eligibility to Play for Representative Teams

"20. The phrase “official competition” is defined in the FIFA Statutes as “a competition for representative teams organised by FIFA or any confederation”.13

20.1 Friendly matches are therefore not matches in an official competition.

20.2 Similarly, matches played as part of a representative team competition not organised by FIFA or a confederation (e.g. a regional association), are therefore not matches in an official competition."

 

I guess that implies they are matches in an non-offical competition?

 

It has become a word comprehesion puzzle more than anything else at this point.

I think we are reading it the same way, yeah. The more I read it, the more confused I am- because he is 22, he:

A) is tied to Syria by playing one minute of a friendly, assuming he takes the pitch v. Jordan

B ) is NOT cap tied because it's a friendly, but if it was an official match, he would've been captied to Syria forever.

C) Must still wait 3 years without playing again for Syria for him to play for either Canada or Lebanon in the future

D) If he plays 3 other friendlies, or one official game for Syria, he's cap tied.

 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

3 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I think we are reading it the same way, yeah. The more I read it, the more confused I am- because he is 22, he:

A) is tied to Syria by playing one minute of a friendly, assuming he takes the pitch v. Jordan

B ) is NOT cap tied because it's a friendly, but if it was an official match, he would've been captied to Syria forever.

C) Must still wait 3 years without playing again for Syria for him to play for either Canada or Lebanon in the future

D) If he plays 3 other friendlies, or one official game for Syria, he's cap tied.

 

Maybe going for the experience, exposure (as much as a Syria friendly can give) and more cynically, to get Canada to notice. Ie. Not planning on playing.  Who knows what goes through the minds of agents. 

[InglewoodJack]

10 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Maybe going for the experience, exposure (as much as a Syria friendly can give) and more cynically, to get Canada to notice. Ie. Not planning on playing.  Who knows what goes through the minds of agents. 

IMO I think he may have given up on Canada, which I think may be the best move for him. Looking beyond 2022, he's not going to feature in the Nations League games, because we actually have to win those, considering we dropped one against Honduras, and we also have better options. He won't feature in the Gold Cup unless he makes a miraculous jump from 2nd team feature to first team staple, which is a tall order. After that, you get Nations League in 2024-2025 which is realistically his one chance at playing for Canada, and that's provided that he solidly progresses over the next few years. And then after that, we're back to 2026 WC qualifying, which Canada may not even have to compete in, and if we do, we'll likely only play octo games, and at that point, we're talking about a 25-26 year old prospect who may have never played for Canada before, and he'll be competing for that spot along with a ton of players who are going to appear between now and 2025 who may be good enough to make the team. If I'm Canada in 2026 qualifying, that's when I load my team up with every Luca Koleosho and Stefan Mitrovic I can find (Halbouni is a '99, and exciting young prospects for '26 will be '07-'09s).

While all this is happening, I think that Syria has more competitive opportunities for Halbouni to actually play for a national team, and not only that, but play against some very good teams like South Korea, Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, so on. I just think that his chance to crack our national program was by taking that leap this year, being in that mix with guys like Kone, Koleosho, Brym, etc., and then making a case to become a mainstay for next year's game, but at this point, I think he's too far behind to crack the roster before guys younger than him start knocking on the door.

[SpecialK]

I get what your saying. The issue is our  CB depth is all over the place. After 2022 Vitoria and Henry are most likely gone. So that leaves Miller, Kennedy, MacNaughton, Waterman ? 
 

my issue is if MLS is the highest level of CB’s we can get. We are in trouble. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

5 minutes ago, SpecialK said:

I get what your saying. The issue is our  CB depth is all over the place. After 2022 Vitoria and Henry are most likely gone. So that leaves Miller, Kennedy, MacNaughton, Waterman ? 
 

my issue is if MLS is the highest level of CB’s we can get. We are in trouble. 

The problem also being that some players who seemed to be on a good club trajectory have stagnated or worse.  The subject of this thread and maybe Kennedy for example. 

Miller can take a step up but some people wondered why some other people cared about Holmes so much.  This would be why. 

[MauditYvon]

7 hours ago, beachesl said:

Syria?...  He must be desperate, many other nations won't play them. It makes scheduling a match with Iran look like  having tea with your grandmother.  

 

They went pretty far in 2018 World Cup qualification.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_–_AFC_Fourth_Round
 

Also made the 3rd round for 2022. With the WC going at 48 teams in 2026, it is his best chance to play in one.

[rydermike]

A friendly doesn't start a 3 year wait. Playing an official (non WC/continental finals phase match) for a U21 player starts a three year wait. Akinola played a friendly for the Americans then switched to Canada a couple months later. It's 3 official non-friendly matches for a U21 player to switch after 21. There's no limit to friendlies. 

Samuel Nlend played five friendlies for Cameroon and was still able to switch to C.A.R internationally this year at age 27. 

Rubio Rubin played eight friendlies for the USA and was able to switch to Guatemala 

Edited September 19, 2022 by rydermike

[PopePouri]

1 hour ago, SpecialK said:

I get what your saying. The issue is our  CB depth is all over the place. After 2022 Vitoria and Henry are most likely gone. So that leaves Miller, Kennedy, MacNaughton, Waterman ? 
 

my issue is if MLS is the highest level of CB’s we can get. We are in trouble. 

Why is Henry gone? Isn't he like 28?

Also in trouble with what? In comparison with USA? Zimmerman and Robinson are considered their top CB pair.

We should be fine with Miller, Kennedy, Cornelius, MacNaughton, Henry and Waterman going to 2023. Compared to 2020 when we had Henry, Vitoria, Cornelius, and then a chasm.

[MauditYvon]

Henry is 29, but no one in MLS or similar leagues want him. Playing time or playing level will (is) become a huge concern.

Also, Vitoria might go until the Gold Cup.

Vitoria, Miller, Kennedy, Cornelius and Waterman for WC and GC is good enough. We’ll see for 2025 if he is better than Smith, Yao, Campagna, etc.

Edited September 19, 2022 by MauditYvon

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

20 minutes ago, rydermike said:

A friendly doesn't start a 3 year wait. Playing an official (non WC/continental finals phase match) for a U21 player starts a three year wait. Akinola played a friendly for the Americans then switched to Canada a couple months later. It's 3 official non-friendly matches for a U21 player to switch after 21. There's no limit to friendlies. 

Samuel Nlend played five friendlies for Cameroon and was still able to switch to C.A.R internationally this year at age 27. 

Rubio Rubin played eight friendlies for the USA and was able to switch to Guatemala 

What is your reading of these:

"iv) was fielded in no more than three matches at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or non-official competition:

v) at least three years have passed since being fielded for his last match at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or nonofficial competition; and"

Remember these are changes introduced at the end of 2020 and things are grandfathered from my understanding.

 

[rydermike]

3 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

What is your reading of these:

"iv) was fielded in no more than three matches at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or non-official competition:

v) at least three years have passed since being fielded for his last match at “A” international level in any kind of football for his current association, whether in an official competition or nonofficial competition; and"

Remember these are changes introduced at the end of 2020 and things are grandfathered from my understanding.

 

That's irrelevant because that's for Articla 9 Paragraph 2 Scenario C. The subsections are not 'or's, they are' and's. So iv) and v) are applicable only if i) happens which it did not., since he has never appeared in official competition at any level. The Article 9 is only about players who played at some point in official competition at any level (see Article 9 #55). Habouni never has. A friendly is not an official competition per Article 5 #20.

These are the scenarios in Article 9

Scenario A - played official at any non A level (ie. they played Under-XX national level), just needs the nationality and can switch - not applicable in this situation

Scenario B - played official at non A level and did not hold nationality - not applicable

Scenario C - played in at least one senior official competititon (non-friendly). Requires being under 21 and playing less than 3 total official or unoffficial matches. -not applicable, it's not an official competition match 

Scenario D and E are also not applicable as they're about new countries/losing citizenship

 

Per Article 9 #59. This is what is applicable. Halbouni has never played in official competition at any level.

"A request for change of association is only necessary if the player is already tied to a “sporting nationality” associated with an MA as per article 5 paragraph 3. Consequently, a player who is eligible to participate for multiple MAs on the basis of article 5 (where applicable, read together with article 6 or 7) does not require a change of association decision if they have only been fielded by an MA in a match in a non-official competition."

 

Since it's only a friendly, I don't even think he requires a one-time switch based on that wording. He can just switch. Switches are required after an official competition, which he has never participated in to date and is not what that friendly will be

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/ccab990abf45fcf6/original/ro8mje8vw98yp3rvfbmi-pdf.pdf

Edited September 20, 2022 by rydermike

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

8 hours ago, rydermike said:

That's irrelevant because that's for Articla 9 Paragraph 2 Scenario C. The subsections are not 'or's, they are' and's. So iv) and v) are applicable only if i) happens which it did not., since he has never appeared in official competition at any level. The Article 9 is only about players who played at some point in official competition at any level (see Article 9 #55). Habouni never has. A friendly is not an official competition per Article 5 #20.

These are the scenarios in Article 9

Scenario A - played official at any non A level (ie. they played Under-XX national level), just needs the nationality and can switch - not applicable in this situation

Scenario B - played official at non A level and did not hold nationality - not applicable

Scenario C - played in at least one senior official competititon (non-friendly). Requires being under 21 and playing less than 3 total official or unoffficial matches. -not applicable, it's not an official competition match 

Scenario D and E are also not applicable as they're about new countries/losing citizenship

 

Per Article 9 #59. This is what is applicable. Halbouni has never played in official competition at any level.

"A request for change of association is only necessary if the player is already tied to a “sporting nationality” associated with an MA as per article 5 paragraph 3. Consequently, a player who is eligible to participate for multiple MAs on the basis of article 5 (where applicable, read together with article 6 or 7) does not require a change of association decision if they have only been fielded by an MA in a match in a non-official competition."

 

Since it's only a friendly, I don't even think he requires a one-time switch based on that wording. He can just switch. Switches are required after an official competition, which he has never participated in to date and is not what that friendly will be

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/ccab990abf45fcf6/original/ro8mje8vw98yp3rvfbmi-pdf.pdf

Cheers. Makes sense.  Every day is a school day.

[rydermike]

..

Edited September 20, 2022 by rydermike

[Snowcrash]

19 hours ago, rydermike said:

That's irrelevant because that's for Articla 9 Paragraph 2 Scenario C. The subsections are not 'or's, they are' and's. So iv) and v) are applicable only if i) happens which it did not., since he has never appeared in official competition at any level. The Article 9 is only about players who played at some point in official competition at any level (see Article 9 #55). Habouni never has. A friendly is not an official competition per Article 5 #20.

These are the scenarios in Article 9

Scenario A - played official at any non A level (ie. they played Under-XX national level), just needs the nationality and can switch - not applicable in this situation

Scenario B - played official at non A level and did not hold nationality - not applicable

Scenario C - played in at least one senior official competititon (non-friendly). Requires being under 21 and playing less than 3 total official or unoffficial matches. -not applicable, it's not an official competition match 

Scenario D and E are also not applicable as they're about new countries/losing citizenship

 

Per Article 9 #59. This is what is applicable. Halbouni has never played in official competition at any level.

"A request for change of association is only necessary if the player is already tied to a “sporting nationality” associated with an MA as per article 5 paragraph 3. Consequently, a player who is eligible to participate for multiple MAs on the basis of article 5 (where applicable, read together with article 6 or 7) does not require a change of association decision if they have only been fielded by an MA in a match in a non-official competition."

 

Since it's only a friendly, I don't even think he requires a one-time switch based on that wording. He can just switch. Switches are required after an official competition, which he has never participated in to date and is not what that friendly will be

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/ccab990abf45fcf6/original/ro8mje8vw98yp3rvfbmi-pdf.pdf

Thanks for taking the time to look into this.  It sure put a quick end to all the speculative posts in this thread.

[rydermike]

According to his wikipedia page, he played for Syria in their friendly today