Pierre Issa

Pierre Sanharib Issa (born 11 September 1975) is a South African former professional soccer player who played as a defender. He is the current sporting director of the Greek side Olympiacos. Born in South Africa, Issa is of Lebanese descent and was naturalised as a French citizen at the end of the 1990s.

Pierre Issa
Personal information
Full name Pierre Sanharib Issa
Date of birth (1975-09-11) 11 September 1975
Place of birth Germiston, South Africa
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Dunkerque 28 (2)
1995–2001 Marseille 47 (0)
2001 → Chelsea (loan) 0 (0)
2001–2002 Watford 15 (1)
2002–2004 Olympic Beirut 49 (6)
2005 Ionikos 15 (1)
2005–2009 OFI 69 (5)
Total 223 (15)
International career
1997–2006 South Africa 47 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Pierre Issa was born in Germiston, South Africa, in a family of Lebanese Christians. His maternal grandfather was Lebanese consul in Johannesburg. Pierre Issa joined France at 11 years old.[1] He began playing for French semi-professional side Dunkerque.

He started his professional career with Marseille in 1995 and went on to play in the 1999 UEFA Cup Final. He became a naturalised French citizen shortly after his arrival in Marseille.[1]

He moved to Chelsea on loan in January 2001, although he did not play a competitive game for the London club.

He is best known in England for his spell with Watford in 2001–02. Signed by new manager Gianluca Vialli from Marseille, Issa scored once, against Portsmouth.[2] Issa was memorably dropped by his stretcher bearers after an injury in a home game against Birmingham City,[3] and was put on the club's transfer list on 14 February 2002, only five months after he had signed for the club.[4] He never played for Watford again, but played for his country at 2002 FIFA World Cup whilst still contracted to Watford.[5][6]

After leaving Watford, Issa signed for Olympic Beirut and won both Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese FA Cup in his first season with the club, but was released in the 2004–05 season as the club's ownership was changed due to financial considerations.

He signed for Ionikos of Greece and later for OFI Crete, also in Greece, where he stayed until 2009.[7]

International career

Issa played 47 times for South Africa since making his debut on 15 November 1997 against Germany, having also captained his country.[4]

In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, during the opening match, he scored two own goals against France.[8][9] Issa was also selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad.

Honours

Olympic Beirut

Individual

References
  1. "Une saison àl'OM. Pierre Issa, un amour de BafanaLibanais d'origine, né en Afrique du Sud"" et fier d'être marseillais".
  2. "Watford 3–0 Portsmouth". BBC. 24 November 2001. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  3. "Watford 3–3 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 26 September 2001. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  4. "South Africa: Pierre Issa". BBC Sport. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  5. "Paraguay – South Africa". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  6. "Issa exits Watford". BBC Sport. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  7. "Pierre Issa". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  8. 1998 FIFA World Cup – South Africa Squad
  9. "Profile: Pierre Issa of South Africa". BBC Sport. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  10. مهرجان كرة المنار. Shoot (in Arabic) (498 ed.). 4 July 2003. p. 16.
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