Almost two months ago, on August 25th (local time), a landmark record was set in the history of Asian club soccer. For the second time in the 21st century, a record of ‘250 points for a single club’ was created. Although it was a great record, it did not receive much attention. It was buried as if it was nothing. I didn’t even have time to feel what the light in the world was like.
It was a clear glimpse into the importance of Asian soccer in the world. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) advanced three countries (Korea, Japan, and Australia) to the round of 16. Although the growth was noticeable, the level of attention does not seem to have increased proportionately.
Of course, we cannot ignore the fact that world-class goal scorers such as Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr), Neymar (Al Hilal), and Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad) have moved to the Saudi Arabian Professional League one after another, attracting the attention of soccer fans around the world. There is no However, it is also true that the level of attention has not increased as much due to the view that all of these have passed their heyday and are showing signs of aging, disparaging their meaning.
This great record, which was almost extinguished because no one paid attention, was given the opportunity to revive the flame again. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) belatedly reexamined the meaning of the record on the 21st, and it came to see the light of day, albeit belatedly. In the top news titled ‘Ali Mabkhout·250 goals for Al Jazira!’, IFFHS said, “United Arab Emirates (UAE) striker Ali Mabkhout scores 250 goals for Al Jazira!” “We set a goal milestone,” he said. In addition, IFFHS announced the updated rankings, saying, “Mabkut has become the 11th player in the world to set a 21st century single club record of 250 points” (see table).굿모닝토토 도메인
The stage where Mabkut enjoyed the glory of setting a record was the UAE Pro League. It was a home game against Al Wahda (1-2 loss) in the second round of the 2023-2024 season held at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on August 25th. Mabkut scored the equalizer (1-1) with a penalty kick in the 12th minute of the second half.
With this, Mabkut, who started his professional career at Al Jazeera, enjoyed the thrill of scoring 250 goals in just one home. Mab Kut, who made his debut in the 2008-2009 season, scored his first goal of 2009. Mabkut, who played in only one game (League Cup match against Baniyas SC, 2-2 draw) out of the five games (3 in the league, 2 in the League Cup) that took place after the Al Wahda match, was unable to add any more goals.
In Asia, this is the second record of 250 goals for a single club. Kuwait Premier League Al Qadisiya SC’s Bader Al Mutawa (5th) has the honor of being the first protagonist. Al Mutawa, who has always been passionate about Al Qadi Siyya, has scored 293 goals since scoring his first goal in 2003.
Of the 11 record holders, Mabkut and Al Mutawa are the only two whose field of activity is in non-European leagues. Also, they are two of the three who are still on only one team. Another person is Joe Gormley (7th place, 265 goals, 2011-), who established himself at Cliftonville in the Northern Ireland Premiership (NIFL).
If you compare Mabkut with Lee Dong-gook, the ‘legend of the K League’, you can’t help but be impressed once again by the greatness of his record. Lee Dong-gook, who is unrivaled in terms of scoring records, including the most goals in the K League (228 goals), has scored 210 goals for a single club. This is a record he accumulated while playing for 12 seasons at Jeonbuk Hyundai (2009-2020), and it is a significant difference from Mabkut.
So who will reach the highest peak of this record? As most people guess, it is ‘GOAT (The Greatest Of All Time)’ Lionel Messi (36, Inter Miami CF). Messi scored 672 goals while playing for Barcelona, a prestigious club in Spain’s La Liga (2004-2021). He scored 474 goals in La Liga, 70 in the League Cup and 128 in international club competitions.
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Along with Messi, Ronaldo, who is called ‘the man of the new world’, is following in his footsteps. This is also a record achieved at Real Madrid, a famous La Liga team. He scored 450 goals, including 311 in La Liga, 26 in the League Cup, and 113 in international club competitions.
Harry Kane (30, Bayern Munich), who was loved by Korean fans when he played for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League (EPL), is ranked 6th. He scored a total of 280 goals for Tottenham, based on 213 goals in the EPL alone. This number of goals is also the highest score in Tottenham history.
Mabkut is the top scorer (5 goals) at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. He is a veteran goaltender with that much talent. Despite the tidal wave, he occasionally scores a goal and cries out that he is still alive. How far can Mabkut extend this record? At least, it is certain that he will surpass the now retired Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, 253 goals), who is ranked 10th right before him.
In order to raise the value of Asian soccer, we hope that Mabkut and Al Mutawa will be able to show off their rust-free goal scoring skills.