Soony Saad

Hassan Ali "Soony" Saad (/ˈsuːni ˈsɑːd/ SOO-nee SAHD;[4] Arabic: حسن علي "سوني" سعد, [ˈħasan ˈʕali ˈsoːni ˈsaʕad]; born August 17, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Saad returned to Sporting KC in 2017, and was sent on loan to their affiliate club Swope Park Rangers, before joining Indy Eleven in 2018.

He then moved back to Asia, playing for Ansar in Lebanon, Ansan Greeners in South Korea, Al-Wehdat in Jordan, PT Prachuap in Thailand, and Penang in Malaysia.

[6] Soony's father, Ali,[7] emigrated from Lebanon to the United States in the 1980s to escape the Lebanese Civil War,[8] and met his future wife Kristene at the University of Michigan–Dearborn.

[15] In summer 2009, Saad returned to the Derby County Wolves,[15] and moved back to Dearborn High School for his senior year.

[21] However, he was unable to secure a move to a club in Europe; Saad returned to the United States and trained with the NSC Minnesota Stars of the North American Soccer League.

[22] On July 5, 2011, he was allocated to Sporting Kansas City through a weighted lottery that was used to distribute players who signed with the league after the MLS SuperDraft.

[4] Saad also netted two more goals for Sporting KC in MLS Reserve League games against the Colorado Rapids[24] and FC Dallas,[25] and scored once in a friendly against Guadalajara on October 12, 2011.

[4] He took part in Sporting's first-ever CONCACAF Champions League match on August 8, 2013; Saad played as a starter against Real Estelí of Nicaragua in the group stage in a 2–0 win.

[4] Despite not being a regular starter during the 2014 MLS season, Saad played 22 games and scored three times,[31] and helped Kansas City reach the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.

[33] Following the end of his contract with Sporting Kansas City, Saad signed with Thai club BEC Tero Sasana in October 2014, ahead of the 2015 season.

[34] He cited his goal scored with the Lebanon national team against Thailand the same year in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers as the reason for the club's interest in him.

[11] After recovering from his injury, on March 2, 2016, Saad scored a penalty in a 1–0 preseason friendly win for BEC Tero Sasana against Samut Sakhon.

[38] After being sent on loan to Swope Park Rangers, a USL Championship club affiliated with Sporting KC, Saad was waived during the 2018 preseason.

[39] On February 21, 2018, Saad joined fellow USL Championship side Indy Eleven,[40] where he scored five league goals in 29 appearances.

[46] On May 10, Saad scored in the quarter-finals of the Lebanese FA Cup, helping his side defeat Nejmeh in the Beirut derby.

[49] Saad's only goals of the 2019–20 season came on August 18, 2019, when he scored his only brace for Ansar in a 5–0 win over Chabab Ghazieh in the 2019 Lebanese Elite Cup semi-final.

[50] Saad was released by Ansar in March 2020 due to financial disagreements with the club,[51] in the midst of the Lebanese liquidity crisis.

[55] On March 27, 2021, Saad joined Al-Wehdat in the Jordanian Pro League on a one-year contract,[56] reuniting with fellow Lebanese player Ahmad Zreik and former Ansar coach Abdullah Abu Zema.

[57] On April 14, Saad made his AFC Champions League debut against Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, drawing 0–0.

[71] In January 2008, Saad was called up to represent the United States internationally at the under-14 level; he played in unofficial friendlies against clubs from Mexico as part of a training camp in Guadalajara, scoring once against Jalisco U14.

[74][75][76] He also played in exhibition tours against club sides in the United States and France,[77] most notably scoring against Paris Saint-Germain's under-18s.

[6] Due to the hostile relations between North Korea and the United States, Saad handed his American passport to the team manager and held on to his Lebanese one.

[90] Saad started out as a striker in his youth career, and was moved out to the left wing when he transitioned to professional football at Sporting Kansas City.

Saad with Ansar in 2019
Saad ( right ) celebrating with teammate Nader Matar ( left ) after scoring for Lebanon against Iran in 2021