Introduction
Fajr Ibrahim (Arabic: فجر إبراهيم) is a Syrian football coach and former footballer.
Club career
Fajr started playing in the Syrian League with Al-Wahda team in 1979. He remained with the club until he retired from the playing. He won the Syrian Cup in 1993 with Al-Wahda team and won the title of best left back in 1986 season.
International career
Fajr played several international matches with Syria for five years from 1982 until 1987.
Coaching career
He managed the Syrian first team more than 50 matches between 2006 and 2019, however, he didn't achieve great things with the team. Lately, he did an emergency mission and replaced the German manager Bernd Stange in the last match for the team in 2019 Asian Cup against Australia. Many pundits referred that he had the UAE visa since the middle of December, so he could be ready to replace the manager if the things went wrong.
Widely unpopular with the fans and criticized by the media, Ibrahim is often considered as one of the reasons for the Syria national team's poor results after their 2019 Asian Cup exit, citing his lack of achievements, and lack of vision, as some of his weakest traits. However, he has repeatedly and openly refused to resign and has been kept as manager by the Syrian Federation, despite losing to many lesser-ranked and weaker teams, much to the bewilderment of both fans and journalists.
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 19 November 2019
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Syria | 5 August 2006 | 26 March 2008 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 054.17 | |
| Syria | 13 November 2008 | 13 September 2010 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 062.50 | |
| Al-Shorta | 28 August 2011 | 10 April 2012 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 075.00 | |
| Duhok | 1 February 2013 | 4 December 2013 | 32 | 15 | 8 | 9 | 046.88 | |
| Syria | 7 January 2015 | 30 March 2016 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 076.92 | |
| Al-Minaa | 8 September 2017 | 21 January 2018 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 020.00 | |
| Kelantan | 21 March 2018 | 5 June 2018 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 016.67 | |
| Syria | 11 January 2019 | 31 December 2019 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 038.89 | |
| Total | 139 | 73 | 32 | 34 | 052.52 | |||
Honours
Player
Club
- Syrian Cup
- Winner 1993 with Al-Wahda
- Syrian Super Cup
- Winner 1993 with Al-Wahda
Manager
Club
- Syrian Premier League:
- Winner 2011–12 with Al-Shorta
International
- Syria
- Nehru Cup (2): 2007 and 2009 as a runner-up
Individual
- 1985–86 Syrian League: Best Left Back of the season