Afghan footballer
Zohib Islam Amiri (; born 15 February 1990) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Afghanistan Champions League club Abu Muslim FC and the Afghanistan national team.
Early life.
Amiri was born on 15 February 1990 to an ethnic Hazara family in Kabul, with his family originally hailing from Bamyan. Growing up he played football often on the streets of Char Qala in eastern Kabul, using a homemade ball made of rolled up fabric stitched together. During the Taliban rule he often witnessed executions at the national stadium.
After rising tensions in Kabul, Amiri's family moved to Karachi in Pakistan as refugees, where he eventually joined an amateur team at the age of twelve at the Agha Khan Sports Academy, along with his elder brothers, as a striker. After Hamid Karzai took over as president of Afghanistan, his family returned to Afghanistan in March 2005 for a cousin's wedding, joining a local club named Shoa FC.
Club career.
Early career.
Amiri started his career with Shoa F.C in 2005. In 2007, he played for Kabul Bank F.C.
Mumbai FC.
Amiri joined Mumbai FC in 2011, and quickly became one of the star players at the club. Following his impressive performances during the 2012–13 I-League he received the award for the fan's players on the season. Despite reviving this prestigious award his contract with Mumbai FC was not renewed and Amiri began thinking of moving to Bahrain or Oman to play club football, but ultimately decided to stay in India.
Dempo SC.
On 11 January, Amiri along with Tolgay Özbey signed for Indian club Dempo on a one-year contract, and received shirt number 18. He made his debut against Rangdajied United and scored. On 7 April he was involved in an ugly brawl in a match between Dempo SC and his former club Mumbai FC.
On 30 May both Amiri and Özbey signed extensions with Dempo.
On 4 April 2015, he scored two goals, including one only one minute from time to salvage a 2–2 draw with Sporting Goa.
DSK Shivajians.
In January 2016, Amiri announced signing a contract with Indian football club DSK Shivajians. He finished the season with DSK Shivajians last but did not relegate with his team because other clubs withdraw from the league.
Chennai City.
In January 2017, Amiri joined Chennai City FC in the Indian I-League. He left after disagreement with the coach.
Blainville.
In 2019, he briefly played with A.S. Blainville in the Canadian Première ligue de soccer du Québec, playing in cup matches, earning a red card in one.
Gokulam Kerala.
On 2 November 2019, it was announced that Amiri joined Gokulam Kerala for 2019 i league.
Return to Blainville.
Amiri also played with Blainville in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Real Kashmir.
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"I have had offers from the middle east, and also parts of Asia. But I never wanted to come out of my comfort zone. I have already settled down in India, and whichever city I play in, I cherish it. Going to another country will require myself to devote time to learn the language, culture, adapt to the food and a lot of other stuff – there will always be new challenges.
I am aware of the Indian culture, celebrate Indian festivals, love the food, speak the same language, watch the movies, hang around with my Indian friends, and am extremely proud of having been in India. I am welcomed everywhere and have been lucky to have made good buddies over the years."
In 2021, ahead of the 2021–22 I-League season, Amiri joined Real Kashmir. He also appeared with the club in 2021 IFA Shield.
International career.
Amiri made his debut in the 2005 SAFF Gold Cup against Maldives. He was part of the Afghanistan squad for the 2011 SAFF Championship, where they reached the final for the first time. Wearing number 3 he contributed many memorable performances, including scoring one of the goals in Afghanistan's biggest ever victory over Bhutan
Two years later Amiri served as captain for Afghanistan at the 2013 SAFF Championship, and was the rock of which the Afghan defense was built on. He scored goals in a 3–0 win over Bhutan and a 3–1 win over Sri Lanka. He played a crucial role as Afghanistan made it to the final for a second consecutive time an achieved a 2–0 victory against India.
In May 2014 Amiri captained the squad to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup in the Maldives. On 22 May he scored the first goal of the game with a bullet header in Afghanistan's 3–1 victory over Turkmenistan at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. This was also Afghanistan's first every victory at the AFC Challenge Cup in eight attempts. After Afghanistan's 0–0 draw with Laos that confirmed their progression out of the group stage, an accident occurred while the Afghan players were being driven back to their hotel. Amiri suffered minor injuries, along with Faisal Sakhizada, Ahmad Hatifi, Balal Arezou, and Mustafa Azadzoy, the latter of which will have to take three weeks off to recover. All five players are set to miss the semi-finals against Palestine. Former coach Mohammad Yousef Kargar and current coach Erich Rutemöller also suffered minor injuries.
"Scores and results list Afghanistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Amiri goal."
Honours.
Afghanistan
Real Kashmir
References.
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