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In this ongoing series we profile a Palestine national team player who has not been called up in over two years and explore the reasons for and against his return to the national team.
I know what you are thinking. What a blast from the past. A player with only four substitute appearances (all off the bench), now over 30 years of age, currently plying his trade in the Swedish third tier? How can one lobby for his inclusion?
Well, the reality is that Palestine is suffering from a dearth of attacking midfielders and should something happen to Mahmoud Abu Warda they would be left in the lurch.
The situation is so bad that Jonathan Cantillana, who has not kicked a ball in over six months, has been recalled.
Awad last played for Al-Fida’i in March 2018 in a lackluster 0-0 draw against Bahrain
The Case for Ahmed Awad
There is not a single player who has done so much with so little. Awad’s four appearances do not even add up to a full 90 minutes of play. There was a debut goal for the former Dalkurd playmaker against Timor Leste in Hebron back in March 2016.
The highlights of that game tell a story of a young man that perhaps should have had a longer spell with the national team. In just under half an hour of work. Awad showcased his passing and movement and the goal was perhaps the nicest of the seven strikes Palestine put past their opponents that afternoon.
Awad’s next appearance was a ten minute cameo against Lebanon which had its bright spots as Palestine won a last minute penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw.
The penultimate appearance for Awad was perhaps his most impressive and a turning point in the national team’s history. Awad and Wadi laid siege to the goal of Maldives from the 65th minute onwards. Inexplicably, neither could find the back of the net. If Wadi scored on his debut, the narrative would be different and there would be far less pressure on him- which has only mounted as he searches tirelessly to open his account.
If Awad’s introduction resulted in the four goals it merited there would have been an extended credit line. Instead, the player was shunned by Noureddine Ould Ali and subsequently forgotten by Makram Daboub.
It has of course been a completely different story for the Tiberias native at club level. Eight goals and six assists in 24 Superettan appearances for Dalkurd in 2017 resulted in promotion to the Allsvenskan. The following year saw more competition for playing time but Awad fought for his position and had a more than respectable debut in the top flight scoring thrice and providing four assists in 22 appearances (12 starts). It was not enough to save the team from the drop but 2019 saw the player back to his old self with nine goals and an assist in the campaign.
He was the 2019-20 top scorer of the Svenska Cupen and made a return, in a reduced role, to the Allsvenskan with Ostersunds. Awad did not do much in the subsequent two seasons- only a goal and an assist in limited play- but his decision to drop down a division has paid dividends.
Awad notched seven goals and two assists and was the best player on a team that had only just been promoted to the third tier. His goal involvements accounted for 15 of the 35 points the team collected en route to an eighth placed finish.
The Case against Ahmed Awad
Awad is on the wrong side of 30. So the question is whether or not his spot might be better utilized by a younger player especially if he will only be used off the bench.
The knock against the player is that he rarely shows his skill in training sessions. He is, by all measures, a gamer. Jaka Ihbeisheh once went so far to say that Awad was the most talented player he played with in the national team.
Even if Awad is to be called up his main obstacle will be to state his case in training sessions. It is hard to blame the coaching staff for not selecting if he does not inspire confidence in training.
Verdict: Awad merits a call up only in the context of who else has been called up. Jonathan Cantillana was on vacation for over a year while waiting for the Indonesian league to resume and only played 610 minutes last year and is currently without a club.
In a vacuum, Awad faces an uphill climb to rejoin the national team but before Cantillana gets another call up Awad (and others) should get a chance to state his case.
