Rami Shaaban

Rami Shaaban

Personal information
Full name	Rami Shaaban
Date of birth	30 June 1975 (1975-06-30)
Place of birth	Fisksätra, Sweden
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Fisksätra IF
	Järla IF FK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1995	Saltsjöbadens IK	39	(0)
1995	Zamalek	4	(0)
1995–1996	Haras	5	(0)
1997–1999	Nacka FF	48	(0)
2000–2002	Djurgårdens IF	40	(0)
2001	→ Värtans IK (loan)	2	(0)
2002–2004	Arsenal	3	(0)
2004	→ West Ham United (loan)	0	(0)
2004–2005	Brighton & Hove Albion	6	(0)
2006–2008	Fredrikstad	43	(0)
2008–2012	Hammarby IF	26	(0)
Total		216	(0)
National team
2006–2008	Sweden	16	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Rami Shaaban (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈrɑːmɪ ˈʃaːban]; Arabic: رامي شعبان‎; born 30 June 1975 in Fisksätra, Stockholm) is a Swedish former professional football. He is the son of an Egyptian father and a Finnish mother. During his career he played for a number of teams in England, including Arsenal, and in Sweden. He was a Swedish national team member until 2008. He ended his playing career after the 2011 season.

Club career

Early career

Shaaban started his senior career at local club Saltsjöbadens IF before moving to Cairo to play for Zamalek and Ittihad Osman, while also studying at university. After a couple of years, Shaaban returned to his hometown and joined Nacka FF, a club based close to where he grew up. After a string of impressive performances, he was asked to join Swedish first division outfit Djurgården and, in August 2002, earned a move to Arsenal.

Arsenal

In August 2002, Shaaban joined Arsenal as a potential replacement for David Seaman. When Seaman was injured, Shaaban played in two matches in the UEFA Champions League at home against PSV Eindhoven and away against AS Roma, as well as in three matches in the Premier League. Unfortunately, Shaaban broke his leg during training on Christmas Eve 2002, ultimately sidelining himself for the rest of the season. Due to the severity of his injury, Shaaban feared he would not be able to play again, but after rigorous physical therapy Shaaban was able to resume playing. When Seaman left Arsenal in the summer of 2003 Arsène Wenger signed Jens Lehmann, who played every match that season as Arsenal went undefeated for the entire 2003–04 league season. Shaaban was plagued by injuries and failed to become Arsenal's first-choice keeper.

Other clubs

In January 2004, Shaaban was loaned to West Ham United for a month, but did not make any appearances for the Hammers. In February 2004, he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion on non-contract terms, making his debut in a 2–1 victory over Sunderland, and signed a short-term contract lasting until the end of the season days later. After his contract expired he was released on a free transfer and had a trial at Dundee United, playing his only match as United beat Sheffield Wednesday to win the City of Discovery Cup; however, Shaaban could not agree terms and was snapped up by Fredrikstad FK.

On 12 February 2008, Shaaban signed a five-year contract with Swedish team Hammarby IF.

International career

Shaaban was called up to the Sweden squad for the 2006 World Cup, although he did not have an international cap to his name. He made his debut in the warm up game with Finland as a substitute, coming on for 45 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw. On June 10, 2006, he played in the 2006 World Cup contest against Trinidad and Tobago. He also played four games in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, in which he kept a vital clean sheet against Spain national football team, and was also a member of the nation's final stage squad. Shaaban had a possibility to choose Finland as his national side, but decided to represent Sweden because at that time Finland had two strong national team goalkeepers in Antti Niemi and Jussi Jääskeläinen.

In 2007, he lost the position as 1st goalkeeper as Andreas Isaksson claimed it after joining Manchester City.

Honours

Club

Djurgårdens IF:

• Allsvenskan:

• Champion: 2002

• Svenska Cupen:

• Champion: 2002

Arsenal FC:

• Premier League:

• Champion: 2001-02, 2003-04
• Runners-up: 2002-03

• FA Cup:

• Champion: 2003-04

Fredrikstad FK:

• Norwegian Football Cup:

• Champion: 2006

Individual

• Swedish goalkeeper of the year: 2006, 2007

Personal life

Shaaban grew up in Solna, Stockholm with a Finnish mother and an Egyptian father. As a result, he has both Swedish and Egyptian citizenship. He was raised as a Muslim. In his late teens to early twenties, Shaaban lived in Cairo, where he played football and attended university. Prior to joining Arsenal, he also worked as a mountain explosives specialist.

Shaaban has one son, Gabriel, born 2002 to his ex-wife. Several years after his divorce, he began dating a makeup artist named Frida. Although they are not married, the two have a son Noah, born in August 2008. Shaaban made a move to Hammarby partly to be close to Gabriel. He currently lives in a large lake house with his son and wife.

Reporters often credit Shaaban for remaining down-to-earth. Shaaban claims he has friends ranging from sheet metal workers to footballers, such as Fredrik Ljungberg: Ljungberg and Shaaban remain close after becoming friends whilst at Arsenal. The two are often seen drinking coffee together.

Shaaban is known for his love of coffee; he is often seen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He once said, "I dare not keep count of how many cups I drink per day. But mom is actually even worse."

External links

• Rami Shaaban career stats at Soccerbase
• Hammarby IF bio
• National Football Teams
• 90minut.pl