Adam Mohamad El-Abd (Arabic: آدم العبد; born 11 September 1984) is a retired professional footballer who plays as a defender. El-Abd made over 500 first team appearances in his professional career and also played for the Egypt national team.

Adam El-Abd
Adam El-Abd with Whitehawk in 2020.
Personal information
Full name Adam Mohamad El-Abd[1]
Date of birth (1984-09-11) 11 September 1984 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Brighton, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1994–2003 Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2014 Brighton & Hove Albion 300 (5)
2003Bognor Regis Town (loan) 2 (0)
2014–2016 Bristol City 16 (0)
2014–2015Bury (loan) 24 (1)
2015–2016Swindon Town (loan) 13 (0)
2016Gillingham (loan) 8 (0)
2016–2017 Shrewsbury Town 28 (2)
2017–2019 Wycombe Wanderers 72 (4)
2019–2020 Stevenage 2 (0)
2020–2022 Whitehawk 36 (0)
2022 Worthing 0 (0)
Total 501 (12)
International career
2012–2013 Egypt 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13.35, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

Early and personal life edit

Born in Brighton, East Sussex,[1] to an Egyptian father and a British mother, El-Abd holds dual-nationality. His older brother Joe played professional rugby union and is a coach at Castres Olympique.[3] His younger brother Sami was an apprentice at Brighton, before moving into non-League football with Crawley Town, Hayes & Yeading United, Whitehawk, Bognor Regis Town, Dorking Wanderers and Horsham.

Club career edit

Brighton & Hove Albion edit

El-Abd joined Brighton & Hove Albion's youth department when he was nine and was granted a scholarship there at 16. He signed his first professional contract of two-and-a-half years at the age of 19. He made his full league début for the club in the 2–1 win at Notts County in November 2003. He was then a regular in the first team squad, playing either in defence at right-back or centre-half, or in a more defensive midfield role.[4]

During the game at Huddersfield Town on 18 March 2008, El-Abd was stretchered off with medial collateral ligament damage and ruled out for the remainder of the season.[5]

In June 2008, El-Abd signed a new two-year deal with Brighton.[6] He won the Seagulls Player of the Season award for their League One winning 2010–11 campaign.[4]

El-Abd hit the milestone of 250 league appearances for Brighton on 7 March 2012, named Man of the Match in a 2–2 draw with Cardiff City. El-Abd made his 300th and final league appearance for the Seagulls coming on as a 90th-minute substitute against Birmingham City on 11 January 2014.

Bristol City edit

On 16 January 2014, El-Abd transferred to League One club Bristol City for an undisclosed fee.[7] Rarely used at Bristol City, he spent time out on loan at Bury,[8] Swindon Town,[9] and Gillingham.[10]

Shrewsbury Town edit

After his contract at Bristol City expired, he moved to League One club Shrewsbury Town on a free transfer in July 2016, signing a two-year contract,[11] where he immediately became captain in place of the departed Nathaniel Knight-Percival.[12] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home victory against Chesterfield on 20 August,[13] but was sent off in a 2–1 defeat at former club Bury three weeks later.[14] After the departure of Shrewsbury manager Micky Mellon, El Abd scored a "30 yard half-volley" in a 1–1 draw away at Southend United on 29 October, to hand new boss Paul Hurst a point in his first match in charge.[15]

El-Abd left the club at the end of June 2017 after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[16]

Wycombe Wanderers edit

On 3 July 2017, El-Abd signed a two-year contract with League Two side Wycombe Wanderers.[17] In May 2018 he extended his contract for a further year, to the end of the 2019–20 season.[18] El-Abd left Wycombe on 2 September 2019 by mutual consent.[19]

Stevenage edit

He signed for Stevenage on 6 September 2019,[20] but was released by the Hertfordshire side at the end of the 2019–20 season having made just 4 appearances in all competitions.[21]

Whitehawk edit

El-Abd joined Whitehawk on 5 August 2020, firstly as player-assistant manager,[22] then as a player and assistant U18 coach for the 2021–22 season,[23] before leaving at the end of the season.[24]

Worthing edit

On 8 June 2022, El-Abd joined newly promoted National League South club Worthing, linking up with former Brighton teammate Adam Hinshelwood, now Worthing manager.[25]

International career edit

El-Abd stated in a 2005 interview with EgyptianPlayers.com that he intended to play for the Egyptian national side if he got the call.[26]

On 15 May 2012, and for the first time, Egypt national team coach Bob Bradley included El-Abd in the squad for friendly games against Cameroon, Togo, and Senegal, and also against Mozambique in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier.[27]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 11 February 2020
Club Season League League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Brighton & Hove Albion 2003–04[28] Division Two 11 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 13 0
2004–05[29] Championship 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
2005–06[30] Championship 29 0 1 0 1 0 31 0
2006–07[31] League One 42 0 2 0 1 1 4[a] 0 49 2
2007–08[32] League One 35 1 4 1 1 0 3[a] 0 43 2
2008–09[33] League One 31 0 2 0 2 0 5[a] 0 40 0
2009–10[34] League One 35 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 39 1
2010–11[33] League One 37 1 2 0 1 0 1[a] 0 41 1
2011–12[34] Championship 23 0 2 0 0 0 25 0
2012–13[35] Championship 32 1 2 0 0 0 34 1
2013–14[36] Championship 9 0 1 0 1 0 11 0
Total 300 5 19 1 8 1 15 0 342 7
Bristol City 2013–14[36] League One 14 0 14 0
2014–15[37] League One 2 0 1 0 1 0 2[a] 0 6 0
2015–16[38] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 16 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 20 0
Bury (loan) 2014–15[37] League Two 24 1 24 1
Swindon Town (loan) 2015–16[38] League One 13 0 1 0 0 0 14 0
Gillingham (loan) 2015–16[38] League One 8 0 8 0
Shrewsbury Town 2016–17[39] League One 28 2 3 0 2 0 1[a] 0 34 2
Wycombe Wanderers 2017–18[40] League Two 36 1 3 0 1 0 3[a] 0 43 1
2018–19[41] League One 34 3 1 0 1 0 1[a] 0 43 1
2019–20[42] League One 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 72 4 4 0 2 0 4 0 82 4
Stevenage 2019–20[42] League Two 2 0 1 0 1[a] 0 4 0
Career total 463 12 29 1 13 1 23 0 528 14

Footnotes

a. ^ appearances in the Football League Trophy.

Bognor Regis Town statistics unavailable

Honours edit

Brighton & Hove Albion

Individual

  • Brighton & Hove Albion Player of the Season: 2010–11[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ^ "Adam El-Abd : Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  3. ^ "French fairytale as El-Abd wins title the hard way". The Argus. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "500 Not Out: Congratulations Adam".
  5. ^ "Seagulls swoop for Racon". football.co.uk. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  6. ^ "El-Abd Signs New Deal". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  7. ^ "El-Abd leaves Albion". The Argus. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Bury: Adam El-Abd and Robert Milsom join on loan". BBC Sport. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Swindon Town: Adam El-Abd joins on loan from Bristol City". BBC Sport. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Adam El-Abd: Gillingham sign Bristol City defender on loan". BBC Sport. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Adam El-Abd: Shrewsbury Town sign former Brighton and Bristol City defender". BBC Sport. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ^ "New Captain revealed". Shrewsweb. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Shrewsbury Town 2–1 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Sending off came at the right time, says boss David Flitcroft, as spirited Bury battle back to win". Bury Times. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Southend United 1 Shrewsbury Town 1 – Report and pictures". Shropshire Star. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Club captain Adam El-Abd departs Shrewsbury Town". Shropshire Star. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  17. ^ "First summer signing revealed!". Wycombe Wanderers Official Site. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Skipper extends deal until 2020". Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Adam El-Abd leaves the club". Wycombe Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Adam El-Abd joins Stevenage". Stevenage Official Site. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Stevenage 2020/21 Retained & Released List". www.stevenagefc.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Ex-Albion legend joins Hawks as assistant-manager".
  23. ^ Whitehawk v Cray Valley PM, official match day programme, 11 December 2021
  24. ^ "Player Update – 2022/23 Season".
  25. ^ "El-Adb latest Rebel". worthingfc.com. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  26. ^ "El-Abd Walks Like an Egyptian!" Archived 13 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine: an interview at the EgyptianPlayers.com website. Retrieved on 4 March 2008.
  27. ^ "Brighton's Adam El-Abd included in Egypt's squad" Archived 4 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 15 May 2012.
  28. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  29. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  30. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  31. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  32. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  33. ^ a b "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  34. ^ a b "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  35. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  36. ^ a b "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  37. ^ a b "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  38. ^ a b c "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  39. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  40. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  41. ^ "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  42. ^ a b "Games played by Adam El-Abd in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  43. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2011). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2011–2012. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 39, 104–105. ISBN 978-0-7553-6231-8.

External links edit