Haroon Yousaf

Haroon Yousaf

Personal information
Full name	Haroon Yousaf
Date of birth	(1973-11-10) 10 November 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth	Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Defender / Defensive midfielder
Youth career
	Allah-o-Akbar Club
	City FC
	Defence FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1991	Pakistan Railways	?	(?)
1991–1995	WAPDA	?	(?)
1995–2003	Allied Bank	?	(?)
	Afghan Chaman	?	(?)
2007–2013	PMC Athletico	?	(?)
International career
1992	Pakistan U20
1995–2002	Pakistan U23
1993–2003	Pakistan	51 [1]	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Haroon Yousaf (born 10 November 1973) is a Pakistani former footballer. ^[2] The versatile footballer played as a defender or midfielder. Haroon played 51 full internationals for Pakistan and scored 3 goals between 1992 and 2003. He has also played for the national U20 and U23 teams. ^{[3] [1]}

Club career

Early career

Yousaf played for Lahore clubs Allah-o-Akbar Club, City FC, and Defence FC in his youth. ^[1] He also played briefly for departmental sides PTCL and Pakistan International Airlines FC, but didn't last because of internal problems within the departments. ^[1]

Railways

In 1990, the Lifebuoy sponsored National Football Championship tournaments brought televised club games to Pakistan for the first time, sparking interest nationwide. Efforts led to a significant deal with the Pakistan Football Federation in 1992, but disagreements halted progress. Despite this setback, continuous tournaments across Pakistan, fostering talent that found opportunities in major departmental teams, which gave them job security. Following this, Yousaf started his career with departmental side Pakistan Railways FC in 1990. ^[1]

WAPDA

He transferred to departmental side WAPDA the following season and stayed there for five years. Yousaf won National League once with WAPDA in 1991. ^[1]

Allied Bank

In 1995, he moved to Allied Bank FC where he became captain in 1997. ^[1] He won thrice consecutive National League titles in 1997, ^[4] 1999 and 2000. ^{[5] [6]} He also won the National Football Challenge Cup four times with Allied Bank, winning in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002. ^[1]

He was offered a playing contract from the Indian football team Mahindra United, but the Pakistan Football Federation seemingly turned it down. ^[1]

Afghan Chaman

Yousaf also played a short while for Afghan Chaman where he is still highly praised as a solid player and leader. ^[7]

PMC Athletico Faisalabad

Yousaf became one of the founder members of PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad, remaining as captain of the team. ^{[8] [9]} In the 2010–11 Pakistan Premier League, he played a crucial role in surviving the relegation despite his age being more than 37 years old, after scoring last-minute penalty goal in a 2–1 victory against Baloch Nushki, allowing PMC Athletico the needful three points and to prevent the relegation. He also inspired the team from the brink of relegation by beating hosts Afghan FC Chaman by 1–0 in final game of the season. ^[3]

He last played in the 2012–13 Pakistan Premier League, until the club was eventually relegated. ^{[10] [11]}

International career

Yousaf got selected by the Pakistan under-19 national team for the 1992 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers in Kannur, India. ^{[1] [12]} He captained the national under-23 side for the 1996 Summer Olympics qualifiers. ^[1] He also captained the national under 23 team as three of the allowed overage players at the 2002 Asian Games. ^{[1] [13]}

He was from 1996 till 1999 vice-captain of the Pakistan national team after Qazi Ashfaq and since SAFF 1999 Championship which was held in Goa, he became the captain. ^[1] He remained the captain until his retirement from the national team in 2003. ^{[14] [15]}

He was declared man of the match in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Jordan when Pakistan lost 0-3 against Iraq but he was praised for his defending performance. ^[1]

Coaching career

In November 2009, Yousaf completed the AFC C Certificate football coaching course from Iranian coach Ardeshir Pournemat in Lahore.

In February 2011, he became the head coach of PMC Athletico Club Faisalabad under-13 football team for coming 13th National under-13 Festival of Football in Pakistan.

He was initially named as one of the assistant coaches of the Pakistan under-23 team for the 2019 South Asian Games under head coach Tariq Lutfi, ^[16] but the national side missed the event as the country’s entry was not confirmed by the organisers of the biennial spectacle due to late submission.

Personal life

Haroon has five brothers and seven sisters and he is the second oldest of his brothers. One of his brothers, Iqbal Yousaf played in Punjab Football as defender. ^[1] His favourite footballers are Diego Maradona and Roberto Baggio, and his then national teammates Qazi Ashfaq and Sharafat Ali. He cited Muhammad Aslam Japani as his favourite coach. ^[1] He got married in 1998 and has three daughters. ^[1]

He received the AFC Silver Star Award by the Pakistan Football Federation in 2013 for his contributions to the national team.

On 19 March 2021, it was announced that Haroon Yousuf has been named as member of the selection committee for national football team.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Haroon Yousaf

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	September 26, 1999	Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal	India	5–1	5–2	1999 South Asian Games
2	September 30, 1999		Bhutan	1–1	2–1
3				2–1

Honours

With WAPDA FC

• National Football Championship 1991

With Allied bank limited FC

• National Football Championship 1997(1), 1999, 2000

• Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002

See also

• List of Pakistan national football team captains

References

1. "Haroon Yousaf". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
2. "Haroon Yousaf (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com.
3. Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part III". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-01-24. The 1990s also saw the emergence of the indomitable defender Haroon Yousaf. The Mandi Bahauddin native would become a multiple national champion for WAPDA and ABL as well as captain of Pakistan national team in late 1990s until his retirement. Haroon played 51 full internationals for Pakistan and scored 3 goals between 1992 and 2003.
4. "Pakistan 1997". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
5. "Pakistan 1999". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
6. "Pakistan 2000". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
7. FPDC Interviews Haroon Yousaf, Captain PMC Athletico FC Faisalabad, 2011-01-01
8. "PEL go down fighting against Army in PPFL". DAWN.COM. 2009-10-14. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
9. "Nine-man Young Blood complete double over PMC Athletico". DAWN.COM. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
10. our.correspondent (2012-10-10). "Football: PMC Athletico register 1st win of season". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
11. our.correspondent (2012-10-02). "Football: Struggling PMC Athletico share spoils". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
12. "Asian U-19 Championship 1992". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
13. "Asian Games 2002". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
14. "Haroon to lead team". DAWN.COM. 2003-01-04. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
15. "Jaffar replaces Haroon as captain". DAWN.COM. 2003-11-26. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
16. "PSB awaits POA response to arrange football team's departure for SAG". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-03-10.

External links

• Haroon Yousaf - RSSSF
• Haroon Yousaf at National-Football-Teams.com
• Haroon Yousaf at Global Sports Archive