Player Profile: Muhammad Al-Shalhoub

“Known as ‘Baby Maradona’”; “greatest drawback is his lightweight”

Name: Muhammad Al-Shalhoub

Age: 25

Position: Central Mid-fielder

Club: Al-Hilal

The baby-faced winger can prove tricky down the left side as he showed with some memorable performances in the Asian Cup.

The Al-Hilal player was the shortest player at the World Cup 2002 and might also be one this coming World Cup 2006.

Known as ‘Baby Maradona’, the tricky but erratic winger will be playing in his second World Cup. He prefers to stay on the left flank and is brilliant and frustrating in equal measure. Al Shlhoub, who shot onto the international scene at the age of 19 with a hat-trick against Uzbekistan at the 2000 Asian Cup, is likely to again be one of the shortest players at the World Cup finals, and it is his lightweight frame that is the greatest drawback to his otherwise lively game – source

With far more skills than just being a mid-fielder, he can score from free kicks, kick balls from corner kicks, tip the ball between the players’ feet, and so many other moves. With his lightweight, stronger team like Portugal give him no opportunity to enjoy football as much as possible with open and less strenght team. Tough players can easily steal the ball from him.