George Felix Robert Michel Melki (Arabic: جورج فيليكس روبير ميشيل ملكي, Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [ʒorʒ feˈli(ː)ks ˈmelki, -ke]; born 23 July 1994), known as Felix Michel Melki,[note 1] is a professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Lebanese Premier League club Safa and the Lebanon national team.
 Michel Melki with Lebanon at the 2019 Asian Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | George Felix Robert Michel Melki[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Södertälje, Sweden[1] | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender, midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Safa | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2013 | Syrianska FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2016 | Syrianska FC | 21 | (1) |
| 2016–2018 | Eskişehirspor | 10 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | AFC Eskilstuna | 29 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | AIK | 16 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Sarpsborg 08 (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → AFC Eskilstuna (loan) | 23 | (2) |
| 2022 | AFC Eskilstuna | 13 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Ahed | 28 | (1) |
| 2024– | Safa | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018– | Lebanon | 33 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:52, 11 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024 | |||
After following his father's tracks playing at Syrianska for three years, Michel Melki moved to Turkish side Eskişehirspor in 2016. In 2018, he moved back to Sweden signing for AFC Eskilstuna and helped them gain promotion back to the Allsvenskan. In 2019 he transferred to Swedish champions AIK, who loaned him out to Sarpsborg 08 in Norway in 2021, before returning to AFC Eskilstuna the same year. In January 2023, Michel Melki moved to Lebanese side Ahed, and then joined Safa in summer 2024.
Born in Sweden, in 2018 Michel Melki opted to represent Lebanon at senior level, on account of having a Lebanese paternal grandfather. He played in all three group stage games for "the Cedars" at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup; he scored against North Korea and was named Man of the Match.
Club career
editSyrianska
editAt age seven Michel began his football career in the youth team of the Swedish side Syrianska FC, the club of the local Assyrian community.[3] Starting from 2013, he played in the first team and made some sporadic appearances in the league and domestic cup.[4] He only began to establish himself as a starter in the 2016 season, making 10 league appearances.[citation needed]
Eskişehirspor
editIn August 2016 he moved to the TFF First League side Eskişehirspor.[5] Michel played 10 league matches for the Turkish club.[3]
AFC Eskilstuna
editIn March 2018 Michel signed for Superettan side AFC Eskilstuna,[6] where he would be reunited with his brother Alexander.[citation needed] He made his debut on 24 April, as a 61st-minute substitute in a 2–0 win to Helsingborgs IF.[7] In his first season, he made 21 league appearances and one cup appearance; he helped his side gain promotion to the Allsvenskan through the play-offs.[7]
In the 2019 season, he started in 13 league and cup matches.[3] Michel Melki scored the decisive goal in a penalty shoot-out against AIK, in the semi-finals of the Svenska Cupen on 17 March.[7] He played the whole 90 minutes in the final, where they lost 3–0 to BK Häcken on 30 May.[7]
AIK
editOn 25 July 2019, Allsvenskan champions AIK announced the signing of Michel on a three-year deal.[3] He made his league debut on 27 July 2019 as an attacking midfielder, in a 2–0 away win against IK Sirius.[8] On 18 August 2019, Michel was placed as a striker against Kalmar, losing 2–1 at home.[9] With eight league appearances (three as a starter),[10] Michel helped his side reach fourth place in the 2019 Allsvenskan.[11]
In the 2020 season, Michel Melki played all three Svenska Cupen group stage games, helping his side qualify for the quarter-finals.[7] He played 11 games for AIK in 2020, six as a starter.[7] In 2021, Michel Melki played two Svenska Cupen games.[7]
Loan to Sarpsborg 08
editOn 10 May 2021, Michel Melki was loaned out to Norwegian Eliteserien side Sarpsborg 08 until 2 August.[12] He made his debut in the first match of the 2021 season on 16 May, as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 draw against Haugesund.[13] He ended his loan with only one appearance, and returned to AIK.[14]
AFC Eskilstuna
editMichel Melki returned to AFC Eskilstuna in the Superettan on 11 August 2021, joining them on loan until the end of the 2021 season.[15] He made his debut on 14 August, as a 76th-minute substitute in a 4–1 win against Norrby.[16] Michel Melki's first goal came on 22 August, scoring a backheel volley from a corner against GIF Sundsvall;[17] the game ended in a 3–1 defeat.[18]
Following the end of his loan period, AIK re-loaned Michel Melki to AFC Eskilstuna for a further six months on 11 January 2022, until the end of his contract with AIK.[7] On 10 July, he joined AFC Eskilstuna permanently on a contract valid until the end of the 2022 season.[19]
Lebanon
editOn 5 January 2023, Michel Melki joined Ahed ahead of the second round of the 2022–23 Lebanese Premier League.[20] He moved to Safa on 11 August 2024.[21]
International career
edit
In 2018, Michel Melki acquired a Lebanese citizenship due to his family's origins being from Lebanon, making him eligible for the Lebanon national team.[22] He made his international debut for Lebanon on 15 November 2018, playing the whole 90 minutes in a goalless draw against Uzbekistan.[23]
Michel Melki was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, alongside his brother Alexander, one month later.[2] On 17 January 2019, he scored the equaliser in an eventual 4–1 win against North Korea in the final group stage game, and was nominated Man of the Match for his performance.[24]
In December 2023, Michel Melki was initially included in the Lebanese squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.[25] However, he withdrew injured in January 2024 before the competition and was replaced by Khalil Khamis.[26]
Style of play
editA versatile defensive-minded player, Michel Melki can mainly be deployed as either a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.[27][28] His main characteristics are his physicality and his ball-winning capabilities.[29] While at AIK, Michel Melki was also used as an attacking midfielder.[30]
Personal life
editMichel Melki was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother, Carina, and a Assyrian father, Robert, who played for Syrianska, a Swedish club founded by Assyrian immigrants.[31] He has an older brother, Alexander, who also plays football.[32]
In an interview with Aftonbladet, Alexander mentioned that despite their Assyrian roots, the two brothers' connection to Lebanon is through their grandfather, George Michel Melki, who lived there before moving to Sweden in 1967 as one of the first refugees from the Middle East to Sweden.[33] Two of their father's sisters were born in Lebanon.[34]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 20 May 2024[10]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Syrianska | 2013 | Allsvenskan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2014 | Superettan | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | Superettan | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | Superettan | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 21 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | ||
| Eskişehirspor | 2016–17 | TFF First League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | TFF First League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| AFC Eskilstuna | 2018 | Superettan | 21 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2019 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 29 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| AIK | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | Allsvenskan | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| Sarpsborg 08 (loan) | 2021 | Eliteserien | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| AFC Eskilstuna (loan) | 2021 | Superettan | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| 2022 | Superettan | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | ||
| AFC Eskilstuna | 2022 | Superettan | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Ahed | 2022–23 | Lebanese Premier League | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | Lebanese Premier League | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 138 | 4 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 179 | 8 | ||
- ^ Includes Svenska Cupen, Turkish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup, Lebanese FA Cup
- ^ Includes Lebanese Federation Cup
- ^ Appearances in Superettan promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearance in Lebanese Super Cup
International
edit- As of match played 6 June 2024[35]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Michel Melki goal.[36]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 January 2019 | Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates |  North Korea
|
1–1 | 4–1 | 2019 AFC Asian Cup |
Honours
editAFC Eskilstuna
- Svenska Cupen runner-up: 2018–19[37]
Ahed
- Lebanese Premier League: 2022–23
- Lebanese Federation Cup: 2023
- Lebanese FA Cup runner-up: 2022–23, 2023–24
- Lebanese Super Cup runner-up: 2023
- AFC Cup runner-up: 2023–24
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Felix Michel Melki". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ a b "AC2019 Final Squads". Asian Football Confederation. p. 19. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d "AIK Fotboll värvar Felix Michel". AIK Fotboll (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ "Syrianska FC > Aktuellt". 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "KLART: Felix Michel klar för Eskisehirspor". lt.se (in Swedish). 15 August 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Svedberg 0660-295532, Anna (29 March 2018). "Tidigare Syrianska-spelaren klar för Superettan – återförenas med brorsan: "Vi är överens"". lt.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Mellerborg, Stefan (11 January 2022). "Felix Michel lämnar AIK Fotboll". AIK Fotboll (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Obasi håller i sin svit som stör Sirius". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "AIK Kalmar FF tips, predictions and odds".
- ^ a b Felix Michel Melki at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Tabell och resultat - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ Mahfoud, Maroun (10 May 2021). "Felix Melki gets loan spell". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Diab, Rami Abou (17 May 2021). "Lebanese Players Abroad: May 2021, Week 2". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "فليكس ملكي يترك ساربسبورغ". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ "Felix Michel tillbaka i AFC Eskilstuna". afc-eskilstuna.se. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "AFC Eskilstuna vs. Norrby - 14 August 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ discovery+ sport [@dplus_sportSE] (22 August 2021). "Felix Michel goal against GIF Sundsvall" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "GIF Sundsvall vs. AFC Eskilstuna - 22 August 2021 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Felix Michel förlänger med AFC Eskilstuna". AFC Eskilstuna. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "العهد يحسم صفقة كبيرة من الدوري السويدي". كووورة. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ @alsafa_sc (11 August 2024). "يُعلن نادي الصفاء عن التعاقد مع مدافع منتخب لبنان، جورج فيليكس ميشيل ملكي (30 سنة)، قادماً من نادي العهد اللبناني، لتدعيم صفوف الفريق لموسم 2024-2025" – via Instagram.
- ^ "The Lebanon squad to face Uzbekistan and Australia has been named". YOUR HOME OF NEWS. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Uzbekistan vs. Lebanon (0:0)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Group E: Lebanon 4-1 DPR Korea". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "منتخب لبنان يعلن تشكيلته إلى كأس آسيا" [The Lebanon national team announces its squad for the Asian Cup] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "خليل خميس بدلًا من فيليكس ملكي المصاب في تشكيلة لبنان" [Khalil Khamis replaces the injured Felix Melki in the Lebanon squad] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Klart: Han blir AIK:s första sommarköp". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Sportchef bekräftar intresse för AIK-spelare: "Hoppas att vi står högt upp på hans lista"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "AIK:s nyförvärv om flytten: "Det är stort - inte hunnit landa än"". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Felix Michel om AIK:s förändring: "Det här passar mig perfekt"". Fotboll Sthlm (in Swedish). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Alexander Michel är redo för nästa steg | Matchdax". matchdax.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "AFC Asian Cup 2019: Brothers competing in the continental tournament". FOX Sports Asia. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ "Niva möter tre svenska spelare – redo för Asiatiska mästerskapen". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "How diaspora footballers came together under the Lebanese flag". TRT World. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "Felix Michel Melki". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Felix Michel Melki". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "Faltsetas i fokus när Häcken blev cupmästare". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
External links
edit
- Felix Michel Melki at FA Lebanon
- Felix Michel Melki at National-Football-Teams.com
- Felix Michel Melki at Soccerway
- Felix Michel Melki at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- Felix Michel Melki at Kooora.com (in Arabic) (archived in English at Goalzz.com)