Tha'er Bawab


Tha'er Fayed Al Bawab is a Jordanian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He spent most of his career in Spain and Romania.

Club career

Early years and Real Madrid

Born in Amman to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother, Bawab's family moved to Catalonia, Spain when he was a child. He started playing for the youth teams of local UE Cornellà, leaving at the age of 18 to Real Madrid where he completed his development, and scoring 30 goals in his sole season with the Juvenil side.
In 2004, Bawab signed a professional contract with Real Madrid, and the club also agreed to pay a college scholarship for him, as he went on to make his senior debut with the third team in the Tercera División. At that time, talks had started where people compared his style of play to Zinedine Zidane.

Barcelona, journeyman in Spain

Bawab split the 2006–07 season with Real Madrid Castilla – for whom he did not appear officially – and another reserve team, FC Barcelona B, scoring three goals for the latter as both sides suffered relegation.
In the following three seasons, he competed in the country's third tier, being relegated with all the clubs – CE L'Hospitalet, CD Alfaro and Moratalla CF.

Romania

Bawab signed a two-year contract with ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa in late June 2010. Midway through the season, as his team would eventually suffer relegation, he joined fellow Romanian Liga I side CS Gaz Metan Mediaş.
On 4 August 2011, Bawab scored two goals against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the last qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, one in each leg as Gaz Metan eventually won on penalties. On 26 September, he added two more in a 2–1 league home win over FCM Târgu Mureș.
In September 2014, free agent Bawab moved to CS Universitatea Craiova also in Romania's top flight. He remained in the country the following years safe for a very brief spell in the Qatar Stars League with Umm Salal SC, representing FC Steaua București, FC Dinamo București, CS Concordia Chiajna and FC Dunărea Călărași.
Bawab retired in 2023 aged 38, his last club being Spanish amateurs AD Villaviciosa de Odón. Still as an active player, he worked as a taxi driver.

International career

Bawab made his debut for Jordan in a friendly with Norway on 28 January 2005, which ended 0–0. He made six appearances for the national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scoring once.

Career statistics

International

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
126 March 2008Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan2–02–02010 World Cup qualification
216 October 2012Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–21–22014 World Cup qualification
34 February 2014Jalan Besar, Kallang, Singapore1–03–12015 Asian Cup qualification
45 March 2014International Stadium, Amman, Jordan1–02–12015 Asian Cup qualification
55 March 2014International Stadium, Amman, Jordan2–02–12015 Asian Cup qualification
623 March 2017King Abdullah II, Amman, Jordan4–04–0Friendly

Honours

Real Madrid C
Steaua București
Dinamo București