Muhieddine Itani

Muhieddine Abdul Razzak Itani (محي الدين عبد الرزاق عيتاني; 6 September 1929 – 5 August 2015), also known as Tabello (طابللو), was a Lebanese footballer who played as a full-back.

Muhieddine Itani was born in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, on 6 September 1929.

In the winters, he spent time fishing with his father Abdul Razzak and in the summers he went swimming.

His father would send him to Sheikh Mohammed Itani to learn to read, write, and memorize the Quran.

Itani, however, often ran away from school to spend time playing football in the Nejmeh Stadium.

Itani was expelled from school multiple times, remaining illiterate throughout his life.

Every afternoon while training at Nejmeh, Itani would see an Englishman called Chance watching him and his teammates train.

One day, Chance asked Itani to train in private with him; Itani did "not hesitate to accept his offer".

Itani trained at least four hours a day with Chance.

Itani said that his training sessions with Chance developed him as a footballer and he learned the fundamentals of the sport.

In the early 1950s, Itani began his senior club career at Nejmeh, helping the team gain promotion to the Lebanese Premier League.

Itani began his senior club career in the early 1950s with Nejmeh under coach Salah Itani.

Despite playing in the Lebanese Second Division with Nejmeh in the early 1950s, Itani attracted the attention of the Lebanese national team coach and was called up.

He helped Nejmeh gain promotion to the 1953–54 Lebanese Premier League for the first time after winning the Lebanese Second Division in 1952.

Itani's first game in the Premier League ended in a 3–0 win against Racing Beirut in which he scored a penalty kick.

In 1959, he moved to Racing Beirut, who won the league in the 1964–65 season, before playing for Tadamon Beirut.

In 1959, Racing Beirut purchased Itani, who was paid £L20,000, an Audi car, and a Vespa scooter, and secured a job at the Regie Company.

Itani also played for Lebanon at international level, representing the country in the Arab Cup in the 1960s.

Itani was known for his technique and agility, as well as for his skill in controlling the ball in unconventional ways.

He was an ambidextrous, offensive full-back who was capable of playing on both flanks.

Despite being only 1.61 m tall, Itani could jump to reach high balls.

He was also known for his off-field antics; he would play practical jokes, especially on trips abroad with his teams.

In the 1960s, Itani moved to Tadamon Beirut, before rejoining Nejmeh.

On 17 May 1961, he represented Lebanon in an unofficial friendly against Brazil.

Itani was part of the team that played in the 1963 Arab Cup, which was held in Lebanon; he played in the opening game of the tournament, a 6–0 win over Kuwait, and scored an own goal for Tunisia in a game that ended in a 1–0 defeat.

He was part of the team that won the 1964–65 Lebanese Premier League.

Itani's most memorable game was a 1–0 win against Libya on 8 March 1964, at the 1964 Tripoli Fair Tournament.

He scored the game's only goal through a penalty kick in the final minute.

Muhieddine stated he deceived the goalkeeper by "looking at the referee as if [he] was talking to him"; the goalkeeper was "busy looking at the goalposts" and "only noticed that the goal was scored when the crowd started cheering".

Due to his ambidexterity, Itani played both as a left-back and a right-back.

He was a penalty-kick specialist who was noted for his technique and his movements.

He controlled the ball in unique ways, stopping it with both feet or with his lower back.

Despite his short stature of 1.61 m, Itani had a high elevation, which enabled him to reach higher balls.

Although he played in a more defensive role, often Itani used fast offensive breaks.

Once he had already dribbled an opponent, he would often go back to dribble him again because "the spectators enjoyed it".

He was also known for his shooting skills.

After retiring from football, Itani was a long-distance swimmer who was considered to be the only swimmer in Lebanon to participate in every national race, competing symbolically during his old age.

He then returned to Nejmeh, where he was the top goalscorer in the Lebanese Premier League in the 1968–69 season.

He was the Lebanese Premier League's top goalscorer of the 1968–69 season, scoring 15 goals.

In the 2008 annual Christmas race held by the Al Jazeera Sporting Club, at the age of 80, he was the eldest of the 112 participants.