Jamal Khamis Taha (born 23 November 1966) is a football manager and former player. Nicknamed "the Brown Gazelle", Taha was born in Egypt to an Egyptian father and a Lebanese mother. He obtained Lebanese citizenship and represented the Lebanon national team between 1993 and 2000, whom he captained at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup.

Early life

Jamal Taha was born in Cairo, Egypt, to an Egyptian father and a Lebanese mother; he obtained Lebanese citizenship through naturalization in 1992 via a presidential decree. Taha joined Ansar's youth team in 1977.

Club career

Nicknamed "the Brown Gazelle", Taha began his senior career with Ansar in 1986, where he ended his career in 2002. He wore the number 6 on his jersey, and was the club's captain from 1997 onwards.

International career

Taha was the national team's captain during the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon.

Managerial career

Ansar

Taha started out as Adnan Hamad's assistant manager at Ansar during the 2005–06 season; he helped his side win the domestic double (Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese FA Cup). The following season, in 2006–07, Taha was appointed the first manager of Ansar, winning Ansar's second consecutive domestic double. He remained head coach until the end of the 2007–08 season, where he lost the league title to Ahed by one point. In July 2011, Taha was re-appointed manager of Ansar, staying there until the end of the 2012–13 season. He won the 2011–12 Lebanese FA Cup, and the 2012 Lebanese Super Cup.

Shabab Sahel and Tadamon Sour

On 10 September 2013, he took charge of Shabab Sahel; he won the Lebanese Challenge Cup in 2014. After two seasons he returned to Ansar, managing them during the 2015–16 season, before resigning after the first league game of the following season in September 2016. In January 2017, Taha became manager of Tadamon Sour until June 2018.

Lebanon

On 3 June 2019, he was appointed assistant manager of the Lebanon national team under Liviu Ciobotariu's tenure. After one year, on 17 June 2020, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) decided not to extend Ciobotariu's contract, and appointed Taha as the national team's coach. He became the first Lebanese coach of the national team in almost 12 years, since the appointment of Emile Rustom in November 2008. Under Taha, Lebanon underperformed in their last three fixtures of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, struggling to overcome Sri Lanka 3–2, and losing against Turkmenistan and South Korea; Lebanon qualified Lebanon to the third round as fifth-best runner-up by virtue of other results going in their favour. Taha's tenure wasn't extended following the expiration of his one-year contract on 30 June 2021.

Lebanon U23

On 27 September 2021, Taha was announced as head coach of the Lebanon national under-23 team.

Return to Ansar

On 26 June 2022, Taha returned as head coach of Ansar.

Career statistics

International

Managerial

Honours

Player

Ansar Individual

Manager

Ansar Shabab Sahel