# Haroon Yousaf

Haroon Yousaf (born 10 November 1973) is a Pakistani former footballer. The versatile footballer played as a midfielder and defender. A former captain of the Pakistan national team, Haroon played 50 full internationals for Pakistan between 1992 and 2003 and scored 3 goals. He was praised for his defensive abilities and leadership.

## Early life

Yousaf was born on 10 November 1973 in Mandi Bahauddin, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

## Club career
### Early career

Yousaf played for Lahore clubs Allah-o-Akbar Club, City FC, and Defence FC in his youth. He also played briefly for departmental teams of Pakistan Telecommunication and Pakistan Airlines, but his stay there did not last because of internal problems within the departments and housing issues. In 1993, Yousuf also featured in the National Youth Football Championship.

### Railways

In 1990, the Lifebuoy sponsored National Football Championship tournaments brought televised club games to Pakistan for the first time, fostering talent that found opportunities in major departmental teams, which gave them job security. Following this, Yousaf started his career with departmental side Pakistan Railways in 1990.

### WAPDA

He transferred to departmental side WAPDA the following season and stayed there for five years. Yousaf won National Football Championship once with WAPDA in 1991. He played at the 1991 Asian Club Championship qualifying round against Dhaka Mohammedan.

### Allied Bank

In 1995, he moved to Allied Bank football team, where he became captain in 1997. He won thrice consecutive National Football Championship titles in 1997, 1999 and 2000. He also won the National Football Challenge Cup four times with Allied Bank, winning in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002.
He was offered a playing contract from the Indian football team Mahindra United, but the Pakistan Football Federation seemingly turned it down.

### Afghan Chaman

Yousaf also played a short while for Afghan Chaman where he is still highly praised as a solid player and leader.

### PMC Athletico Faisalabad

Yousaf became one of the founder members of PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad, remaining as captain of the team. In the 2010–11 Pakistan Premier League, he played a crucial role in surviving the relegation despite his age being more than 37 years old, after scoring last-minute penalty goal in a 2–1 victory against Baloch Nushki, allowing PMC Athletico the needful three points and to prevent the relegation. He also inspired the team from the brink of relegation by beating hosts Afghan FC Chaman by 1–0 in final game of the season.
He last played in the 2012–13 Pakistan Premier League, until the club was eventually relegated.

## International career
### Youth

Yousaf got selected by the Pakistan under-19 national team for the 1992 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers in Kannur, India. He captained the national under-23 side for the 1996 Summer Olympics qualifiers.

### Senior

Yousaf made his senior international debut at the 1992 Jordan International Tournament against Moldova. He was declared man of the match in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Jordan when Pakistan lost 0–3 against Iraq but he was praised for his defending performance.
He was from 1996 till 1999 vice-captain of the Pakistan national team after Qazi Ashfaq and since 1999 SAFF Gold Cup which was held in Goa, he became the captain. He remained captain of the national side in several events including the 1999 SAFF Gold Cup, 1999 South Asian Games, 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification, 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, 2003 SAFF Gold Cup, and the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification in 2003 where he played his last game against Singapore. In March 2001, he led the team during Pakistan's tour to England in matches against Bury and Coventry City. He also captained the national under 23 team as three of the allowed overage players at the 2002 Asian Games.
Yousaf was dropped from the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in November 2003 against Kyrgyzstan by the Pakistan Football Federation Selection Committee due to his declining form, on the contrary head coach Tariq Lutfi insisted on retaining him, controversially and allegedly naming Haroon as the captain while the squad was even not announced. Haroon was eventually replaced as captain for goalkeeper Jaffar Khan for the tournament.

## Coaching career

In November 2009, Yousaf completed the AFC C Certificate football coaching course from Iranian coach Ardeshir Pournemat in Lahore.
In February 2011, he became the head coach of PMC Athletico Club Faisalabad under-13 football team for coming 13th National under-13 Festival of Football in Pakistan.
Yousaf was initially named as one of the assistant coaches of the Pakistan under-23 team for the 2019 South Asian Games under head coach Tariq Lutfi, but the national side missed the event as the country’s entry was not confirmed by the organisers of the biennial spectacle due to late submission. In 2020, he was appointed head coach of the Punjab provincial team for the Chief Minister Gold Cup Football Tournament in Quetta.

## Personal life

Haroon has five brothers and seven sisters and he is the second oldest of his brothers. One of his brothers, Iqbal Yousaf played in the Punjab football team at the National Football Championship as defender. His favourite footballers are Diego Maradona and Roberto Baggio, and his then national teammates Qazi Ashfaq and Sharafat Ali. He cited Muhammad Aslam Japani as his favourite coach. He got married in 1998 and has three daughters.
He received the AFC Silver Star Award by the Asian Football Confederation in 2013 for his contributions to the national team.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Pakistan | 1992 | 3 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1993 | 13 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1995 | 2 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1996 | 2 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1997 | 8 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1999 | 5 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 2000 | 4 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2001 | 6 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2003 | 7 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 50 | 3 |
    Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yousaf goal.
List of international goals scored by Haroon Yousaf :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 26 September 1999 | Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal | India | 5–1 | 5–2 | 1999 South Asian Games |
| 2 | 30 September 1999 | Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal | Bhutan | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1999 South Asian Games |
| 3 | 30 September 1999 | Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal | Bhutan | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1999 South Asian Games |

## Honours

WAPDA
* National Football Championship 1991
Allied Bank
* National Football Championship 1997(1), 1999, 2000
* Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002