Yousef Samy joined the Seals this season, and has been a significant contributor as part of the defense, playing predominantly as right back, but also serving in the center from time-to-time.
He has played every minute of all six games in which he has appeared.
"Yousef is calm back there" acknowledged coach Tom Simpson. "He is smooth and confident. He's been a great contributor for us."
Samy was born in Berkeley California 22 years ago. Both his parents were both born in Afghanistan, and as a result, Samy holds dual citizenship status.
In 2007, Samy got a chance of a lifetime - he was called to play for the Afghanistan National Team in an attempt to qualify for the the World Cup. Samy was one of three Americans who were tapped for the honor. On October 8, 2007, Samy was on hand for their first match against the Syrian National Team. Samy had no illusions of winning the World Cup, and Afghanistan has not had a long running program due to the period of time that the Taliban was in power. Soccer was not supported by the government from 1996 thru 2001, and the country played no international fixtures from 1984 to 2003.
Afghanistan held off Syria until the 73rd minute, and finished the match with a 3-0 win. Samy got to play for his country from the 80th minute on. The second match against Syria was tighter, and Afghanistan took the lead in the 15th minute, only to have Syria tie it up one minute later. Syria went on to win, and eliminate Afghanistan from the competition.
Samy grew up following in his father's footsteps. His father,
Rahmat, played for Afghanistan in the 70's. He used to go and watch his father play, and would play along with them as often as he could. "That's how I started playing" noted Samy.
In high school, Samy lettered all four years for Nothgate High School in Walnut Creek. He helped his team to a North Coast Section title as a sophomore, and was the leading goal scorer as a senior. Following high school Samy decided to concentrate on his school work, and he did not play the two years he attended Diablo Valley College.
Now attending San Jose State, Samy decided to play, and was a walk-on in 2006. He immediately made his impression on the team. Samy started 6 of 14 games that year, and was voted "Newcomer of the Year" by his teammates.
The Seals are happy he decided to play with us this season, as his play has helped keep the defense solid. With seven games played in the 2008 season, the Seals have given up only 6 goals this year.
That puts them in the top 10 defensively in the PDL for teams with 7 or more games played, and in the top 20 overall. Four teams are tied with 6 goals allowed, 10 teams have allowed 5, one with 4, three have allowed 3, and three have allowed 2.
Yousef Samy has been up to the task of playing in the PDL!
