Saladin Said

Saladin Said
Born	(1988-10-29) October 29, 1988 Ethiopia
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	2005–2017
Known for	Leading goal scorer for Ethiopia national team during 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification; top scorer in 2017 CAF Champions League

Salah El Din Ahmed Said (; born 29 October 1988), commonly referred to as Salhadin Said or Saladin Said, is a retired Ethiopian professional footballer who played in the forward position. Renowned for his vitality, technical ability, and knack for scoring crucial goals, he became a key figure in East African football. Salhadin secured the title of top scorer during the 2017 CAF Champions League.

Early career

In 2010, Salhadin underwent trials with Serbian clubs FK Partizan and FK Vojvodina. Although coach Zoran Milinković commended his performance at Vojvodina, no contract was finalized.

During the 2011 Kagame Inter-Club Cup, Salhadin demonstrated his striking capabilities by netting five goals in a single encounter against AS Port from Djibouti.

Wadi Degla

On 9 October 2011, Salhadin completed a transfer to Egyptian side Wadi Degla FC. The club paid a transfer fee of 2,040,000 Ethiopian birr (equivalent to $240,000 US), marking the highest amount ever paid for an Ethiopian player at that time.

Lierse

Before Ethiopia's fixture against Burkina Faso in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Salhadin revealed plans to join Belgian club Lierse following the conclusion of the tournament.

Al Ahly

On 23 April 2014, Saladin transferred from Wadi Degla to fellow Egyptian Premier League club Al-Ahly, who had recently secured the 2013 CAF Champions League championship.

Saint George

After an unproductive spell with Algerian outfit MC Alger, Said returned to his former club Saint George in 2016.

International career

Said made his debut for the Ethiopia national team in 2005 and has since become Ethiopia's leading goal scorer during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign.

Career statistics

The following table lists goals scored by Said for Ethiopia, with Ethiopia’s score listed first. The score column reflects the match score immediately after each goal by Said.

International goals scored by Saladin Said

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 June 2007	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2	8 September 2007	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Template:Fb	2–1	2–3	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3	7 June 2008	Stade Nacional, Nouakchott, Mauritania	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round
4	5 June 2011	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Template:Fb	1–1	2–2	2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
5				2–1
6	3 June 2012	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round
7	10 June 2012	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8				2–0
9	14 October 2012	Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
10	7 January 2013	Al-Wakrah Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar	Template:Fb	1–1	1–1	(Friendly)