Charbel Shamoon has enjoyed a rapid rise from prospect to international footballer but it almost didn’t happen. The Western United star speaks to aleagues.com.au about his journey to an unforgettable debut with the Iraq national team.
Life and football work in mysterious ways.
Charbel Shamoon is now a fully fledged Iraq international but the Western United star’s career could have taken a very different path.
One Saturday in January last year, he had arrived to farewell the Isuzu UTE A-League club. In fact, the youngster had practically agreed to move down to the NPL in Victoria. So much so, he had a contract in front of him to sign.
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“I remember I was saying goodbye to everyone, saying goodbye to the coach and everything,” the 21-year-old told aleagues.com.au.
“I came in saying goodbye to everyone and then I thought maybe this just was not for me. Football changes like that.”
At the time, Shamoon was playing youth football for Western United but training full time with the A-Leagues side and he had an offer from NPL powerhouse Heidelberg United, who are coached by former Green and Black assistant John Anastasiadis.
Then, there was a telling intervention from Andrew Durante.
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Shamoon recalled: “I remember coming in, and then I spoke to one of the coaches here, and he’s like, ‘Listen, I reckon just give it one more year, give it one last crack, you can always move to NPL after’.”
“I still thought I was going to go (to the) NPL and I was like, you know what, I’ll give Dura (Durante) a call. I thought I made my mind up but then he mentioned that and I was like, maybe he’s right. Maybe I should give it one more crack. It wasn’t just Dura, he was kind of the final straw for sure, but Diogo (Ferreira) and the staff convinced me too. I’m glad they did.”
That was Shamoon’s sliding doors moment.
A month after saying goodbye, he made his A-Leagues debut with Western United.
That off-season, he signed his first professional contract.
He has not looked back since.
After a breakout 2023-24, Shamoon has soared to even greater heights this season.
Rewarded for his fine form with Isuzu UTE A-League contenders Western, the full-back earned his first international cap for Iraq.
Born in Syria to Iraqi parents who fled after the war, Shamoon’s culture is not lost on him. That is why making his first appearance for the world number 56 in 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup qualifiers means so much.
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The Iraq U20 international came off the bench in the nation’s 2-1 loss to Palestine.
“Just getting called up to that national team is such a surreal feeling, because I didn’t expect it to come so soon,” he said.
“When I went there as well, I wasn’t really expecting to kind of play or anything. I just wanted to go, then kind of prove myself in training and do well. Within the sessions leading up to the game against Palestine, I was doing really well, so the gaffer kind of pulled me into the squad.
“In the 70th minute or so, one of the left-backs went down, and he called me on so it was a surreal feeling. It was an atmosphere I can’t really describe, man, you just kind of have to be on the pitch. Have to be there.
“It was honestly one of the greatest moments of my career.”
Like out of that famous scene from iconic US sitcom The Office, Shamoon channelled his inner Michael Scott as he was thrust into the action against Palestine in Jordan.
“It’s happening,” he recalled after being told he would be entering the fray for Iraq.
“I didn’t really know if I was going to play or not and then when the player went down, the coach warming us up was looking back, and then I just heard my name.
“I was like, alright, you gotta be ready now. You gotta come on and do your job. It was an unbelievable feeling.”
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It’s all part of a meteoric rise, something not even the 21-year-old fully comprehends.
“I tend to have the kind of personality of not really taking things for granted, but not seeing how far I’ve really come,” he said.
“My sister messaged me (after my debut), saying ‘Listen, I know you guys did not win, but just look back at where you’ve come from. Less than two years ago, you weren’t even signed to an A-League team, and you’re trying to get a get a contract then, and fast forward to today you’ve made your international debut, and you’ve played so many games in the A-League as well’.
“That kind of really hit me a little bit, because I have come quite a long way in the past two years.”
Shamoon was called up by Australia’s Under-23 side for a training camp in November last year and while it “wasn’t necessarily always Iraq”, it was too hard to turn down senior international football with the Lions of Mesopotamia.
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“I hadn’t really heard much (from Iraq) for one to two years, but I had heard a little bit that the the Iraq coach was kind of asking people around, like relatives and people I knew, because it’s not as simple as Australia,” said Shamoon.
“Whereas Australia just talks to the club directly, with Iraq there’s a lot of media going around. I heard a little bit that the Iraq coach was kind of contacting people about me.
“This was way before I got called up for the Australia U23s. But again, nothing really happened and Australia came calling late last year.
Obviously I wasn’t going to reject that. It was an unbelievable experience, and that’s something that I’m glad that I had the opportunity. Even though it wasn’t a competition or anything, it was good to see the talent around Australia, learn a different style and just see how that environment was. I really enjoyed my time there as well.
“It wasn’t necessarily always Iraq. I had to kind of toss up between the two, but Iraq came calling and I was not going to say no to that, especially a national team.”
It has been a long road for Shamoon, who “never” thought he would leave Melbourne City’s youth setup before their relocation wreaked havoc. His sister was driving to the Roxburgh Park native to training everyday in Cranbourne as a teenager and it was taking its toll.
Then some advice from Alou Kuol – a former teammate of Shamoon’s brother at Goulburn Valley Suns in Victoria’s NPL – helped convince the youngster to swap City for a club closer to home.
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“He’s like, if I was you (I’d) go to Western, you’re saving yourself three to four hours on travel and it’s in those three to four hours you can be training,” he recalled. “And I decided to move.”
And it has all clicked for Shamoon in 2024-25 as John Aloisi’s Green and Black vie for Premiership and Championship honours.
After five appearances in 2023-24, he has played 14 leagues this term – with 13 of those starts.
“It’s really confidence,” Shamoon – whose father still plays indoor football every Friday as he closes in on his 60th birthday – highlighted as the key to his form.
“When I really look at back at it, I’m such a different player to what I was back then. Ever since I went on the international journey and come back, I feel like I’m just improved so much. I don’t know if it’s the experience but I feel like I’m constantly improving.
“Then when I played the first game against Wellington this season, and I was able to do well and kind of compete, I was like, what if my body’s physically able to compete with others? I know personally that I’m technically gifted, so I can play well.
“Honestly, just confidence, getting more games in me. And then the first game this season really helped, because that was kind of a stepping stone.”
