When Adam Saad tries to shut down the Lions’ star forward Charlie Cameron in Saturday night’s elimination final, he will not only be representing Carlton, but a small Lebanese village that sits atop a mountainside overlooking the Syrian border.
Saad’s family migrated to Melbourne from Denbo, in a remote area that forms part of the Akkar governorate, one of the most disadvantaged and least urbanised regions in Lebanon. Here, basic amenities like electricity and hot water are not always guaranteed.
Carlton’s Adam Saad is focused on beating the Brisbane Lions, but has ambitions beyond football.Credit: Jason South
So, while Saad’s immediate goal is to thwart Cameron’s influence on Saturday night’s game with staunch defence, as well as seizing opportunities to launch into attack, he also has bigger ambitions.
“The good players take you to the footy. If you’re strong in the contest, and you win the ball back there, then you have an opportunity to bring some offence,” he said of his likely duel with Cameron.
Beyond Saturday night, Saad hopes to one day return to Denbo to teach football. My family comes from the same village, and when I mentioned this, Saad immediately asked for my parents’ surnames. Soon enough we found a mutual connection.
In my small community there is no one bigger than Carlton’s No.42.
Saad in 2019, breaking the Ramadan fast at his family home in Brunswick. Credit: Simon Schluter
In the years leading up to the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, Australia welcomed a wave of Lebanese migrants. As the villagers of Denbo left home for Melbourne, it didn’t take long before a makeshift village was established. This time it was in the working-class suburbs of the inner north where they made themselves home, in places such as Fitzroy, Carlton, and Brunswick, years before gentrification would later price their children out of such suburbs.
As the years went on, affluent newcomers pushed the working class further into outer suburbs like Hadfield, Glenroy, and Broadmeadows.
“If you drew a circle, and put a 10-kilometre radius, I reckon we all live in the same spot. It’s special. We were born in Australia, but our parents were born in Denbo. To hear their stories, and for them to come and pick Melbourne, we’re just grateful to even live in Australia,” Saad said.
“The community is pretty special. We’ve got something very unique, and I think we’re very united.”
Adam Saad (left) took a contender for mark of the year against the Giants in 2022. Twelve-year-old Khaled has a phone case depicting that mark.Credit: Getty Images/Supplied
While stars such as Nick Daicos, Charlie Curnow and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan often capture the limelight, Saad holds a special place in the hearts of young boys from our community. And although our community has celebrated the success of another Lebanese-Muslim player in Bachar Houli, Saad is the only AFL player from Denbo.
Houli was once Saad’s childhood hero. Saad said it took a while for him to realise that he, too, was a role model for so many kids.
For his 12th birthday, my little brother Khaled asked for a phone case with an image of Adam Saad on it. It was a sketch of Saad taking a speccy on the shoulders of Greater Western Sydney midfielder James Peatling in 2022. When I showed Saad a photo of my little brother proudly holding up the phone case, he smiled.
“I pinch myself every day. I say, Alhamdulillah [praise be to God],” he said.
Saad after Carlton’s narrow loss to St Kilda in round 24 left the Blues in danger of missing the finals.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“It’s very special, but I think for me, I just find myself as an average person. To be Lebanese-Australian, and a Muslim, it’s a responsibility to set the right example. I hope I’m being a good role model for the young youth coming through because it’s not about being just a footballer, it’s about having good character and being a good person.”
The last time Saad visited Lebanon was 24 years ago when he was six. He said he hoped to return to Denbo to run football clinics, introducing children to the sport that had defined his life.
“I’ve got family there, and they don’t really know footy, but they’ve seen some highlights. They probably know bits and pieces now,” he said.
“My mum’s got all her side [of the family] there, and I always speak to them on the phone. To be able to reach Lebanon is something you sort of don’t take for granted.
“I’d love to take footies from here, just to teach them. That’s one of my goals, Inshallah [God willing], I want to do one day. Maybe it’s post-footy, when I retire.”
For now, his focus is on the Lions. He dismissed any worries about his hamstring, which sidelined him for round 23, and a chunk of games early in the season. “It was just a little nick, nothing major,” he said.
Despite Carlton scraping into the top eight, Saad remains optimistic about the Blues’ finals prospects.
“We’ve just got to play our way. We feel like if we bring our best, we’re hard to beat,” he said.
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