Esteghlal Tehran

Manager: Alireza Mansourian

2015/16 position: 3^rd

2016/17 predicted position: 2^nd

Key signing: The signing of creative midfielder, Bakhtiar Rahmani, will surely give the Blues more creativity further up the pitch as their centre of midfield was lacking a advanced play-maker last season.

Key Player: Omid Ebrahimi was voted the best midfielder of 2015/16 season, so it’s only natural to highlight his importance for team once again as the central midfielder finished as the club’s top goalscorer last season.

Summary: After a disappointing end to last season, the club took the decision to change the manager and backroom staff and bring in no less than 12 new players including some big names such as Bakhtiar Rahmani and Kaveh Rezaei. The fans will definitely expect them to win the league as this season promises to be more exciting than ever.

Esteghlal Khuzestan

Manager: Mansour Pourmousavi

2015/16 position: Champions

2016/17 Predicted Position: 9th

Key Signing: Skilful winger, Mehdi Momeni, left the club last summer but endured a difficult campaign at Naft Tehran and Esteghlal Tehran, but Esteghlal Khuzestan have brought him back to add more goalscoring threat further up the pitch.

Key Player: captain and centre back, Mohammad Tayebi, was a key figure in the club’s success last season and the new manager will look to him to lead as example with the club looking to defend their title and make some noise in the AFC Asian Champions League.

Summary: After their incredible success last season, Esteghlal Khuzestan suffered a torrid summer as they lost their talented manager and many of their star players. Mansour Pourmousavi has been promoted from assistant manager to head coach as the club look to make a respectable challenge at defending their title and appear in their first ever Champions League campaign.

Foolad Khuzestan

Manager: Naim Sadaavi

2015/16 position: 12^th

2016/17 predicted position: 13^th

Key Signing: with the departure of Leo Mesaric and Mehdi Badrloo, the signing of powerful centre back, Abdollah Karami, can prove to be pivotal for Foolad’s hopes of a successful season. The central defender was part of the Foolad side that won the 20114/15 league title.

Key Player: Box to Box Cameroonian midfielder, Mathias Chago, is proving to be one of the most influential midfielders in the league and the club did a great job at retaining him for yet another season.

Summary: After a disappointing two years, Croatian manager Dragan Skocic, left the club in the summer as former player, Naeim Saadavi has been given the role to take care of first-team affairs. The club have failed to add any real quality to their team, and on paper they seem to be behind other clubs in terms of quality.

 FC Mashhad (Former Siah Jamegan)

Manager: Farhad Kazemi

2015/16 position: 13^th

2016/17 predicted position: 10^th

Key signing: FC Mashhad have had a major clear-out this summer with 18 new players coming into the club. Ayoub Kalantari could prove to be a huge signing. The 25 year old offers a great passing range and great positioning in central midfield, with his manager will surely build the team around his abilities.

Key Player: Hamid Reza AliAsgari’s goal on the final day of the season managed to keep the team in the league for one more season. His experience and abilities down the right side of the team will be very important. He offers a lot of versatility on the wings as his experience 2could also prove to be key for his side.

Summary: Farhad Kazemi is proving to be a great manager at keeping teams in the league, as he managed to keep FC Mashhad in the league on the final day and on goal difference. This summer he has been very busy and his signing look to be adding more quality to the team. His experience and his players’ abilities could provide a great combination and they could enjoy a mid-table position this season.

 Gostaresh Foolad Tabriz

Manager: Faraz Kamalvand

2015/16 position: 9^th

2016/17 predicted position: 6^th

Key Signing: Gostaresh’s owners have invested heavily into the team this summer, and the signature of Mohammad Reza Khalatbari, made some heads turn in the Iranian football community. The experienced silky winger could provide a lot of attacking threat to a team that already boasted a powerful forward line.

Key Player: Dariush Sojaeian – the 23 year old left footed midfielder performed fantastically well last season as bigger clubs took attention and showed huge interests in signing him. His stellar performances earned him a few international caps but the club did really well in retaining his services for the upcoming campaign.

Summary: Gostaresh had a solid season in the last campaign, they’ve had a busy summer and made some big name signings so the board will expect Kamalvand to do slightly better this season and finish in the top 6. Their pre-season was also very successful with a stand-out 3-0 win over Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Mashin Sazi Tabri

Manager: Rasoul Khatibi

2015/16 position: 2^nd (Azadegan League)

2016/17 predicted position: 11th

Key signing: Payam Sadeghian – the 24 year old is a hugely talented midfielder but is usually surrounded with controversy. His return to his hometown of Tabriz with Mashin Sazi, could bring him back to his best as Mashin Sazi will bid to survive comfortably.

Key Player: Andranik Teymourian – the Iran national team captain, is an extremely important signing for the newly promoted team. The central midfielder is hugely experienced and will bring many qualities on and off the pitch to this team.

Summary: Mashin Sazi had a successful transfer window this summer and Rasoul Khatibi look to have built a solid balanced side. This is the first time that the city of Tabriz has 3 teams in the top division, and Mashin Sazi wouldn’t want that to change at the first time of asking. A mix of experienced and young players will give Mashin Sazi a good platform to have a solid season and survive comfortably.

Naft Tehran

Manager: Ali Daei

2015/16 position: 5^th

2016/17 predicted position: 8^th     

Key Signing: Mohammad Ghazi – the experienced striker is a favourite of Ali Daei as he has brought the 31 year old to Naft from Saba Qom. His experience and style of play will add something different to Naft.

Key Player: Iman Mobali – Naft’s board worked day and night to make sure Mobali remained at the club following the departures of the team’s key players and the club’s financial troubles. Daei will be pleased with his decision to remain at the club as he will definitely be the engine in the team with his assists once more.

Summary: Naft Tehran suffered hugely this summer. As if the loss of their manager Alireza Mansourian wasn’t enough, star players such as Alireza Beiranvand, Jalal Hosseini and Vahid Amiri have all left the club. There was even rumours of the possibility of the team being disbanded but with new financial support and new investment, the club recruited Ali Daei as manager and some new players. Daei’s ability to work immensely with young players and Naft’s reputation at producing youngsters will provide a great combination and Naft will finish the season in mid-table regardless of their financial troubles.

Padideh

Manager: Mohammad Reza Mohajeri

2015/16 position: 10^th

2016/17 predicted position: 16

Key Signing: Shahab Gordan – Padideh had previously struggled for a good experienced goalkeeper, but Gordan’s signing will surely sort the problems out in goal. The 32 year old has a vast experience in the Persian Gulf Pro League and if he cuts out his occasional error, he’ll be a massive help to Padideh.

Key Player: Hossein Moradmand – Moradmand is a young powerful centre back who has been likened to former Team Melli and Sepahan defender, Hadi Aghili. He rarely makes individual mistakes and this season can be very important for him in getting a move to a much bigger club and even making a case for a potential international cap.

Summary: Padideh hasn’t had the strongest transfer window, and it may be difficult for them to continue the pattern of the last few seasons and finish mid-table. There’s no strong relegation candidate so Padideh may be one of many clubs fighting for survival come March and April. 

Peykan

Manager: Majid Jalali

2015/16 position: 1st (Azadegan League)

2016/17 predicted position: 12th

 Persepolis

Saba Qom

 Saipa

Sanat Naft Abadan

Sepahan

Tractor Sazi Tabriz

 Zob Ahan

Almost one year ago to this day, on 31^st of May 2015, this team were on the verge of relegation. A 3-0 victory on aggregate against Mes Kerman in a relegation play-off, ensured their survival for at least another season. As manager Abdollah Veisi was left to ponder over the terrible season his team had endured, the club’s board were considering his future. After long meetings, the club decided to put their trust in Veisi’s hands once more.

The 45 year old had a mediocre career as a footballer in Iran, featuring for the likes of Sepahan and Foolad as a defender. When his playing days were over and he took the plunge into the world of coaching and management, his insistence to play football the right way and an eye for finding great talents in lower leagues quickly upped his reputation and made him one of the modern managers in Iranian football. His dress sense and visual similarities to the Spanish mastermind, Pep Guardiola, also caused Iranian media and footballing community to refer to him as “Iran’s pep”.

Unlike their manager who has a longstanding reputation in the game in Iran, Esteghlal Melli-Sanati Khuzestan were only established in 2011. The club bought the rights and license of another Ahvazi team, Esteghlal Jonoub, who competed in Azadegan league, the second tier of Iranian football. In the 2012/13 season, Esteghlal Khuzestan were promoted to Persian Gulf Pro League

After the disappointing showings in the 2014/15 season, Veisi knew major changes were needed. An overhaul in the squad during the summer saw 20 players leave the club, including star players such as Meysam Majidi (who joined Tehran giants, Esteghlal) and Mehdi Momeni (signing for Champions League quarter-finalists Naft Tehran). Veisi had gone back to what he knew best, he gathered a squad mostly made out of young players from Azadegan league, with a wage budget of just over a £1 Million, joint lowest in the entire league. It wasn’t long before the rest of the league took notice of Veisi’s masterstrokes, stellar performances from attacking midfielder Hassan Beyt Saeed and Brazilian goalkeeper Fernando really caught the attention of the footballing community in Iran. But this success wasn’t based on individual players, the coaching staff were able to build a team, a machine, in which everyone had a role to play, a system of play in which injuries to specific players or rotations in the starting lineup wouldn’t affect their results. Esteghlal Khuzestan managed to collect an impressive 17 clean sheets in 30 games, at first glance one would think that can only come from a rigid and consistent back 4, but many times during the season Veisi chopped and changed his back 4. Full backs Aghil Kaebi, Jalal Abdi, Danial Mahini and Peyman Shirzadi were all rotated on a regular basis during the season, which is testament to the strength in depth built by Veisi. But one man always stood out as the leader and example to follow in the team, and that man was Mohammad Tayyebi, a commanding centre back who earned the nickname of “barbed wire” from his own manager.

Esteghlal Khuzestan’s story and success naturally brought around comparisons with Leicester City and their incredible achievement of winning the Barclays Premier League. But unlike the English Premier League where some of the traditional powerhouses had a below-par season, the giants of Persian Gulf Pro League were on top form as they gunned for the league title. Both of the illustrious Tehran clubs, Esteghlal and Persepolis, were in the hunt until the final day of the season as Esteghlal Khuzestan led the table on goal difference heading into the final matchday.

“You’re leading the table after 29 weeks, you have 45 minutes to get over the line. These people have come to the stadium in this scorching heat just to watch you, don’t let them go home disappointed. Go out there and play as if this is your last match. Run as if this is the last time you’ll step onto the pitch.”

Those were Veisi’s final words to his players during the half time break in their final game against Zob Ahan at home. The score was 0-0, they needed a win to ensure they’ll lift the title, and those words inspired his players as they scored 2 goals and sent the stadium wild. The celebrations had begun but when the national television was broadcasting Veisi running on the touchline with tears pouring down his face, only then one felt the magnitude of this story. He always maintained that his players were like his younger brothers and it was hard to deny that this team had a family feeling to it, they understood what this meant to the locals and people of Khuzestan.

For some of these players, their fantastic week wasn’t over especially when they saw their names in the latest national team squad announced by Carlos Queiroz. Danial Mahini and Mohammad Tayyebi will take part in Iran’s training camp and friendly game against Macedonia in June.

Once Esteghlal Khuzestan were confirmed as the champions of Iran, speculations started about the future of Veisi, and there was plenty of them. Sepahan who had a terrible season, were keen to acquire his services. But Veisi maintained his loyalty to Esteghlal Khuzestan and suggested that he will remain in Ahvaz if the club can meet his conditions. Over 10-12 days after the final game of the season, meetings took place between him and club hierarchy and it was confirmed that he will turn his back to continental football next season and his home city, to take charge of Sepahan. It started what will undoubtedly be a long summer for Esteghlal Khuzestan, with the manager and mastermind of their success leaving, only time will tell what will happen to the rest of the squad.

But as the club is left to make some big decisions in coming weeks ahead of next season, the incredible story of Esteghlal Khuzestan will remain in memories for years to come. The images of locals celebrating deep into the night on the streets of Ahvaz, will tell the story of a thousand words. Khuzestan has another chapter to its longstanding football tradition and history.

Hyperlinks

Persian Gulf Pro League

Arabian Gulf League

Qatar Stars League

Lebanese Premier League

Jordan

Oman

Iraq

Palestine

Bahrain

Kuwait

Team & Player of the Week

When a player’s name is in this colour, it indicates that he is part of the Ahdaaf Team of the Week. 

Arabian Gulf League – UAE

Game of the Week

Baniyas 2-2 Al-Jazira

Stadium: Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 2,276 

The Abu Dhabi Derby saw Baniyas succeed in returning from 2 goals down against Al-Jazira in the second half. This was due to the performances of their strikers Ishak Belfodil and Joaquin Larrivey (who now have 12 goals between them) and their substitute ‘keeper, on-loan Adel Abubakar Fadaq.

With late runs from deep, high pressing and speed; Al-Jazira successfully dominated the first half with two goals to none. Baniyas’ focus was on the duo of Ali Mabkhout and Mirko Vucinic up front, however Al-Jazira manager Braga added defensive midfielder Park to the frontline in an aim to trick the Sky Blues. This resulted in Mirko Vucinic dropping deeper into attacking midfield.

Photo: AGLeague.ae

Baniyas didn’t show the required level needed to perform in the Derby during the first half, with their 3 lines (defence, midfield and attack) disconnected and leaving spaces for Al-Jazira to exploit. The midfield trio of Mark Milligan, Amer Abdulrahman and Fawaz Awana failed to protect the defence adequately.

However, Al-Jazira’s defence sat tight in the second half looking to keep the lead – but this was detrimental. The two goals that they conceded were in the 6 yard box and as a result of their poor positioning in tandem with their partners in the defensive line. Belfodil and Larrivey both scored a goal each, while Fadaq kept the goal empty of any goals for the rest of the game.

A talking point here is – once again – the fans. It is bizarre to see that the Baniyas Stadium saw an attendance of 3,000 against Dibba (a newly promoted team with no significance to Baniyas) yet they fail to show up in a match that can prove their title credentials; against their local rivals Al-Jazira. Not looking good in the AGLeague, that’s for sure. One thing is Al-Jazira’s possession game, that saw Park Jong Woo score after an 18-pass move.

Rest of the Games

Al-Wasl 5-1 Fujairah

Stadium: Zabeel Stadium, Al-Wasl

Attendance: 610

Photo: AGLeague.ae

Al-Wasl haven’t seen a poor attendance such as this one since the 2013-14 season, but their performance was spectacular. The first half was an evenly matched one, with Fujairah providing a good defensive structure to isolate Al-Wasl’s dazzling winger Fabio de Lima. This was in the absence of Patrick Friday Eze, Fujairah’s foreign striker who came from the Serbian League.

A 0-0 draw beckoned and the teams went into the second half with fresh ideas. Salem Abdulla replaced Abdulla Kathim on the left wing for the Cheetahs, and that was a game winning change from Gabriel Calderon. Immediately, the midfield and attack clicked.

Suddenly, Al-Wasl were 2-0 up. A goal from promising attacking midfielder Khalil Khameis in between Al-Wasl’s romp was not enough to put them down. Al-Wasl continued and both Edgar Bruno and Fabio de Lima bagged a brace, with striker Caio adding in a goal of his own.

This led to Al-Ittihad newspaper waxing lyrical on the second half performance, calling it “tiki taka”. It was magical, it was dazzling and it looked like a title winning team against quite a decent side. Yet for all their options in attack, Fujairah have the worst defence (and goalkeeper) in the league.

Al-Dhafra 2-3 Emirates

Stadium: Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium, Madinat Zayed

Attendance: 956

Photo: AGLeague.ae

“The Greens’ balance claims victory over hasty Al-Dhafra”, read local newspapers. Balance between defence and attack played a big part in Emirates’ victory over Al-Dhafra. It was actually the latter that had the better attack, yet with a lack of concentration against the solid opposition defence.

Emirates continued to play on the counter attack while being wary of any mistakes from their opponents, a strategy which saw them take advantage of their defensive mistakes. Emirates opened the scoring and despite conceding 6 minutes later, took the lead via a brilliant Haitham Ali goal.

Makhete Diop went on to miss a penalty and this resulted in a loss in confidence for himself and the Dhafrawi players. Walid Amber of Al-Ahli (on loan at Emirates) scored his second of the game to widen the gap between Emirates and Al-Dhafra, only for Diop to bring the score back to 3-2.

Despite Barral and Diop’s efforts, Al-Dhafra continue their winless start to the season after 6 games and sit in 13^th place, just ahead of Al-Shaab. The real props has to go to winger Mohammad Malallah, who went in goal to replace the sent off goalkeeper Ahmad Al-Shaji and made the game winning save in minute 97, to ensure 3 points.

Al-Wahda 1-3 Al-Ahli

Stadium: Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 6,970

Photo: AGLeague.ae

The biggest question before this game was not how disappointed Cosmin Olaroiu was, at the decision by Javier Aguirre to avoid postponing the match. It was, will Rodrigo Lima score? After 50 minutes, AGLeague fans began to worry. Would this be his first match to fail scoring in? No, fortunately. An assist by Everton Ribeiro helped him score the second against Al-Wahda in Abu Dhabi.

Everton Ribeiro, part of the team of the week due to his excellent performance, scored a brace and showed off his partnership with Lima. Both were fine on the ball, fine off the ball and phenomenal as a duo. Credit has to go to Habib Fardan and Majed Hassan though, both of whom protect the Al-Ahli defence.

Al-Wahda set out in an unorthodox 3-6-1 for the first time under Aguirre. Yet Abdulla Al-Noubi, sarcastically nicknamed “Danilo of the Gulf” was dire down the right flank. More so, Kuwaiti international Hussein Fadhel was easily outclassed by the Al-Ahli forwards. The only consolation came via Valdivia’s fantastic goal, but even he found no energy to celebrate it after going 3-0 down.

Al-Shabab 1-4 Al-Ain

Stadium: Maktoum bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 3,893

Felipe Bastos proved his worth by scoring a superb brace that included one of his trademark free kicks against one of the better teams in the league, Al-Shabab. Just a minute into the affair, Omar Abdulrahman opened the scoring.

Felipe Bastos proceeded to make his mark on Emirati football with his free kick, before Jo found a hole in Al-Ain’s defence. Since his arrival from Atletico Mineiro in the summer, Jo has been a fine replacement for Edgar Bruno (now at Al-Wasl), who was known for his movement and teamwork. Jo took advantage of the spaces and despite calls for offside, went on to lessen the deficit to 2-1 before the break.

Yet, Al-Ain continued to cause havoc on the Greens’ defence. They ended up winning a penalty, which went to recent internationally retired striker Emmanuel Emenike. The latter slotted the ball past the ‘keeper Salem Abdullah, to keep the score two goals ahead for the Zaeem, Al-Ain.

Photo: AGLeague.ae

Felipe Bastos re-emerged at half time to add a thorn into the backside of Al-Shabab’s defenders. A goal from outside of the box bounced in past Salem Abdullah to effectively end the game after 49 minutes.

Dibba 1-2 Al-Nasr 

Stadium: Fujairah Stadium, Fujairah

Attendance: 860

Dibba’s first half resilience under Theo Bucker wasn’t enough, once again. Despite earning their first win against big boys Al-Jazira a few weeks ago, the former Lebanese national team manager failed to help his team gain another three points to propel themselves away from a relegation battle.

Photo: AGLeague.ae

Jires Kembo-Ekoko proved himself as a very valuable signing for Al-Nasr once again, linking up with his partner Johnathan Pitroipa. For all the talk of Kembo being an Al-Ain reject and Pitroipa the same with Al-Jazira, they have been doing quite well to push Al-Nasr to the top spots this season.

Sharjah 2-0 Al-Shaab

Stadium: Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Attendance: 4,890 

This match could have been the biggest match of the week had it seen more goals, but generally the match was entertaining to the big crowd. Both teams’ fans showed up in numbers for the “Smiling Emirate Derby” yet the strikers failed to produce anything of note. Michal Laurent N’dri, the man who score the 94^th minute winner for Al-Shaab to promote them to the AGLeague has failed to score at the current time of writing. Sharjah hitman Wanderley was also off par, partly due to Al-Shaab’s resolute defence.

Photo: AGLeague.ae

Yet in the end the mistake came from Celio dos Santos, a man who fans loved back in Tabriz, with Tractor Sazi. The centre back misjudged a clearance and lumped the ball into his own net with less than 20 minutes to go on the clock. Young central midfielder Muhain Khalifa assured the King’s fans’ of the win, with a blistering long shot late into the game. 2-0 it was to the Sharjawi who triumphed over their fierce rivals Al-Shaab.

Results and League table after 6 weeks of AGLeague play: http://bit.ly/1WcqIFh

Written by Hamoudi Fayad

Persian Gulf Pro League – Iran

Game of the Week

Perspolis 2-1 Siah Jamegan

Perspolis went into the game against Siah Jamegan with their fans expecting the Red Army to win the game in remembrance of Captain Hadi Norouzi who recently passed away, and that’s exactly what they did. They entered the game with massive confidence and although Sosha Makani (Perspolis’s first choice goalkeeper) and Reza Nourmohammadi (Perspolis’s captain) were missing from the game, they kept their composure and got the result.

The game started and although Perspolis were playing away from home in Siah Jamegan’s Samen Stadium, they were dominating the game. The wingers (Omid Alishah and Farshad Ahmadzadeh) were constantly crossing the ball to Mehdi Taremi (Perspolis’s first choice striker and current Persian Gulf Pro League’s Golden Boot contender) but he couldn’t make much from it. He played well and ran through Siah Jamegan’s defense but wasn’t Perspolis’s main star, as Farshad Ahmadzadeh and Omid Alishah were incredible on the wings and were constantly battling against Siah Jamegan’s defense.

The game went on with Perspolis having many attacks on Siah Jamegan’s goal without any major result, however the deadlock broke in the 39th minute as Farshad Ahmadzadeh saw Ramin Rezaeian (Perspolis’s right back) making a great run and crossed the ball exactly where he was for him to score with a beautiful header and make the game 1-0 to Perspolis.

The first half ended with Perspolis players scoring a good goal and getting more confident, and the second half started with the Reds hungry for more! However, Perspolis wasn’t the only motivated team, as Siah Jamegan was desperately looking for an equalizer. But while Siah Jamegan had some decent attacks and a quality free-kick from Reza Enayati (which could’ve gone in if Iman Sadeghi hadn’t punched the ball away), they couldn’t create much and Perspolis was dominating once again.

Just as Siah Jamegan was getting composed, Perspolis got another goal in the 71st minute. Omid Alishah crossed the ball perfectly and Farshad Ahmadzadeh jumped high and headed the ball home for Perspolis to go up 2-0 against Siah Jamegan. After Perspolis’s goal, Siah Jamegan started to attack again but couldn’t make anything from their occasional attacks. Perspolis had a couple other attacks too, with the most notable one coming from Mehdi Taremi who ran through Siah Jamegan’s defense and got fouled in the box, but was shown the yellow card even though he should’ve been awarded a penalty.

After that controversial scene, Siah Jamegan went all out attacking and gave Perspolis’s defenders a hard time. And it only took a few minutes for Siah Jamegan to get a goal back in the 81st minute after they had a couple of serious attacks on Perspolis’s goal. Siah Jamegan’s throw-in was long, and Mohsen Bengar’s clearance was disastrous as the ball fell in front of Alireza Naghizadeh who was horrendously marked by Omid Alishah. Naghizadeh powered the ball in the back of Perspolis’s net and gave hope to his team who desperately wanted to at least snatch one point. Siah Jamegan, however, couldn’t do much after their goal, with Perspolis dominating once again. The Reds could’ve even scored another goal with Jerry Bengtson hitting the cross bar, moments before the game was over. So Perspolis won the game 2-1 against Siah Jamegan, in a game that the Reds were completely dominant and could’ve scored many more goals. It was a brilliant performance and a timely win in loving memory of Captain Hadi Norouzi.

Rest of the Games

Malavan and Sepahan drew 0-0 in a game that the defenders had a better showing than the attackers.

Tractor Sazi won 2-0 against Saipa who seem to have lost their rhythm in their recent games, with Hamza Younes (26’) and Bakhtiar Rahmani (53’) both scoring Tractor’s goals. This result has massively troubled the ex-Tractor boss, Majid Jalali (Saipa’s manager), who is threatened to get sacked if the team doesn’t go back on form.

Esteghlal Tehran drew 1-1 against Esteghlal Khuzestan, with the goals coming from Aghil Kaebi (36’) and Pero Pejić (44’). Esteghlal Tehran is still on top of the table, but their recent form and constant draws could hint at a problematic future.

Saba Qom won 2-1 against Foolad Khuzestan with Foolad’s goal coming from Saman Ansari (23’) and Saba’s goals being scored by Amir Hossein Sadeghi (64’) and Mohammad Ghazi (82’). Foolad is still struggling to get points and haven’t won any of their 9 games in the Persian Gulf Pro League. And however shocking it might sound, Foolad are already favorites to be relegated.

Zob Ahan drew 0-0 with Gostaresh Foolad, and while Yahya Golmohammadi’s Zob Ahan did mainly dominate the game, they were still extremely wasteful.

Naft Tehran won 2-0 against Rah Ahan, with Vahid Amiri (25’) and Arsalan Motahari (89’) scoring Naft’s goals which resulted in their first win in the ongoing Persian Gulf Pro League season!

Esteghlal Ahvaz (who have recently sacked Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh and appointed Ali Hanteh) lost 2-3 to Padideh Khorasan who have contained a decent form throughout the current season. Saeed Salarzadeh (39’) and Farzad Ashoubi (64’) scored Esteghlal’s goals while Younes Shakeri (37’) and Mohammad Yousefi (59’ and 62’) scored Padideh’s three goals.

Written by Armin SH

Qatar Stars League

Game of the Week

Al-Rayyan 5-2 Al-Arabi

This tie is billed as the Clasico of Qatar and every fan of Qatari football saw why on Saturday night at the Al-Arabi Stadium. It had all the ingredients of a thriller, and it lived up to the hype that was being built over the week. The game saw 7 goals, 2 penalties, a red card, inspired performances from new signings, crazy celebrations, tears and even a bizarre botched substitution that left Gianfranco Zola bewildered. Last but not least, the 10,000 odd fans who attended the fans made for a brilliant atmosphere with tifos, huge banners and combined blinking of mobile flashes.

It was Al-Rayyan who took the lead and it came in the 22nd minute. Al-Arabi keeper Rajab Hamza was adjudged to have brought down Rodrigo Tabata in what was a controversial decision. The Rayyani fans didn’t mind and roared when Tabata converted the spot kick with ease. At the stroke of halftime, the lead was doubled when new signing Mohammed Jumua al-Alawi who marauded forward and poked the ball past Rajab.

After the restart, Al-Arabi seemed to be a better team and they deservedly cut the deficit when Musaab Mahmoud finished off a pass from Dutra in the 55th minute. And then, the complexion of the match changed with a red card to Rajab. In the 63rd minute, the keeper brought down Soria in the box and the referee gave him his marching orders, leaving Al-Arabi with a heavy task to do with only ten men. Tabata scored from the penalty and then only a minute later, set up Sergio Garcia to make it 4-1.

By then, Al-Arabi fans had started leaving the ground in disappointment and many of them missed the goal that Yousef Ahmed created. The substitute won the ball from Nathan and poked it to Paulinho who finished into an empty net to make the score 4-2.

Al-Rayyan were sitting comfortably though and had no reason to worry. In the 84th minute, Mohammed Jumua got his second of the night and brought up the magical ‘5’ on the scoreline.

In the middle of the second half, there was a bizarre incident in the dugout when Dame Traore was not allowed to come on as he wasn’t able to remove a ring from his finger. This left Zola exasperated, adding to the woes of a woeful night for the Arabi gaffer.

Rest of the Games

Mesaimeer 2-1 Al-Kharaitiyat

Promoted Mesaimeer brought to an end their winless and goalless run of matches after triumphing 2-1 over Al-Kharaitiyat. Veteran striker Yahia Kebe had given Al-Kharaitiyat the lead in the 11th minute but the Flames of Mesaimeer shone brightly and never lost their spirit. Erivelto Silva score Mesaimeer’s first ever QSL goal before adding one more to register his team’s historic first ever QSL win.

Al-Wakrah 2-1 Al-Gharafa

Al-Gharafa suffered their second successive defeat after starting the season well. This time it was Mouhcine Moutouali and Al-Wakrah who did the damage. Although Anas Mubarak took the lead for Al-Gharafa in the 58th minute, Moutouali cancelled it out in the 74th. And then at the fag end of the match, he won and converted a penalty to break Gharfawi hearts.

El Jaish 2-0 Lekhwiya

Abderrazak Hamdallah just can’t stop scoring and after his brace against Lekhwiya, one might wonder if he will run away with the Top Scorer award. His goals in the 4th and the 12th minutes were his 7th and 8th in the league and gave his team a valuable victory over the close rivals and defending champions Lekhwiya. Djamel Belmadi has a lot to work on if he is to bring his underperforming team back to the top.

Al-Sadd 0-0 Al-Khor 

Xavi and his Al-Sadd team are not really having it their way in the QSL. They wasted an opportunity to put pressure on league leaders Rayyan when they were held to a goalless stalemate by a resolute Al-Khor. Khor keeper Baba Djibril was brilliant in goal with Al-Sadd simply unable to breach his guard, despite having a numerical advantage following the red card to Nayef al-Braiki.

Al-Ahli 3-0 Qatar SC 

It was the same story again for the black-and-yellow brigade of Qatar SC as they lost yet again. The 3-0 reverse against Al-Ahli consigned Qatar to the bottom of the table with no wins so far. Al-Ahli’s goal all came in the second half, with Mujtaba Jabbari and Meshaal Abdullah both netting from penalties before former Qatar SC striker Abdulla al-Kuwari scored with a fine finish. A few days later, Radhi Shneishil lost his job and Sebastiao Lazaroni was roped in once again.

Al-Sailiya 1-2 Umm Salal 

Al-Sailiya may have thought they were on the way to a third win of the season when they took the lead against Umm Salal through Mustafa Mohamed’s header. Syrian forward Ismail Mohammed equalised in the 47th before Sailiya star Fouzi Ayesh was sent off. After that, things went downhill for the Falcons. Ismail set up Jeremie Aliadiere to complete the comeback win in the 79th minute.

POSTPONED MATCH (ROUND 1)

Al Gharafa 1-1 Lekhwiya

The empire seems to be crumbling at Lekhwiya. Djamel Belmadi’s men have now failed to win in their last three matches following this draw against Al-Gharafa. The result did no favours to Gharafa either, whose captain Bilal Mohammed had put them ahead in the 60th minute only for Vladimir Weiss to equalise with a brilliant strike only two minutes later. In the 88th minute, Weiss had a chance to give his team a much-needed win after being given a penalty but to the shock of everyone at Lekhwiya, he messed it up. Some run of form this has been for the Cops.

Written by Ahmed Hashim

Oman Pro League

Omani fans broke the league record once again as 14,000 fans attended the huge match up between Al-Suwaiq and Sohar. The latter have been involved in their second crunch match in 7 days. They drew 0-0 with Saham in the Oman Derby, and now faced revitalised and undefeated Al-Suwaiq.

Both teams were aware of each other’s strengths, and started off with caution especially in midfield. Sohar earned the best of the chance in the first 15 minutes after taking their chances against Al-Suwaiq goalkeeper Suleiman Al-Buraiki.

Sohar proceeded to take the lead before Mohammad Aflay equalised with a calculated free kick, only for Sohar to take the lead again. As Sohar were prepared to continue their rise towards the top spots Al-Suwaiq scored an equaliser in injury time to deny Sohar a valuable and extra two points. Both teams share their positions with 9 points, near the top 4.

The fans were the biggest talking point of the game. Abderrazak Kheiri (manager of Al-Suwaiq) and Abdulnasser Makees (manager of Sohar) both complemented the fans, whose performance was outstanding.

Results and League table after 6 weeks of Oman Pro League play: http://bit.ly/1H9LDwo

VIVA Bahrain Premier League

Riffa turned out victors in the “Riffa Derby” between themselves and East Riffa. A single goal separated both teams at the Bahrain National Stadium in the opening week of the VIVA Bahrain Premier League.

Riffa were able to score the only goal of the game in the second half, where East Riffa and Bahraini International Abdulla Al-Hazza scored an own goal. It was actually East Riffa who threatened to open the scoring via Saad Al-Amer in the 6^th minute, who hit the post with a dangerous shot.

Mohammad Al-Tayeb came on just 12 minutes in to provide a spark in attack for (West) Riffa, replacing the injured winger Ahmad Jalal in the process. This worked as both Al-Tayeb and Onouha Ogbonna grabbed their chances in the 25^th and 26^th minute respectively, only to miss.

Bahraini national team right winger Sami Al-Husseini, and new signing for East Riffa, had his pace and trickery on show as he powerfully struck a shot towards opposition ‘keeper Hamad Al-Dossary. The rest of the first half ended with nothing to note of, as both teams were limited to a 0-0 scoreline.

Onouha Ogbonna started the second half with a bang, only 6 minutes into the proceedings. A cross inside to threaten East Riffa defenders succeeded as Abdullah Al-Hazza put the ball in his own net. This saw Adam Alis Setyano exit the pitch in favour of Ali Abdulla in ’56, with the Indonesian attacking midfielder not providing anything of note

Famed Bahraini referee Nawaf Shukrallah only had one yellow card to pull out in this outing, which was very drab considering the weight of the derby. Abdulla Al-Janahi tried his best to equalise late in the game but Ali Khalil made a successful goal line clearance, to end the game at 1-0 for Riffa.

The rest of the results in the Bahraini League, which saw Bahraini Champions Muharraq strikers’ Ismail Abdullatif and Iraqi Mustafa Kareem grab two goals each in a 4-0 drubbing of Malkiya: http://bit.ly/1kQeLEr

Kuwaiti Premier League 

Al-Jahra grabbed a valuable 3 points from 2014/15 VIVA Kuwaiti League runner-up Al-Arabi, in a match on Sunday evening at the Mubarak Al-Ayyar Stadium. Only two weeks into the season, Al-Jahra will want to build on their 3^rd place finish with now-Lebanon manager Miodrag Radulovic last season.

Al-Jahra scored two goals in the space of four minutes, via Elias. Syrian striker and Kuwaiti League icon Firas Al-Khatib continued his goalscoring, with a penalty in the 61^st minute. Yet Al-Jahra, despite their win, only stand on 3 points currently after their loss to Salmiya in the opening week.

Qadsia are the league’s heavy starters after scoring their 8^th goal in a recent match against Al-Sahel. A 5-2 win was enough to see off the challenge of Al-Sahel. Albeit the lackluster performance from Al-Sahel, they did score a fantastic goal in between the rest of Qadsia’s romp. Doris Salomo rised to the top of the goalscoring rankings with a hat trick.

Salmiya destroyed Kazma 4-1 at the latter’s home stadium in what could be described as an embarrassment for Florin Motroc’s team. Both Jordanians Oday Al-Saify (Salmiya) and Saeed Murjan (Kazma) scored in this game too, to the delight of Jordanian media outlets. However it was Hamad Al-Enezi who wowed the fans with his double-goal display.

This was Kazma’s second defeat, with the first coming against Kuwaiti League holders Kuwait SC (4-0) in the first round. The latter took a rest this week, due to the league’s odd number of teams after Al-Tadamon pulled out of the league and Burgan confirmed that they would only participate in cup competitions.

The rest of the league’s results, plus the league table: http://bit.ly/1Hb1RW1

Jordanian Pro League

A disastrous week for the Jordanian League’s managers it was. 6 managers (out of 12) have already been sacked just 4 weeks into the league season! Who will be next?

Photo: AlGhad

Moving on, after Hussein Irbid lost 5-1 to newly-promoted Kufrsoum in a shocking match, they went on to defeat Jordanian League giants and Champions Wehdat 1-0! This match had small effect though, with Wehdat staying on 9 points at the top of the table while Hussein Irbid moved up into 7^th place with 5 points.

Akram Al-Zuwi scored the opener in the 17^th minute for Hussein, after a cross that came from Ahmad Ghazi’s corner. It all began with Hussein’s new tactical blend, which helped them control the game. Mohammad Abu Zreiq and Anas Bani Yaseen provided a benchmark in central defence for Suleiman Al-Salman and Suleiman Al-Azzam to maraud down their respective flanks. Akram Al-Zuwi and Mohammad Abu Zeitoun switched between their positions (striker and attacking midfield, respectively) to avoid being marked by Wehdat’s defenders.

Wehdat’s 4-5-1 formation was organised, but inefficient especially in attack. The lone striker failed to work the channels adequately to threaten the opposition. Their changes in the second half saw a more dense attack that looked to pressurize the Hussein defenders. But it was the Irbid-based team who held onto the victory…

Newly promoted Kufrsoum are getting into their rhythm after the departure of their former manager Bilal Al-Lahham. Two losses under the former saw him leave the club after internal issues, but the fresher Kufrsoum have started to become visible with 4 points in their last two games.

Photo: AlGhad

Kufrsoum successfully got into this game with speed and intensity with thanks to their midfield quartet in the middle of the park. They provided the strikers with fast and smart passes. Kufrsoum played with freedom and were better at reaching the opposition’s goal. Baqa’a came into the match with a 4-5-1 formation that was highly defensive, afraid of the danger that Kufrsoum’s players could inflict, especially Marwan Obeidat.

However, Baqa’a overturned the dominance in the second half to a good start of their own and controlled the match better than their opponents, whose level worsened throughout the match. The goal scored by them saw the team become more urgent in their bid to win, but Kufrsoum’s defence positioned themselves perfectly to avoid a late loss. FT Score: 1-1.

In Amman, Al-Jazeera tied 0-0 with Al-Ahli – the team who eliminated Wehdat from the Jordan Cup early into the tournament. This was a game that was largely quiet due to both teams’ reluctance to open up and attack. The praise has to be given to Ahmad Abdulsattar, who saved everything in his way to help Al-Jazeera come out with a respectable point. His team were unable to produce anything threatening in attack, with 4 attacks the most they could do on a disappointing night.

The rest of the week’s results and matches: http://bit.ly/1WiJQfq

Wataniya Mobile Pro League – Palestine

The fourth matchday of Wataniya Mobile Pro League was played during the past weekend.
This matchday staged three ‘Mini Derbies’, what added some excitement and prestige for the atmosphere, which currently isn’t so positive with the Saudi-Palestinian World Qualifier Saga, and the ongoing conflict in the West Bank, between Palestine and Israel.

The Refugees Camps’ Classic, Clásico Al-Mukhayamat, between Shabab Al-Am’ary of Al-Bireh and Al-Gid’an Markz Balata of Nablus, was held at the Faisal Husseini Stadium in Al-Ram. The game started in a little late, after local protesters from Al-Ram got into clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces near the stadium. During the match itself Adham Abu Ruys gave Balata the lead with a half-a-volley rebound, while Al-Am’ary tied the result with a brilliant free kick of Ahmad Khawity. On the 78’ minute Abd Al-Hamid Abu Habib managed to score from a close range, in order to secure Balata’s victory, 2-1.

Shabab Al-Khaleel continued their promising start for the season, and gained a 1-0 victory over Shabab Dora, at the ‘Small Derby’ of Hebron County, with a good performance from Haytham Dheeb in defence. Dora, hometown of Palestinian Football Association’s chairman, Mr. Jibril Rajoub, was hosting the match, which saw Mahmoud Abu Warda scores the winner for the Khaleelies. Shabab Al-Khaleel achieved important 3 points before next week Classic against Dahariya, while Dura was left disappointed and troubled at the lower side of the table.

Al-Khader stadium is home for the biggest teams in Bet Lehem area – Taraji Wad Al-Nes and Shabab Al-Khader. Taraji arrived at the match after their first win of the season last week, but couldn’t compete with Al-Khader’s quality squad. Sameh Mar’abeh, the new rising star of Palestinian football, scored one, while Ali Adawy added the second. Taraji’s play did not match the professional level, and it looks like the club will continue its struggle at the lower parts of Dauri Al-Mukhtarifin.

The main match of this matchday was the one involved Hilal Al-Quds and Shabab Dahariya. Dahariya took the lead after a good run and a cold finish by Mohammed Fodeh. Daharaiya was about to conquer the top of table, but at the 87^th minute Fady Zidan nailed the equalizer for the Jerusalemites. Hilal Al-Quds is suffering a bad opening for the season despite some major investments in the transfer window, while Dahariya is sharing the 1^st place with Shabab Al-Khaleel.

Written by Babagoaaal (Uri Levy) 

Fuchs Premier League – Iraq 

Al-Zawraa, the only unbeaten team in Iraq’s two group format, and last season’s league champions Naft Al-Wasat are on course to qualify from Group A as they both picked up victories on match day seven of the Fuchs Iraqi league. Loay Salah with two and Mohanad Abdul-Rahim with his sixth goal this season was enough to see Al-Nawaras beat Naft Al-Maysan.

Naft Al-Wasat who slipped to second in the league after a shock 3-1 defeat away to promoted Samawa last week, returned to winning ways with a comfortable win over bottom of the table Duhok, with goals from Amjad Walid, Jassim Mohammed and Syrian defender Alaa Al-Shbli, who also netted past his own keeper.

The next two rounds of matches will see the Iraqi champions take on this season’s surprise team in Group A, Al-Naft and leaders Al-Zawraa. Hossam Al-Sayed’s high-flyers Al-Minaa stretched their lead in Group B to four points with a convincing 1-0 win over Al-Shurta at the Al-Karkh Stadium.

Syrian striker Omar Khrebin rounded the keeper to score the winner, his fourth in three league games and he now tops the goalscorers’ charts with seven goals. Second placed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya continued their slump with another defeat at Zakho. Amir Sabah’s double compounded Sabah Abdul-Jalil’s men to their 3rd defeat in the last four matches and looked to have lost the services of top scorer Hamadi Ahmed for a month after he was stretchered off with a broken jaw.

Four-time champions Arbil have been rejuvenated this season under Thair Ahmed and are up to third in the group. A 3-1 win at Al-Najaf has stretched their unbeaten run to five matches. The Yellow Citadel had been predicted to struggle after they were forced to release most of their squad in the close season due to financial problems but the league’s joint top scorers with 11 goals look on course to qualify for the final stage on current form.

Written by Hassanin Mubarak

Alfa Lebanese League

Al Safa 4-0 Sagesse

After a stunning performance in the first round, Safa won the first game of the second Round against Sagesse Achrafiye, 4-0 to keep themselves on top of the league.

As usual, Safa scored an early goal by National Team Player Zein Tahan (min. 4′). Ten minutes later, his teammate Hazimeh scored the second goal for the Yellow Castle after a huge mistake from Sagesse’s goal keeper Nazih Taha, which leave many question marks on Al Sagesse’s Shaky defensive performance. Al-Safa quickly killed Sagesse’s hope to come back in the game with a stunner in the 22th minutes by the talented Mohammed Haidar.

In the second half, the newly promoter team tried to coma back but Al-Safa’s defenders were brilliant and were able to keep another clean sheet this season, meanwhile Sheikh Dyouk scored the 4th goal in the game (min. 87).

Al-Ahed 3-0 Shabeb Al-Ghazieh

Moving to the second game, after a shocking loss in the first round against Nabi Chit everyone started wondering what happened to the champions but the ALFA Lebanese champions Al-Ahed defeated Shabab Ghazieh, 3-0.

Al-Ahed finished the job in the First Half scoring three goals in 15 minutes, Starting with Hussein Dakik in the 13th minutes, then Khalil Khamis 7 minutes later while the 3rd goals was scored by Al-Ahed’s foreign The Senegalese striker Drame. In the second half, Al-Ahed kept their domination and could add more goals if their strikers were focused but at the end, Al-Ahed grabbed the first three points in the season.

Tripoli 1-1 Ijtimai
The awaited Tripoli Derby finished 1-1 after a great performance from both teams. Oboku scored for the Second Division Champions while Mostapha Kasaa scored for the Lebanese Cup holders. Ex-Salam Zgharta’s Striker Abu Baker Al-Mal showed an improvement in his second game with his new team and Tripoli FC fans are optimistic with the striker’s perfrormance and they’re sure that he will show his full potential in the upcoming games.

And one thing to spot was the game’s atmosphere, which was superb thanks to both team’s fans. Hopefully this will effect positively on the league this season.

On the other side, Al Nabi Chit won their second game against Shabab Al-Sahel 1-0, scored by the shining player Khaled Al-Saleh. It was marred by the fact that star striker Abdoulaye Kanoute broke his leg and had no first aid to help him! Players had to carry him off the pitch.

Written by Abed Aydin 

*Beirut Derby between Nejmeh and Ansar postponed until November 11.

Team of the Week 

Player of the Week

To make this simple for you, we have hyperlinks to any league you would like to read at your own pleasure. We also have live leagues and results, so feel free to use this tool that will be your guide for any of the teams in the league that you want to read: https://ahdaaf.me/fixtures-results/

Hyperlinks

Persian Gulf Pro League

Arabian Gulf League

Qatar Stars League

Saudi Arabian ALJ League

Lebanese Premier League

Jordan, Oman, Iraq, Palestine, Bahrain, Kuwait

Team & Player of the Week

Week 7 – Persian Gulf Pro League

Game of the Week

Rah Ahan 5-0 Esteghlal Ahvaz

Stadium: Rah Ahan Stadium

Attendance: 100

Newly promoted Esteghlal Ahvaz travelled to Tehran to face Rah Ahan in what was considered as the first relegation 6-pointer of the season. Prior to the game, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Esteghlal Ahvaz camp, with some high profile players complaining about a lack of payment of their contracts and other broken promises by the club. Both teams only had one win to show for their season, so they both aimed to get maximum points in this clash.

After observing a minute’s silence in respect to the recently deceased Persepolis captain, Hadi Norouzi, Esteghlal Ahvaz got the game under way. Early stages of the game saw both teams trying to dominate midfield and create scoring opportunities from a more direct approach. But it was the home side who took the lead on 10^th minute, it was Mehrdad Mohammadi’s great work down the left which created the goal after he found Amin Manouchehri across the goal as the latter tapped the ball in to break the deadlock. Esteghlal Ahvaz captain, Adel Kolahkaj, came close to putting the game back on level terms when he headed wide from a corner, it was a great opportunity as the Rah Ahan defence fell asleep but Kolahkaj may regret this huge miss. Minutes later, it was time for Rah Ahan’s captain, Bahador Abdi, to step up as his persistence in the penalty box created a havoc and Esteghlal Ahvaz’ failure to clear the ball gave Mehrdad Mohammadi an opportunity to volley home inside the 6 yards box, and he converted to double his team’s lead. Rest of the first half saw the visitors pushing for a goal, and they went close on a couple of occasions but Rah Ahan’s goalkeeper, Mohammad Ali Ramezanian, was on hand to make some crucial saves to keep the score at 2-0 before the break.

The game was indifferent in 2^nd half, with neither team eager to push on to score. But on 70^th minute, as Esteghlal Ahvaz pushed for a goal to get back into the game, Rah Ahan hit them on the counter and it was Amin Manouchehri on the right who noticed Mehrdad Mohammad running towards to the box and laid the ball at his feet as Mohammadi’s accurate side footed shot found the corner of the net to put the game beyond their opponents. The last few minutes of the game saw Esteghlal Ahvaz giving up as they allowed their hosts to score 2 more goals with some comical defending on the show. 23 year old Hossein Karimi and Captain, Bahador Abdi, scored the 4^th and 5^th goal respectively as Rah Ahan recorded their 2^nd win of the season in emphatic fashion.

It was a terrible performance from Esteghlal Ahvaz, with their defence cutting open time and time again allowing their opponents to score 5. As a result, Siavash Bakhtiarizadeh, was sacked as manager and he has been replaced by Ali Hanteh. Rah Ahan, however, are looking good under their new manager, Mehdi Tartar, and aiming to get more points across the table in the coming weeks.

Rest of the Games

The most anticipated game of the week took place at the Azadi Stadium where Persepolis took on Saba Qom. There was a lot of eyes on this game but for non-football reasons. Persepolis, tragically lost their club captain, Hadi Norouzi, who passed away over a week before the game and the players were keen to get on the pitch and win a game in his memory. Before the game started, the fans held up a “Hadi24” tifo in the memory of their captain. Saba took the lead through former Esteghlal and Persepolis man, Mohammad Ghazi, before Persepolis’s man in-form, Mehdi Taremi, equalised in 2^nd half as the game ended 1-1.

A crisis hit Foolad hosted Tractor Sazi in what turned out to be a game full of action. Tractor Sazi had to come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 as Mohammad Iranpourian scored a 90^th minute winner from the penalty spot. Omid Khaledi had given Foolad the lead on 65^th minute before Augusto Cesar equalised 6 minutes later. Farid Karimi of Tractor Sazi and Esmaeil Sharifat of Foolad were sent off during the 2^nd half, as Foolad find themselves at the foot of the table.

Zob Ahan took another leap towards the top of the table as they earned a hard earned 1-0 win away from home at Saipa. Masoud Hassanzadeh scored the only goal of the game on 16^th minute which takes Zob Ahan up to 4^th in the table just above Saipa.

Mehdi Kheiri scored the goal of the week as Padideh held league leaders, Esteghlal, to a 1-1 draw at home. Kheiri’s 40 yard spectacular goal gave Padideh the lead inside the first 5 minutes before Hossein Moradmand’s own goal gave Esteghlal an equaliser just before the hour mark. Esteghlal remain at the top of the table ahead with other results going their way.

Elsewhere in Esfahan, defending champions, Sepahan, faced Siah Jamegan as they aimed to put more pressure on leaders Esteghlal. However, Siah Jamegan’s resolute performance earned them a 1-1 draw in such a difficult away trip. Mehdi Sharifi scored for Sepahan just before the break as Behrouz Afshar brought the game back to level terms in the 2^nd half. Sepahan remain 2^nd in the table only on goal difference ahead of 3^rd placed Esteghlal Khuzestan.

Naft Tehran who have had a difficult start to the season, travelled to Tabriz to face Gostaresh. Aloys Nong gave visitors the lead but Omid Nezamipour earned his team a point at home as the game ended 1-1. Naft remain just outside the relegation zone as manager, Alireza Mansourian, aims to get his team back to winning ways sooner rather than later.

The only 0-0 draw of the week came in Ahvaz where Esteghlal Khuzestan welcomed Malavan. A point each way was a fair result as Esteghlal Khuzestan continue their incredible run this season, after surviving by the skin of their teeth last season, they are now 3^rd in the table amassing 15 points from 8 games.

Ahdaaf Player of the Week:

Mehrdad Mohammadi’s performance in his team’s 5-0 win at home earns him the Player of the Week award. With two goals and an assist, he was instrumental in earning his team an invaluable 3 points.  The 22 year old midfielder has had a fantastic start to the season, he is the league’s joint top goalscorer with 6 goals and many assists.

Written by Sina Saemian 

Week 5 – Arabian Gulf League

Game of the Week

Al-Ahli 3-1 Sharjah

Stadium: Rashid Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 3,300

Sharjah’s hopes dwindle weekly, as their attendance continues to dwindle too. The away fans were loud for the majority of the first half as new signing Maicosuel scored another league goal. However, the Al-Ahli attack was too good. The amount of times we’ve said, tweeted or written this…

Lima, Sow and Al-Hammadi proved a deadly trio as they all helped each other out to score. Obviously not forgetting Habib Fardan’s addition this time. The Al-Ahli side had next to no weaknesses despite going down 1-0. Overall, the game wasn’t entertaining as much itself. The week was very drab in the Arabian Gulf League, with two 0-0 draws taking over in the supposed ‘Games of the Week’! (Al-Jazira x Al-Shabab // Al-Nasr x Al-Wahda)

Moussa Sow fights Muhain Khalifa off the ball. (Photo: agleague.ae)

However one thing that we should note is Cosmin’s reluctance to play a weakened squad. Even in the Arabian Gulf Cup – a second tier cup – the likes of Lima, Sow, Ribeiro, Fardan, Salmin and Kwon play. Nevertheless, that’s not to say young players aren’t getting their chances. Saeed Ahmed, Humaid Abbas, Humaid Salmin, Adil Al-Hammadi, Yousif Al-Sayed are some of the names that have seen game time across the course of the season.

Rest of the Games 

Al-Jazira 0-0 Al-Shabab

Stadium: Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 3,120

To think that Al-Jazira’s attendances in the league over the past 5 seasons has always stayed above 6,000 at the bare minimum in terms of average attendances. Now, look at their level. This is taking into account an Abu Dhabi Derby (Al-Wahda), one of the biggest fan bases (Al-Wasl) and a top four challenger (Al-Shabab) have come to face them.

Carlos Villanueva proving his excellence once again. (Photo: agleague.ae)

What if the likes of Dibba, Al-Dhafra and Fujairah come to play at the MBZ stadium? All we know is, the league attendances this season have been largely disappointing. Al-Jazira faced Fujairah, Emirates and Al-Ain in the first 3 games of 2014-15 to see an average attendance of 8,468 – only for it to deteriorate to 3,533 in the current season.

Nevertheless, the game was a very tight affair that saw an improved Al-Jazira defence with not much to note of. One move by Caio Junior that saw a difference is moving Jo to the wing and Villanueva into the centre: a tactical change not seen in the AGL.

Fujairah 1-1 Al-Dhafra 

Stadium: Fujairah, Fujairah

Attendance: 856

A game that lacked anything to begin with, it was all up to individual ability of Hassan Maatouk to create something out of nothing. Yet that wasn’t present in this game to everyone’s ultimate surprise. Defensive mistakes saw each team bag a goal, and that was the story of the game in essence.

Patrick Eze slips in a pass before falling to the ground. (Photo: agleague.ae)

Patrick Eze stole the ball off an Al-Dhafra defender before opening the scoring, while Al-Dhafra’s fuzzy haired central midfielder Al-Naqbi scored a long-range goal that Al-Ruwahi (Fujairah GK) caught and let go of in between his own legs! Silly mistakes by the goalkeeper have continued. It is important to remember that Al-Ruwahi was the goalkeeper who conceded 8 against Al-Ahli in the opening game of the season.

Al-Ain 1-0 Dibba

Stadium: Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al-Ain

Attendance: 3,148

Ryan Babel was the talk of a very boring game. He started off well to begin with, before getting a red card (sparking tweets to him claiming that he got sent off to watch Klopp’s debut at Liverpool against Tottenham!) during the proceedings of the first half.

It was up to Omar Abdulrahman to force a winner, as he crossed it towards goal only for recent internationally retired defender Bilal Najjarine scoring one of the best own goals we’ve seen in a while.

Omar Abdulrahman. (Photo: agleague.ae)

Al-Nasr 0-0 Al-Wahda 

Stadium: Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 2,540

The match did not live up to its expected level, especially Al-Nasr who failed to grab the 3 important points that could have kept them at the top of the table. The international break clearly affected both sets of players.

The match lacked any chances to speak of, specifically from Al-Wahda who suffered from playing with a man down. Mohammad Bargash saw himself sent off in the first half. On the other hand, Al-Nasr players failed to take advantage of the extra space gained in the absence of an extra man.

Tariq Ahmed (left) fights off Sebastian Tagliablue. (Photo: agleague.ae)

Jimenez, Pitroipa and Kembo Ekoko have been fantastic since the beginning of the season. However, this was the first time that all three failed to make an impact on the match. They failed to threaten any of the Al-Wahda centre backs.

Al-Wahda closed the gaps in the second half with two banks of 4, however that didn’t change the course of the game either. This saw the game end in a stalemate.

Al-Shaab 1-2 Al-Wasl

Stadium: Khaled Bin Mohammad, Sharjah

Attendance: 2,962

The talking point of the game has to take into account the Al-Shaab fans who showed up in numbers once again. Numbers is on the level of Emirati football, where the average attendance is around 2,500.

Moreover, this season has seen Al-Shaab rank amongst the highest teams in the league in terms of attendance despite their poor start. When Al-Shaab have had a higher average attendance than Al-Ain, there is definitely a problem with the way the league is going attendance-wise.

The other Lima: Fabio Virginio (right). (Photo: agleague.ae)

Looking at the play, it was really both teams without a plan. Al-Wasl’s fans questioned the way Calderon – a manager who structured Al-Wasl very well last season – set up the team. It was only until the final half hour of the game where Al-Wasl took the lead. Fabio Lima opened the scoring, before Edgar Bruno ended his league goal drought. Former Waslawi Maher Jassem brought Al-Shaab’s hopes back in the 89^th minute, however the Cheetahs saw the game out.

Emirates 0-3 Baniyas

Stadium: Emirates Stadium, Ras Al-Khaimah

Attendance: 1,750

Defensive mistakes played a big part in Emirates’ 3-0 loss to Baniyas. Poor positioning in their deep defensive block led to some great chances for Baniyas. The reason for this derives from Baniyas’ central midfielders’ freedom. Mark Milligan and Amer Abdulrahman were both allowed the space to dictate the game and this was visible in Amer’s brilliant assist to Joaquin Larrivey.

Royston Drenthe has been physically tormenting AGL defenders. (Photo: agleague.ae)

In the second half, Baniyas defended in numbers but were afraid of its implications considering that this resulted in Al-Shabab scoring a late equaliser in the previous game. Luis Garcia instructed his team to attack, and they grabbed the 3^rd goal. Baniyas are the dark horses of this season.

Written by Hamoudi Fayad

Week 4 – Qatar Stars League

Game of the Week

Lekhwiya 2-3 Al-Arabi

Stadium: Abdulla bin Khalifa Stadium, Lekhwiya

Attendance: 3,300

In what could prove to be a very crucial result in the course of the 2015/16 season, Al-Arabi pulled off a major surprise by beating defending champions Lekhwiya 3-2 last Sunday. It was billed as the real litmus test for Gianfranco Zola’s men, facing the best team in the country but Al-Arabi showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the occasion.

Lekhwiya came into the match in the face of some controversy, after Ahmed Yasser’s suspension drama. They were looking to put it all behind them but were given a rude shock in the second minute of the game when Junior Dutra calmly struck the opener from the edge of the box. Al-Arabi then proceeded to play some of their best football so far, with a mature display in all areas until they suddenly capitulated just a few minutes before halftime. In a four-minute spell, Lekhwiya turned the tables. Youssef Msakni equalised in the 38th minute before Vladimir Weiss got the second for the Cops in the 41st with a long-range strike. Going into halftime, it seemed Al-Arabi’s good form was ill-fated and short. But after the restart, they returned as a different team.

Deservedly, the Reds equalized in the 62nd minute. Once again, it was Dutra, who played a delightful one-two with fellow Brazilian Paulinho, got into the box and slot the ball past Lecomte to spark a revival in the Al-Arabi stands. Five minutes later, there was more noise when Dutra completed his hattrick, latching on to a pass from Ashkan Dejagah before placing the ball beyond Lecomte’s reach.

To make matters worse for Lekhwiya, captain Karim Boudiaf was sent off for elbowing Dutra in the 75th minute. Boudiaf then proceeded to attack a second player, before throwing his armband at the linesman and gesturing to the fans before leaving the field. The QFA would go on to hand him a six-month suspension and a QR 300,000 fine. Watch Karim Boudiaf’s fit: 

Rest of the Games

Al-Khor 2-4 Al-Rayyan

Al-Rayyan remained at the top of the table with a 100% record after yet another win, this time against struggling Al-Khor. Captain Rodrigo Tabata opened the scoring in the first minute before Mubarak Eid equalised for Al-Khor (19th). New signing Gonzalo Viera then regained the lead for Rayyan (21st), netting his third goal of the season. Youngster Abdulhamid Anad scored Rayyan’s third (25th) before teeing up Sergio Garcia for the fourth (45th). Al-Khor attempted to get back in the game but could only score once through Lee Yong (52nd).

Al-Ahli 2-2 Al-Kharaitiyat

The Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium witnessed a fine match when Ahli and Kharaitiyat went head to head. It was Kharaitiyat who took the initiative and two goals from Hassan Abdelfattah (42nd) and Anwar Diba (49th) seemed to have put them in the driving seat. However, Al-Ahli responded brilliantly with two penalties: Meshaal Abdullah reducing the deficit (70th) and Mujtaba Jabbari scoring late (92nd) to salvage a point. 

Al-Wakrah 1-2 Al-Sailiya

Al-Wakrah’s horrrible start to the season continued after a defeat at the hands of Al-Sailiya. Last season’s PGPL top scorer Edinho put Sailiya in the lead (28th) before Mouhcine Moutouali equalised for Al-Wakrah from a penalty (59th). Bahraini midfielder Faouzi Ayesh then produced a free-kick which didn’t seem dangerous before Wakrah keeper Inyass dropped what should have been an easy catch, gifting Sailiya the winner (64th). 

Mesaimeer 0-3 Umm Salal 

Promoted Mesaimeer are finding the Qatar Stars League too tough to handle, with this defeat by Umm Salal leaving them at the bottom of the standings with zero points and no goals scored after five rounds. This time, goals from Ismail Mahmoud (23rd), Theyab al-Annabi (89th) and Yannick Sagbo (90th) that did the damage.

Written by Ahmed Hashim

Week 4 – Saudi ALJ League

Game of the Week

Al-Ahli 4-2 Al-Nassr

Stadium: Al-Jawhara Stadium (King bdullah Sport City), Jeddah

Attendance: 32,543

The Saudi ALJ League El Clásico between Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr turned out to be a one-sided match. Al-Ahli won with a sweeping victory against Al-Nassr in King Abdullah Sport City – Stadium, Jeddah, nicknamed The Jewel, with more than 32,000 spectators watching. Al-Ahli was playing at home with seven points at second place on the ALJ League standings and Al-Nassr with 5 points at fifth place. Al-Ahli’s win is not a matter of three points only, but they also were able to put Al-Nassr in more despair and push last season’s Champions and a very fierce rival a step farther away from the title. This win is also a new record, 38 matches undefeated!

As always, El Clásico between Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr was dramatic, full of goals and action. Al-Ahli head coach Christian Gross entered the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Al-Nassr head coach Jorge da Silva had 4-3-1-2 formation at hand. With five quick and skillful midfielders from Al-Ahli on the pitch, the Al-Nassr defense, especially the left side, suffered tremendously. Al-Nassr left back Hussain Abdulghani, aged 38, and the centre back Muhammad Hussain, aged 35, could not keep up with Al-Ahli swift midfielders: Tayseer Al-Jasim, Salman Al-Moasher, and Hussain Al-Mqahwi. The match was on fire just right from the beginning. Omar Al-Somah executed a free-kick just outside the box brilliantly from beneath the wall, surprisingly, to hit the back of net. Al-Nassr goalkeeper, Al-Enezi, could only watch the ball waddling straight to the goal 6′.

Adrian Miezerjewski trying to help Al-Nassr in any way possible. (Photo: MBC)

After Al-Ahli’s first goal, Al-Nassr tried to get back to the match and they were able to control the match for about 20 minutes but in vain. Another free kick a little bit farther this time, the mighty Omar Al-Somah was able to do it again and score the second goal 28′, this time Cristiano Ronaldo style! Few minutes later, Al-Somah scored a hat-trick making it in just 37 minutes after an excellent assist from Mustafa Bassas who was able to beat the defender, Muhammad Hussain. That goal just killed the match! Jorge da Silva who appeared clueless, replaced the robust central defensive midfielder, Abdulaziz Al-Jebreen, by the skillful playmaker Yahia Al-Shehri in a strange attempt to come back! That actually made things worse, it created more space for counterattacks. Maiga and Hazazi had two real chances to score at least a goal before half time, but Al-Ahli’s veteran defender, Osama Hawsawi, was able to save it. The first half ended with Al-Ahli leading the match with 3 goals to nil.

(Photo: Sanaa Press)

Al-Nassr started the second half more determined to do something, their efforts paid off a penalty. Adrian Mierzejewski scored Al-Nassr first goal 69′ from the penalty spot. That goal provoked Al-Ali players thus the match became more intense. While Al-Nassr was struggling to come back to the match, Tayseer Al-Jasim passed a superb through ball to Islam Seraj who unleashed an unstoppable right-footed drive into the back of the net scoring the fourth goal 72′ and securing the three points. In an attempt to save the face, Al-Nassr attacked in the last 20 minutes but it was too late. Omar Hawsawi, however, managed to do what the strikers could not. He scored the second goal 82′ for Al-Nassr after diverting a long pass from a free kick from Hussain Abdulghani. The final score was 4:2, Al-Ahli to the top of ALJ standings.

Christian Gross was able to outperform Jorge da Silva yet again. With such a clever coach and brilliant squad, Al-Ahli could finally win the title that has been away for 32 years now. The champions of the ALJ, Al-Nassr, for the last two years are in their worst shape since José Daniel Carreño managed the team in September 2012! Probably, Gross has put the final nail in da Silva’s coffin! So, will Al-Ahli continue its extraordinary performances to win the title? Or, is it going to be a replica of last season when Al-Ahli defeated Al-Nassr twice; but still, Al-Nassr won the title?

Written by Nasser Al Beshri

Rest of the Games

Hajer 1-2 Al-Khaleej

Things didn’t look promising for hosts Hajer early in their match against Al-Khaleej after veteran defender Rashid Al Raheeb had a penalty called against after forward Abobaker Sylla plunged to the ground from the slightest contact he could sense. Ibrahim Al Zawahreh’s penalty was saved brilliantly by captain Mustafa Malayekah, yet the daring save did little in the hosts’ favor as less than 20 minutes later Hajer’s defense produced a calamity of an effort of clearing the ball when Mansour Nammazi caught his team Ali Al-Zubaidi in the stomach which resulted in the ball to be deflected in his own net. Al-Zubaidi took to the ground although doubtful it was because of pain more than to hide his face.

Marwan Hussein extended the lead in favor of the guests just before halftime after Mustafa Malayekah perried a shot from Talal Majrashi only for the ball to find itself at the Iraqi’s feet for a tapin. It seemed Al-Khaleej were easily on their way to the first 3 points of the season. Dragan Ceran gave the match life again after he unleashed a rocket of a shot that went off the left post from just outside the semicircle of the 18 yard box. Unfortunately for Hajer, that wasn’t enough. Al-Khaleej claimed their first win as well as their first pair of goals in 3 months.

Al-Raed 0-0 Fateh

Not a lot to be said about this fixture other than dead last Al-Raed finally getting a point since the beginning of the season in a match that surprisingly saw them look sharper than their guests Fateh. The former champions from 2 seasons ago looked off sync after the international break and barely looked for a goal or a win at King Abdullah Sport City.

Al-Wehda 2-2 Al-Faisaly

Al-Wehda took the lead in the 37th minute after Ali Awaji took advantage of a shambolic attempt by goalkeeper Ibrahim Zaid to easily place it in the net. Al-Faisaly – still buzzing from their display against Al-Ittihad from the 3rd round came back flying after Hamza Al-Dardour’s cross found Javier Balboa only 3 minutes after conceding the match’s first goal. Like that was enough, Al-Wehda quickly charged back at Ibrahim Zaid’s goal in the 42nd minute. Goalscorer Ali Awaji passed the ball to Lima, who held the ball until Awaji found space and zig-zagged from the left side of the box to right. Lima threaded it back to Awaji, who dribbled his way to just a few yards before the goal-line and crossed it back to Lima who side-footed into the back of the net.

The second half was a different as it seemed to drag on forever until the 3rd minute of stoppage time when Fawaz Fallatah’s cross found Hamza Al-Dardour but his attempt shanked the ball awkardly in Al-Wehda’s box to find an unmarked Mohammed Salem who headed the ball towards the goal but was an inch high and deflected off the bar back to none other than culprit Al-Dardour but this time he was ready in headed it in easily giving Al-Faisaly a precious point in the dying seconds. 

Al-Qadisyah 1-3 Al-Ittihad

(Photo: Sport)

Al-Ittihad started their match in Khobar as Sulley Muntari cherry picked the ball in the middle of the park in the 20 minute mark and passed it over to Rivas who only needed a touch before he let loose of a screamer from the tip of the 18 yard box that had goalkeeper Faisal Masrahi in no-man’s land taking the lead for the guests in what looked like a one-sided affair to that point. Al-Qadisiyah were extended a lifeline 5 minutes afterwards after Ittihad forward Abdulrahman Al Ghamdi’s attempt at dribbling in front of his own box resulted in Diego Mauricio bolting in and taking a shot with his left foot only for goalkeeper Fawaz Al-Qarni to block it, but it didn’t end there. The ball rolled back to Mauricio who was losing his balance and edging out of the pitch, and in a desperate attempt to correct his mistake in came Abdulrahman AlGhamdi. The young forward attempted to clear the ball, but the ball went straight to Diego Mauricio’s hip – who was standing outside by then – and came rolling back into the pitch to find an unmarked Hassan Al-Amri who easily made it 1-1.

The moment of comedic fortune didn’t help the hosts in the 58th minute when Muntari found Rivas again – this time with a diagonal lob pass that the Venezuelan calmly controlled on his chest and whipped on the volley to make it 2-1 in favor of Al-Ittihad. Rivas had to claim his hat-trick, and that he did in the 83rd minute when he found Fahad Al-Muwallad’s ground pass from the right and sidefooted it make it 3 and over in favor of the Jeddah club who needed this win for confidence more than anything else. The starting lineup came on the pitch all wearing home kits with the number 44 printed on both sides in solidarity with their teammate Mukthar Fallatah, whom had become a villain in the eyes of the Ittihad faithful after a spat between the player and a fan turned sour because of Fallatah losing cool and resolving to profane insults. That same unity showed in the match. The young Ittihad could have collapsed again after Al-Ghamdi’s mistake but rose from the ashes looking to claim something they deserved.

Najran 0-1 Al-Shabab

Al-Shabab did what needed to be done in a match that saw more collisions and acts of force than it did actual playing of football. Diego Arismendi’s effort at heading it backwards from a Rafinha cross only resulted in it bouncing above Najran’s defense and finding bandaged countryman Mauricio Affonso unmarked and he headed the ball as strong as his damaged head could hit it. Goalkeeper Abdulaziz Takrouni got a hand on it but it wasn’t enough as that was the decider in a match that saw as many cards as it did shots on target (Yes, really).

Written by Othman At-Twaijri

Week 1 – Lebanese League

Televised games 

Ansar 1-1 Tripoli 

Stadium: Tripoli Municipal Stadium, Tripoli

Attendance: 1,000

Ansar started a new (revived) era under Jamal Taha, one of the better players in Lebanese football who has now become manager. His status in Lebanon is very high, despite almost getting Shabab Al-Sahel relegated last season. The Lebanese League started off with a cracker.

Ghanaians Abdulaziz Youssef and Michael Helegbe teamed up to create havoc on Ansar defenders, namely Hussein Al-Sayed. Al-Sayed, who went off before the end of the first half, missed the ball on a couple of occasions allowing the attackers on goal. Ansar quickly returned under the guidance of the low-tempered Rabih Ataya who helped Imad Ghaddar earn and score a penalty.

Ataya is national team quality, only his behaviour doesn’t represent that. He failed to play many games for the team last season and was on the verge of leaving, but Ansar need him if anything. A constant menace in central attacking midfield, it will only be time until we see him in the national team despite the circumstances…

Nabi Chit 2-1 Ahed

Stadium: Nabi Chit Stadium, Zahle, Beqaa

Attendance: 200

The Champions succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in the governorate of Beqaa. After summer changes that saw manager Mahmoud Hammoud look for ways to tactically enhance the team, a loss ensued.

Two trophies (Lebanese Elite Cup and Lebanese Super Cup) over the summer were enough to bring the Ahed fan base to a sense of optimism, especially with the AFC Cup a very important competition come February. They don’t want to fall into the same trap as Nejmeh, who embarrassed themselves in the tournament last year.

But it was our friend Abdoulaye Kanoute who scored the winner against Ahed. That’s right, Kanoute was without a club the last time we wrote about him. Ultimately travelling to Bahrain after Malkiya’s trial offer, he returned to Mali citing technical reasons were the problem during his time in the Gulf nation. We sorted him out with the right people that linked him to preferred clubs in Nabi Chit, Safa and Shabab Sahel. Inevitably, he signed for Nabi Chit to replace Cheikh Diouck who left to Safa in the process.

Nejmeh 1-1 Shabab Sahel

Stadium: Sidon International Stadium, Sidon

Attendance: 3,000

Karl Max Dany grabs his first ever Nejmeh goal. (Photo: Al-Mustaqbal)

Moussa Kabiru started his first game for Shabab Sahel, this coming after a fantastic 8 goals scored in the pre-season Challenge Cup. How did he fare in his first game against the biggest club in Lebanon? By scoring, that’s how. Shabab Sahel saw fresh performances off the back of captain and veteran Zuheir Abdullah at right back too.

However Nejmeh came back into the game through new Chadian striker Karl Max Dany, scoring a powerful shot into the top corner. Joan Oumari’s brother and new signing Hassan Oumari excelled at left back where he create the adequate chances for strikers to take advantage of. Moussa Hojeij will be happy from the point gained in his first game as Sahel manager, ironically against the team he excelled at during his playing career.

Written by Hamoudi Fayad 

Non-Televised Games

Racing 1-3 Safa 

Al-Safa dominated the first half despite Racing players’ effort. The first 15 minutes of the game showed how Safa was dominating over the based in Achrafiyeh. Racing players were a bit lost against the huge performance by Safa and Lebanese national team winger Mohammed Haidar who scored the first goal (15^th minute) of the game despite missing two easy chances later on, a header and a one-on-one in the 38th and 40^th minute respectively.

(Photo: Al-Mustaqbal)

In the second half, although Racing’s imports weren’t as good as expected the team came back in the game by keeping the ball more in Safa’s half but unfortunately Safa scored their second goal (78^th minute) by Hazimeh on the goal keeper’s left after a long pass from his team mate Ahmad Jalloul ending Racing’s domination during the second half.

Later on, youngster Omar El-Kurdi scored a screamer (83^rd minute) giving Safa a comfortable lead, 3-0. 5 minutes later, Adnan Melhem crossed the ball to Racing’s foreign player Dragic who scored Racing’s first goal. The match ended 1-3 and the White Castle fans weren’t satisfied by their team’s performance.

Written by Abed Aydin

Oman Derby fails to entertain despite record 12,000 attendance – Sohar, Oman

Week 4 – Oman Professional League

More than 12,000 fans on a blue and green night came to watch from the North Batinah region in Oman. Neighbours Sohar and Saham played at the Sports Complex in Sohar during the 4^th round of the 3^rd edition of the Oman Professional League.

Bader Al-Jaberi and Vedran Gerc brought in a lot of resentment towards their performances as both failed to grant Sohar the win in the last 10 minutes of the game. The fans saw that lack of concentration and urgency led to these problems, however Saham fans felt relieved with the scoreline.

A point in Sohar’s stadium (with the stadium situation in Oman this is technically a home game for Saham!) was enough for them to feel good considering their start to the league campaign. Fans were entertained with the atmosphere, which was a great addition to the league this season.

Sohar relied on playing the ball from deep into dangerous positions and getting their wide players involved, while Saham sat back relishing a chance on the counter. A 0-0 draw may have been fair for a game of such caliber. Sohar face Al-Suwaiq next in another match expected to bring in a large attendance.

Al-Faisaly’s rocky start continues – Amman, Jordan

Week 3 – Jordanian Pro League

Al-Faisaly could only gain a point in their match against Al-Asalah in a 1-1 draw during the third week of the Jordanian League. Al-Faisaly opened the scoring against the newly-promoted opponent in the 74^th minute, via the Senegalese striker Alassane Diallo. This was only until Al-Asalah equalised during injury time via Saed Al-Daboubi.

Al-Faisaly now sit in mid-table with 4 points, as Al-Asalah gained their first point of the season. Meanwhile, Al-Ahli stole a win from That Ras to gain their first of them this season only for Wehdat to further their title credentials with a powerful win over Shabab Ordon.

Chathir arrives as Shurta manager, Younis Mahmoud scores first goal back at Talaba – Iraq

Week 6 – Fuchs Premier League

Sitting in 9^th place in the Iraqi League at time of writing, Hakeem Shaker left his position as Al-Shurta manager in what was their 4^th loss of the season. 6 points in 6 match days was not enough for a team who expect to challenge for the title. A loss to Nadi Amana Baghdad didn’t bode well with the board either, who went on to sign Qahtan Chathir in quick fashion after a week of speculation.

Qahtan Chathir welcomed at Al-Shurta. (Photo: الاخبار الانتقالات الدوري العراقي – Facebook)

In Group 1, a crazy game occurred between Younis Mahmoud’s Talaba and the struggling Al-Karkh, the latter whom have seen the latest managerial change. Abbas Attiya will take over after Essam Hamad’s resignation happened prior to the game due to financial problems and a series of losses. Abdulqadir Tariq got his name on the scoresheet twice for Talaba, but 1 point in two games will further them away from Zawraa and Naft near the top spot.

(Photo: الاخبار الانتقالات الدوري العراقي – Facebook)

Home teams combined score of 0 in dreadful week for Kuwaiti football – Kuwait

Week 1 – Kuwaiti League

6 home teams opened their week with 0 goals in the 13-team league of Kuwait. The likes of giants Qadsia, Kuwait SC and Al-Arabi scored a combined total of 10 goals between them. Aziz Mashaan scored a fantastic header to register his first and the league’s first goal of the season, while also grabbing an assist.

Only Al-Fahaheel and Al-Sahel came away with a point this week. Both teams were limited to poor chances and led to an overall, drab score of 0-0 at the end. The cruciate ligament has affected a rising star (Ahmad Al-Zanki) and one of the best Kuwaiti players (Saif Al-Hashan). Both are reported to be out of the season, with the latter seeing his dream move to Al-Shabab (KSA) end in quick fashion after only 2 months with the club.

Kuwaiti football in general was dealt a big blow by FIFA after failing to solve internal association problems that led to their suspension from all external football competitions such as the World Cup Qualifiers, Asian Cup Qualifiers and the AFC Cup. This has resulted in the temporary suspension of the Kuwaiti national team, however both representatives in the AFC Cup semi-final – Qadsia and Kuwait SC – have been eliminated from the tournament.

Aziz Mashaan tweeted: “No comment”, regarding the dire situation.

Super Cup win gives Al-Hidd bragging rights – Manama, Bahrain

Bahraini Super Cup

A mediocre attendance watched a relatively fair game between Al-Hidd (Bahrain King Cup winners) and Muharraq (VIVA Bahrain League Winners) that ended in a penalty shootout. It ended in a fairytale way for the Al-Hidd faithful, seeing recently drafted national team goalkeeper Abbas Ahmad save Efosa Francis’ penalty; only to score the winner after his save.

The game itself during open play didn’t see much action until the second half where substitutions were made to change the course of the game. Hamad Al-Dakhil grabbed what looked set to be a winner for Khaled Taj’s men, before late substitute Ali Haram ensured a penalty shootout for the Hiddawi fans and Salman Shareeda.

The penalty shootout ended in 7-6 for Al-Hidd, who then went on to mock Muharraq on social media claiming that Al-Hidd “are the first ever team to defeat Muharraq and score 7 goals in the process, twice, in a season” (referring to Al-Hidd’s 7-0 win in the Bahrain FA Cup during pre-season). Muharraq fans replied with their 10-0 win seasons ago, but they came out losers without a doubt. Swearing at your own players on the megaphone: not a good idea.

Taraji Wad Al-Nes grab their first win of the season – Al-Khadar, Palestine

Week 3 – Wataniya Pro League

Taraji Wad Al-Nes earned their first win of the season after defeating Shabab Al-Samu in an entertaining game at the Al-Khadar Stadium during the third week of the Wataniya Mobile Pro League.

With this win, Taraji raise their total to 3 points after two losses while Samu are stuck with a single point. The first 25 minutes saw a series of random chances created before Taraji started to settle into the proceedings and force a goal.

Veteran Khader Youssef waited until the 42^nd minute of the game to take advantage of the goalkeepers’ positioning and lobbed it ahead of him to announce the first goal of the game. It wasn’t long until Taraji scored again, with Jehad Saqr stealing the ball after a defensive mistake from the Samu defenders.

Samu didn’t back down that easy and attacked, aiming to lessen the deficit. With a brilliant piece of individual skill via Fadi Lafi, Samu were back in the game only 8 minutes later. The game increased in intensity.

After clear domination by Samu, they were able to equalise in the 68^th minute with thanks to Abdulla Al-Tabal. This happened after a good passing move between Kaware’ and Abu Ghuneima.

It was the veteran Khader Yousef again, this time with an assist. A ball through to Samih, who got the better of two defenders ensured 3 points for Ashraf Numan’s former club.

Team of the Week

Player of the Week

Omar Al-Somah: Al-Ahli Jeddah Hat-trick vs. Al-Nassr (KSA)