Ahdaaf » United Arab Emirates

TALKING TACTICS: AL-AIN, EPISODE 1

Hamoudi — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 16:00:06 +0000

Al-Ain FC, nicknamed the “Boss” are the most successful and decorated team in Emirati football, winning every domestic competition and earning the honour of being the only Emirate side to win AFC Champions League in 2003. This triumph was followed by an 8-year domestic league drought that was ended in 2012 after escaping relegation by 5 points the year before…

Cosmin Olaroiu was the man to bring in their first pair of league titles since 2004 but two years later the Romanian signed for competitive rivals Al-Ahli and the rest is history. Al-Ain on the other hand went through 3 managers in the space of 7 months with Quique Flores proving to be a failed option to continue their stream of success. Enter Zlatko Dalic, a tough manager who was mostly known for his short time playing as a holding midfielder at Croatian giants Hajduk Split.

Dalic came in to improve the situation surrounding The Boss’ season after a fairly successful year-long stint with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal where he won the Crown Prince Cup while finishing runner-up to Al-Fateh in the Saudi League. And that he did indeed, improving the situation at Al-Ain by winning the President’s Cup domestically – giving them a passage into the 2015 AFC Champions League – and reaching the semi-finals of the 2014 edition. In this three-part series we look at the tactical progress of Al-Ain from the appointment of Olariou in 2011 to our current day.

The Manchester United of the United Arab Emirates

Cosmin Olaroiu, 2012-13

MANAGER PROFILE:

Cosmin Olaroiu – Romanian.

Tenure: 6 June, 2011 –> 6 July, 2013.

AL-AIN CAREER SUMMARY

P 40 W 27 D 5 L 8

Win Percentage: 67.5

Trophies Won: 2 Arabian Gulf League Titles, 1 Emirati Super Cup.

Olaroiu’s second season as manager of Al-Ain saw him complete the first consecutive league wins in the professional era of Emirati football, and much of it depended on two of the best players in the league right now – Asamoah Gyan and Omar Abdulrahman.

Asamoah Gyan frantically celebrates with ‘Amoory’.

Gyan signed from Sunderland the previous season in a shock loan move before making the deal permanent. His importance to the team cannot be overstated; Al-Ain were not a one man team by any means but they relied on his goals to drive them to the top. Up till the start of 2015, the Ghanaian scored 90 goals in 74 games (averaging 1.2 goals a game) for Al-Ain and is the leading top scorer of the Arabian Gulf League since the inception of professional football in the UAE in 2008-09. He also finished as top scorer of the AFC Champions League in 2014 while winning the AFC Foreign Player of the Year, further enhancing his credentials as a top striker,arguably the best in Asia.

The team itself was based around attacking instincts that favoured the flanks, aiming to draw attention from Gyan until Al-Ain eclipsed the final third, this is where their work was done. Crosses, wall passes and cutbacks were the name of the game and it was very successful as they finished with one of the best records for champions in UAE history. Not to take away anything from Gyan, his excellent positioning was key to scoring these goals. Mirel Radoi – capable of filling in defence and in midfield – was also a key cog in the line-up as he built play from deep and along with Omar Abdulrahman who elegantly penetrated defence lines and broke compact teams, it was domination used effectively by the Romanian manager.

Cosmin Olaroiu could take individual qualities and adapt them into a fluid team with everything planned beforehand. He doesn’t allow spaces for the opponents to exploit (although that can be laughed at with his current tenure at Al-Ahli). Cosmin sports a harsh look on his face, being very disciplinary earned him the nickname “Ferguson of the Balkans” by virtue of his willingness to mould young players into tough, disciplined and hard working men while taking a different approach towards the big names. Cosmin also once said: “there are three important things in football in this order: fitness, tactics and then individual quality” which is revealed in the way that his teams are known to be very fit.

Cosmin Olaroiu sporting his cunning smile.

His Al-Ain team were monsters in pressing, everyone except for Gyan, as they didn’t allow the opposition to create space centrally. On the contrary Cosmin Olaroiu was an advocate of build-up play through the flanks and this was evident with many of the team’s goals being scored as a result of a long diagonal passes from the full backs (or the diagonally opposite central midfielder) or from a through ball in the channel between the centre back and the full back. The philosophy implemented by Olaroiu was at its peak with 74 goals during the 2012-13 Arabian Gulf League season being scored by a team filled with talent, versatility and energy. After all, according to Romanian Football journalist Emanuel Rosu, Cosmin was the manager who “got the best out of his teams and was able to adapt to situations. It was clear in Romania that he was very different.” This was almost perfect for Olaroiu but the demolition inflicted on domestic opponents never translated into continental accolades as Olaroiu led the club to a dismal group stage exit in the 2013 AFC Champions League.

At the end of this part, we leave you with this video showcasing the goalscoring exploits of Al-Ain in 2011-12, under Cosmin Olaroiu, when Saudi Arabian legend Yasser Al-Qahtani spent the season on loan:

TACTICAL ANALYSIS: AL-AIN 2-1 AL-JAZIRA | ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE

Hamoudi — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 15:59:35 +0000

The top of the table clash between Al-Ain The Boss and Al-Jazira The Spider was a highly entertaining match that further showed the quality that the tactically astute Al-Ain produce, lead by their Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic in front of 12,000 passionate fans. Al-Jazira on the other hand came into the game with their orthodox game plan under Eric Gerets; direct, counter attacking and high tempo football.

Al-Ain lined up in an orthodox 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the game, while Al-Jazira were more flexible with dynamic movements from the front four.

Al-Ain take control of the first half hour

This game was heavily in Al-Ain’s favour to begin with as whatever they did simply outsmarted the opposition with ease. Al-Jazira have been leaking goals this season (only 3 teams have conceded more than them in the league – Fujairah [11th place], Ajman [13th] and Kalba [14]) while they have scored the same amount of goals as Al-Ain with 47. Al-Jazira’s attack has been devastating this season but with the bleak form being produced from the exquisite partnership of Mirko Vucinic and Ali Mabkhout, Al-Ain have been playing catch-up and after a 7-0 drubbing of Ajman – they equalled Al-Jazira’s goal tally.

Nevertheless, with the central triumvirate of Helal Saeed, Lee M.J. and Omar Abdulrahman all able to keep the ball and penetrate the opposition defence The Spider looked a shambles. Especially their midfield – which lacked a certain destroyer in Khamis Ismail – that looked very vulnerable with the energetic Yacoub Al-Hosani coming in to deputise for the tenacious Khamis. Jucilei, formerly of Anzhi and Corinthians, was doing his usual job of using his skill on the ball from deep but Al-Hosani was not an adequate replacement for Khamis. Al-Ain, specifically Amoory, were able to have one player draw 4 Al-Jazira midfielders into a very narrow semi-hexagonal shape. This freed up space on the half spaces and flanks, where Miroslav Stoch was able to work in without having to endure a great deal of pressure. Nevertheless, his performance was not deemed worthy of a full game as we was subbed off for the powerful Diaky Ibrahim later in the second half.

Two poorly conceded goals

For the first goal, we saw a pattern that was evident throughout the game and the whole season itself. Al-Ain lined up in a 4-2-3-1 but Amoory would switch positions with Gyan once Al-Ain had a goal kick. The diminutive playmaker would make an arced run away from the goal while Gyan jumped in to win the header.

http://gfycat.com/ZestyTerribleAdeliepenguin

This led to the first goal for Al-Ain after Gyan won the header and Amoory found space in between the centre backs and scored his first goal in almost 130 days for Al-Ain. A superb left footed finish, aided by the poor display of goalkeeping in the first half:

vine.co/v/OEwvnqwB6l2

The second goal occurred after Al-Ain won the ball back deep in their half which resulted in a player from each team falling down, taking a knock. Asamoah Gyan continued with the ball and was left with a 1v3 situation but his exquisite finish was met with the unsupported Al-Jazira complaints who claimed that their player had fallen and the play had to stop. That’s not how it works, both players fell down, and the advantage was not used. Gyan is coming back to his best and will want get closer to Fahad Khamees’ all-time record goalscoring tally of 165 goals in Emirati Football. The goal:

vine.co/v/OEwwAJYT5Tm

The Spider take control

As soon as Al-Ain scored their second goal they sat back in what was known as the usual Zlatko Dalic performance. Organized, cautious yet tenacious off the ball. Al-Jazira now took initiative and ended the first half with more possession even though they had less of the ball in the first half hour. Omar Abdulrahman partnered Gyan to press from the front – partial pressing more than aggressive pressing – to form a 4-2-2-2 which looked to concede less space in the centre as that was where Manuel Lanzini, Mirko Vucinic and Ali Mabkhout could all make problems in. Jonathan Pitroipa was isolated on the touchline and looked more threatening when he drifted inside, but generally Al-Jazira were too late to realise the problem.

Amoory dribbles past Jucilei and Khaled Sabeel.

Mabkhout cutting inside and Lanzini drifting out wide actually caused more of a problem for Al-Jazira with Lanzini’s lack of defensive tendencies allowing the near side full back to push up the pitch. There were also moments where Ali Mabkhout tried to force passes into the channels but that was ineffective too. Mirko Vucinic and Manuel Lanzini usually drop in behind and create chances for Mabkhout who cuts inside into the open space to score, but this match saw none of that. Most of it was players running into blocked areas as the double pivot of Al-Ain were superb – 37 year old captain Helal Saeed providing an inspiring performance for the winners.

Ali Mabkhout takes on Mohammed Ahmed.

The different Al-Jazira saw them try to slow down the game before hitting a long ball into space in front of the wingers to utilise, and that worked to some extent before Mohammed Ahmed did well to nullify some of those attacks.

A scrappy game towards the end

The last 20 minutes exemplified Middle Eastern Football, with a scrappy, pacey game in our hands. Long balls, counter attacks, crosses and crazy sweep-keeping saw the game out in what was very entertaining until the very end… Al-Jazira had a corner in the last seconds of injury time to grab an equaliser but that was followed up with the worst corner I have seen – on par with Wayne Rooney’s at the World Cup and Iago Aspas’ against Chelsea.

Final thoughts

Al-Ain take control of the league and it’s in their hands regardless of how many weeks are left in the league. 6 points are enough, and with a couple of more wins they can finally focus on the Asian Champions League where they have failed to impress in their first pair of games. Al-Jazira, on the other hand, need a big fix. Out of the Champions League, trailing in the league and only 2 points ahead of fourth place.

AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHDAY 2 REVIEW

Hamoudi — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:00:30 +0000

AFC Champions League Matchday Two (West Asia)

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Al-Sadd — Al-Hilal [Group C] || 1-0

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar

Attendance: 6,843

The regional Derby between two Middle Eastern powerhouses was a match awaited by many fans across Asia. An attendance of almost 7,000 is most certainly an improvement for Qatar’s teams who have a very small population to boast. Georgios Samaras came on as a half-time substitute while Grafite started up front, pairing up with the more mobile Hassan Al-Haydos.

Khalfan Ibrahim was the star again, no doubt about that, with a superb counter attack from Al-Sadd that ended up with Khalfan slipping through Al-Hilal’s defensive channels like butter. A pinpoint finish was the perfect follow through and the template of the game was set with the aim of keeping 3 points from the Qatari team – who qualified for the competition by the skin of their teeth. Al-Hilal did attack and control the game for the majority of the time but Al-Sadd were still looking for a second goal although that was marred by some very soft finishes from Grafite and Khalfan. This win is huge for Qatar and Al-Sadd as they have beaten one of the most historic clubs in all of Asia to kick start their ACL campaign earlier rather than later. In terms of pure entertainment this is not the match if the week but with regards to the importance of the game, it is.

Bunyodkor vs. Persepolis [Group A] || 0-1

Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Attendance: 21,285

In Group A, Persepolis of Iran were away in Tashkent to Bunyodkor. The Iranians came into this game on the back of a convincing win against Qatari Champions, Lekhwiya, and were looking for two wins out of two. The hosts, who had never lost at home to an Iranian side, wanted maximum points at home having drew their first game against Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

Persepolis started the game on the front foot and aimed to catch Bunyodkor off guard with some early and direct balls behind the defence. Their tactics paid off after 20 minutes as Nouri’s cross from deep found Alishah who headed down towards Taremi but the young striker was fouled for a penalty. Mohammad Nouri stepped up and made it 1-0 to Persepolis and scored his second goal of the competition. Bunyodkor started the second half much better and created some great goalscoring opportunities but a combination of great defending and better goalkeeping by Sosha Makani kept the hosts at bay. Makani who has had a poor season so far, gave his best and produced some fantastic saves to keep his fourth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions and ultimately, help his team earn 3 valuable points in Uzbekistan. Bunyodkor will be disappointed as they now have only 1 point from the first two games and will look to make an stronger and better performance in their next game against Lekhwiya.

Lekhwiya vs. Al-Nassr [Group A] || 1-1

Abdulla Bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar

Attendance: 3,840

Despite the 2 missed penalties, a red card, an own-goal and more, this was not the match of the week. That’s a rather large testament to the audacious popularity of football in the Middle East. However, for Laudrup’s men (Lekhwiya SC), they were more concerned with the result and leaving a point unscathed against Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr is something that they can’t be upset about given their form in Qatar Stars League.

For Lekhwiya, their recent form was a bit of a rocky one so they were counting on all of their players to give them the result and especially on such a tough opponent. However, Al-Nassr decided to show what they were famous for and their defense stood stoically apt in the Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Stadium. For home advantage, they were doing pretty well.

One of the finer points of the game was Qatari star forward Sebastian Soria starting on the bench as well as the newly-naturalized Qatari Mohammed Trésor. Wasn’t good enough for the Asian Cup, wasn’t good enough for Lekhwiya.

Meanwhile, action didn’t happen until the 43rd minute when an Al-Nassr attack found a cross to the penalty spot on the rushing Ecuadorian Wila with Khalid Muftah and Musa trailing behind. However, as Musa went for the block, Wila missed the ball and came to Musa’s out-stretched leg as it deflected into the net for the goal.

In the 2nd half, there would be more action as penalties were missed by Weiss for Lekhwiya and Al-Sahlawi for Al-Nassr in the 64th and 82nd minute respectively. It didn’t end nicely for Al-Nassr as Khaled Al-Ghamdi received a 2nd yellow for a tackle-gone-wrong and got his marching orders.

In the end, the spoils were shared but after the week Lekhwiya had, as well as Al-Nassr, this result seemed the fairest given the tempo and speed of the game.

Naft Tehran vs. Al-Ain [Group B] || 1-1

Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran

Attendance: 3,300

UAE’s Al-Ain and Iran’s Naft Tehran split the honours 1-1 at a largely empty Azadi Stadium in the second round of group B of the AFC Champions League last night.

After a goalless first half, substitute defender Siamak Kooroshi put the hosts in front 5 minutes into the second period with a precise header, converting a Rory Delap-esque throw-in from Vahid Amiri. Al-Ain started the game with a significantly changed line-up as coach Zlatko Dalic kept star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, recovering from an injury, on the bench alongside Miroslav Stoch & Kembo Ekoko. Last season’s Champions League top goalscorer Gyan Asamoah stepped up and put Al-Ain level from the spot following a Leandro Padovani handball 58 minutes into the match. Dalic introduced Abdulrahman & Stoch in search of a late winner but the hosts kept their composure to secure their first ever Champions League point.

Al-Shabab vs. Pakhtakor [Group B] || 2-2

Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, KSA

Attendance: 5,404

An exciting match for the neutrals with a blunder from Pakhtakor to give the Saudi team the lead after some good pressing that needs to be taken note of. We always see players press the goalkeeper and deep defenders only to come out empty handed but moments like this are what strikers wait for. The moment to pounce on the mistake is still a trait accompanied with some of the world’s best strikers today. Abdulrahman Al-Khaibary took the credentials for the goal with a superb blockage and cover shadow to the players behind him done in quick fashion.

Another mistake was there for the taking in Pakhtakor’s equaliser after Igor Sergeev hit the post from a cross only for the Al-Shabab goalkeeper to mispunch it and hand a golden plate to the young Uzbek striker, who tapped the ball in for the equaliser. Captain Makharadze Kakhi did the job in putting his team 2-1 up from a penalty after a trip from the Al-Shabab players in the box. That was not the end though as Naif Hazazi was the hero in creating and scoring the goal with his beautiful chest flick-on. This leaves both teams still vying for a place in the top two after a draw between Al-Ain and Naft Tehran. Things have been stale as of yet, but we hope that someone can pull up a few trees…

Lokomotiv vs. Foolad [Group C] || 1-1

Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Attendance: 7,456

Debutants, Lokomotiv Tashkent, welcomed Persian Gulf Pro League champions, Foolad. Both teams were unable to get a win in their first game, with Foolad drawing at home to Al-Sadd while Lokomotiv lost to Al-Hilal.

The game started really well and the hosts took an early lead after 5 minutes through Oleg Zoteev as his shot from outside the box found its way into the back of the Foolad net. The Iranians tried to bounce back from conceding by pushing forward and pressing high up the pitch which helped them create some good chances. At the 31st minute mark, Foolad’s corner was headed away but captain, Mehrdad Jamaati, had a go with a left footed volley which took a huge deflection and wrong footed Ikromov in the Lokomotiv goal and gave Foolad the equaliser. There was not much action after the goal and the second half started really slow as both team tried to dominate possession. Tempo rose in last 15 minutes from both sides and the game became end to end, but neither keepers were in the mood to concede any more and the game ended 1-1.

This is Foolad’s fourth consecutive draw in the AFC Champions League but they need to turn these draws into wins soon. As for Lokomotiv, they need to build on this point if they aim to go further in the competition.

Tractor Sazi vs. Al-Ahli (UAE) [Group D] || 1-0

Yadegar Imam Stadium, Tabriz, Iran

Attendance: 25,380

Al-Ahli began the game without Everton Ribeiro for their second consecutive Asian appearance for reasons unknown, possibly to ease him into his first games continentally in Asia. Nevertheless, the start was decent but there was nothing special from both teams that could spark up the game. Tractor’s fans were effervescent as usual; clapping, singing and drumming in sync. The Red Wolves took control of the game with the double pivot of Andranik Teymourian and Mehdi Kiani providing good foil for the fluid and attacking front four, where Farshad Ahmadzadeh proved a vital cog in attack. Al-Ahli on the other hand sprung a surprise in starting the lanky and energetic Habib Al-Fardan in the #10 position, where he used his athleticism to halt Tractor attacks from deep. His technical ability was in doubt as he missed a great chance to equalise the game in the 60th minute, moreover failing to create any chances of note.

Al-Ahli conceded the first goal of the game in the first half after a poor excuse of an attempt at blocking from Walid Abbas. The defence of Al-Ahli were no better either, as they failed to coordinate their movements with Abbas and simply watched Ahmadzadeh slot the ball in. The game’s storyline was as normal with Al-Ahli looking to attack and score while Tractor aimed to defend their lead. A disappointment for Al-Ahli with only 1 point in 2 games while Tractor gain momentum against one of the historic clubs in the Middle East.

Al-Ahli (KSA) vs. Nasaf Qarshi [Group D] || 2-1

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, KSA

Attendance: 19,855

Al-Ahli (KSA) go top of their group after 2 games with a valuable win over Nasaf Qarshi, the club that beat Tractor last week. This group looks to be one of the most intriguing as Al-Ahli (UAE) still have the chance to go for a spot while all of Tractor, Nasaf and Al-Ahli (KSA) have wins to their belt.

Al-Ahli (KSA) started the match well and broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute after a bullet of a header from in-form Syrian striker Omar Al-Somah, done so from a perfectly weighted cross. Nasaf then went on to equalise with a peach of a free-kick, very brilliantly executed by the Captain Artur Gevorkyan. That was not enough to earn an away point for the Uzbeks as another header beat the Nasaf defence with ease. Four minutes after Mohammad Saleh Al-Jaman entered the game, he subsequently gained the 3 points for Al-Ahli (KSA) to put them into pole position… for the time being.

GCC Champions League

Al-Taawon of Saudi Arabia needed a 79th minute winner from Sultan Al-Sawadi to give them the 3. Points against Al-Suwaiq. Meanwhile Al-Seeb and Al-Arabi (where Mirel Radoi and Boualem Khoukhi play) fought it out in an entertaining battle between two teams that were looking to make a mark on the ‘third tier’ competition which happens between Gulf Clubs who finish outside of their respective Champions League place offering. Watch Al-Seeb’s magnificent winner in these highlights:

AFC Champions League Matchday 1 Review

Sina Saemian — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 15:51:15 +0000

AFC Champions League Matchday 1 (West Asia)

MATCH OF THE WEEK: Al-Ahli (UAE) vs. Al-Ahli (KSA) [Group D] || 3-3

Rashid Stadium, Dubai, UAE

Attendance: 7,200

The match between the two Al-Ahlis at the Rashid Stadium was an enticing encounter that did not rest until the final whistle. The game began with a goal from new signing Osvaldo against his former club after Majed Nasser completely missed a back pass from Abdelaziz Haikal. The short-tempered goalkeeper completed a blunder that normally would have halted Al-Ahli’s game but the Emiratis were superb in bringing the game back on its head.

Ismaeel Al-Hammadi, the man of the match, was buzzing throughout the course of the game with his direct running at the Saudi defenders causing problems and eventually resulting in the equaliser with a powerful shot at goal in the 19th minute. Al-Ahli (UAE) began to take control of proceedings until a goal completely against the run of play was scored minutes before the end of the first half. Ahmad Khalil made sure that Al-Ahli (UAE) were still in it with a goal just a couple of minutes before the break.

The influential captain of Al-Ahli (KSA) Taiseer Al-Jassim bagged another important goal for his team in the course of two weeks after Majed Nasser committed another blunder, actions that will surely not make Cosmin Olaroiu any happier. But it was not to be for the Saudi team as none other than Ismaeel Al-Hammadi equalised for the Red Knights with 10 minutes to go. The game had ended, and the teams shared the points.

Kwon Kyung-Won was very influential behind the scenes for Al-Ahli (UAE) in a sort of Sergio Busquets-esque role where he protected the defence, dropped into holes, helped circulate the ball and provided solidity while Everton Ribeiro came on as a late substitute but did nothing significant. Oussama Assaidi on the other hand has continued his lacklustre start to Emirati football.

Persepolis vs. Lekhwiya [Group A] || 3-0

Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran

Attendance: 15,350

Result of the first Matchday came in Azadi stadium where Persepolis put in a fantastic performance to beat Qatari champions, Lekhwiya, 3-0. Persepolis who have had a season to forget, came into the game with a slight underdog tag on them but they performed well above expectations and thoroughly deserved their win.

It wasn’t much to report from first half as Persepolis had the better chances but failed to capitalise. They started the second half with more intent and were rewarded when a great cross into the six-yard box from a freekick by Gabriel, found veteran Mohsen Bengar who headed home to break the deadlock. Persepolis didn’t sit back and pressed on to double their lead. A low cross from Gabriel again, found young striker, Mehdi Taremi, and he set up Hadi Norouzi with a brilliant back heel as the 32 year old Norouzi made no mistake to slot it past the keeper to make it 2-0. Lekhwiya pushed forward after the second goal and created some chances for Sebastian Soria and Nam Tae-Hee but they failed to find the back of the net. Persepolis captain, Mohammad Nouri, who had been great all game orchestrating moves from a deeper role than his usual, went on a run from deep and he found himself in the penalty area but he was fouled by Mohammed Musa with only a few minutes remaining. Nouri himself stepped up to take the penalty and he made it 3-0 to send Persepolis fans home happy and start their Champions League campaign with 3 points.

Al-Nassr (KSA) vs. Bunyodkor [Group A] || 1-1

King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, KSA

Attendance: 23,664

The Abdul Latif Jameel League Champions took on Bunyodkor at the King Fahd Stadium in what was their second ever ACL appearance. The draw between both teams gives an interesting addition to a group that has already started with twists coming in the form of Persepolis’ shocking 3-0 win over Qatari Champions Lekhwiya; giving the fans hope for a Group of Death.

A failed attempt of a clearance from a corner helped give Bunyodkor the lead and heading into the break with a 1-0 lead, but half a dozen of minutes later saw Uruguayan winger Fabian Estoyanoff equalise for the Saudi Champions courtesy of a backheel from Adrian.

Al-Nassr will want to proceed from the group and get past their best try in 2011 where they lost 4-1 to Zob Ahan in the Round of 16 while Bunyodkor are licking their lips for their third semi-final appearance after some promising performances as of yet.

Pakhtakor vs. Naft Tehran [Group B] || 2-1

Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Attendance: 4,913

In Tashkent, Uzbek champions, Pakhtakor, looked to make a winning start to their campaign against debutants, Naft Tehran. Both teams had chances in the first half, Pakhtakor had hit the bar midway through the half as Ghorbani missed a one on one with the keeper minutes later.

It was poor defending from Naft when a ball over the top on 48th minute found Pakhtakor captain Makharadze and he head the ball past Beiranvand who found himself in no man’s land to make it 1-0 to the home team. Minutes later, Pakhtakor were reduced to 10 men as midfielder, Karimov, was given a straight red for an incident off the ball. The sending off made Naft more dangerous going forward and they produced some great chances. Creative midfielder, Iman Mobali, who had been threatening the Pakhtakor back 4 with his crosses from deep, this time found striker Ali Ghorbani and he equalised with a great strike.

After the equaliser, Naft were on the front foot as they looked to take the lead. They played some nice football and created great opportunities from wide areas for Ghorbani who failed to find the back of the net. Last 15 minutes of the game belonged to the home team and it was in the 84th minute when a long range freekick, was poorly saved by Alireza Beiranvand and the ball kindly dropped for Sergeev who tapped it in to give 10 men Pakhtakor a 2-1 win. Naft will be disappointed but it was their failure to capitalise on their chances and a few defensive lapses which cost them the game.

Al-Ain vs. Al-Shabab (KSA) [Group B] || 0-0

Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al-Ain, UAE

Attendance: 14,426

The two Arab teams in the group watched Pakhtakor take the full 3 points in Uzbekistan against Naft Tehran before taking to the pitch to kick start their respective Champions League campaigns. The hosts felt the impact of missing star playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, absent through injury, even as they dominated the proceedings as they failed to feed Gyan Asamoah. Their main threat came on the wings through the runs of widemen Kembo Ekoko & Miroslav Stotch. In turn, Al-Shabab started very defensively but gradually stepped up their game and retaliated with a couple of shy attacks.

The game opened up slightly in the second half with the introduction of striker Naif Hazazi for Al-Shabab & Mohammed Abdulrahman for Al-Ain but neither team proved clinical enough to finish the game. They settle for a scoreless draw to keep their places above Naft but behind Pakhtakor in the group standings.

Foolad vs. Al-Sadd [Group C] || 0-0

Ghadir Stadium, Ahvaz, Iran

Attendance: 37,843

This game was a repeat of last season’s round of 16 match up in which Al-Sadd won on away goals. Foolad who are the reigning champions of Persian Gulf Pro League, were looking for revenge and also to get maximum points at home.

Foolad dominated proceedings in the first half, good pressing and some good passing display from them saw Al-Sadd on the back foot. Cameroonian striker, Aloys Nong, had a few chances to give his team the lead, but a combination of lack of composure and poor finishing saw his shots go wide or straight at the keeper.

In the second half, Al-Sadd looked more threatening as Abdelkarim Hassan and Khalfan Ibrahim cut through the Foolad defence on a few occasions but failed to find the target. Foolad had to finish the last 20 minutes with 10 men as midfielder, Mahdi Badrloo, received a second yellow and was sent off much to the dismay of his manager, Dragan Skocic, and the rest of Foolad players who had been furious with the refereeing performance. Game ended 0-0 as Foolad would and should be bitterly disappointed not to take the 3 points at home in a game where they had some great chances.

Al-Hilal vs. Lokomotiv Tashkent [Group C] || 3-1

King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, KSA

Attendance: 17,440

Managerless Al-Hilal grabbed a valuable 3 points against the Uzbekistan Cup Winners at the King Fahd Stadium in front of 17,440 fans. Captain and veteran Saud Kariri opened the scoring from a corner after a pinpoint corner from dynamic Thiago Neves. Yousef Al-Salem double the score only 3 minutes later and the Blue Wave were heading into halftime with a comfortable two goal lead. Sardor Mirzayev had other ideas with a screamer scored in the 39th minute to minimise the difference.

Al-Hilal completed their win with an even better goal from Thiago Neves who curled the ball into the top corner from outside of the box. This win gives Al-Hilal a head start on Foolad and Al-Sadd who drew a blank and will give the interim manager confidence in keeping his job until the end of the domestic season. Can Al-Hilal’s fans be the driving force to their success? #back4revenge

Nasaf Qarshi vs. Tractor Sazi [Group D] || 2-1

Qarshi Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi, Uzbekistan

Attendance: 11,160

Tractor Sazi, who are competing in their third straight AFC Champions League campaign, kicked off away to Uzbek side, Nasaf Qarshi. Tractor who have never won away from home in the Champions League, looked at this game as a platform to finally break their curse and return to Tabriz with 3 points.

Nasaf started the game poorly and were unable to get their passes together. A cross from the right side by Ahmad AmirKamdar found Persian Gulf Pro League’s top goalscorer, Edinho, and he scored with a fantastic looping header over the goalkeeper into the far post to give his team the lead. Tractor looked solid at the back and weren’t too troubled in the first half.

Second half started with the home side equalising within the first 30 seconds. A poor defensive header was met by a spectacular volley on the edge of the box by Shomurodov, which left Hamed Lak helpless in the Tractor goal. We expected Tractor Sazi to get their act together but we were wrong as 5 minutes after the equaliser, a brilliant freekick delivery found its way in the 6-yard box and was headed in by defender, Karimov, to give Nasaf the lead. Tractor tried to make their way back into the game but found it difficult. Iran international, Andranik Teymourian, found himself with a glorious opportunity to equalise with a couple of minutes remaining but his shot went wide and Tractor Sazi were once again defeated away from home. This is a great start for Nasaf Qarshi as they look to build on this win in their upcoming games.

Ahdaaf Cast: Episode 1

Dan J. — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 11:45:23 +0000

Welcome one and all to the very first installment of what we hope to be a growing podcast in which we enrich the minds of people of Middle Eastern football — in English. This podcast will hope to serve as another medium in which we can express our thoughts of the happenings and scenes of the rarely-talked on-goings of what we think is a very vibrant scene.

As times goes on, we hope to improve our standards from content, quality, delivery among everything else to bring you the best-possible content to show why we love Middle Eastern football in audio form.

This first podcast is jam-packed with content starring the Asian Cup showing from the Gulf side to the ACL campaign to controversial opinions! As always, we have on hand our speakers who expound their love for not only their regional football but the Middle East as well.

Hamoudi: UAE, Lebanon
Wael: UAE, Saudi Arabia
Dan: Qatar, Saudi Arabia
Sina: Iran

Despite the locations next to the names, we all know a bit more than listed which is why, of course, we got together to talk about and bring you this marvelous project as we hope it grows with listening by our side.

(or download the 51.7MB .mp3 file)