Marked for Fabio Lima
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market7 Feb 2028
Kawasaki Frontale pay $16.2M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match5 Feb 2028
A 3‑1 win over Al Shaab, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Marked 9.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A season average of 7.37 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Siaka Sidibé gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Wasl, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Jan 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Al Wasl have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market31 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Pedro Malheiro
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
One of those days for Serginho
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.23, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jan 2028
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Leo Duru keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Wasl may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A masterclass from Adryelson
Marked 9.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
One of those days for Fabio Lima
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match22 Jan 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Adryelson’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Wasl.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A defender's afternoon for Renato Tapia
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emin Hasić, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Jan 2028
The wait goes on for Al Wasl
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Jan 2028
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market17 Jan 2028
The phone has started ringing about Mario Palomino again, and this time the name on the line is Al Nasr. Al Wasl are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.53 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.28 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Nobody could get near Fabio Lima
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Jan 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Fernando Rodriguez knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Dec 2027
9 unbeaten for Al Wasl
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Al Wasl did not have in the autumn.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Miguel Borja gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 8.91 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Fabio Lima runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Wages eat 97% of everything Al Wasl earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Loan watch27 Dec 2027
“I did not go to JS Kabylie to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Wasl and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Leo Duru's mistake decides it
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al Wasl needed to.
Match25 Dec 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Dec 2027
Cup progress for Al Wasl
A 1‑0 win over Baniyas, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match18 Dec 2027
Whatever happens, Al Wasl do not lose
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
A defender's afternoon for Yahia Nader
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
A defender's afternoon for Kurt Zouma
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Rodrigo shuts the door
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Siaka Sidibé is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.29 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match18 Dec 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Al Shabab leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Dec 2027
Still nobody has beaten Al Wasl
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
A performance of 9.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Marked 9.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match11 Dec 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Fabio Lima’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Wasl.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Suhail Abdulla, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Saldanha leaves them behind him
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Serginho is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.24 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Oct 2027
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Marked 9.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
A masterclass from Serginho
Marked 9.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Marked 8.88 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
One of those days for Saldanha
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kurt Zouma, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Serginho finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Al Wasl have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market11 Oct 2027
The Renato Tapia talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Wasl know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Wasl may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Sep 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Adryelson gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Adryelson's mistake decides it
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al Wasl needed to.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Saldanha keeps on missing
Shots: 13, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 36 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Fabio Lima has been here 13 seasons
290 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market6 Sep 2027
Al Shaab come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al Wasl did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
A defender's afternoon for Renato Tapia
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market6 Sep 2027
The shirt still fits. Bandar Al Bloushi is back at Al Wasl, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market6 Sep 2027
As if he never left: Ahmed Nader returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ahmed Nader is a Al Wasl player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Jul 2027
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market19 Jul 2027
The Renato Tapia talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Wasl know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Kurt Zouma asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Jun 2027
Al Wasl say no — this time
The offer from Al Shaab for Faris Khalil was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
23 appearances away from home and 12 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market14 Jun 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Al Ain will make the call about Tahnoon Hamdan this week. Al Wasl have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Fabio Lima called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Al Wasl that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Renato Tapia called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Al Wasl that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market22 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al Wasl is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
121% of the income goes out in wages at Al Wasl
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
The goals keep arriving from Saldanha’s exile
12 goals in 23 games at Sharjah — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Al Wasl updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Nobody could get near Serginho
Successful dribbles: 42. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match20 Feb 2027
Al Wasl make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al Wasl have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market22 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Faris Khalil
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Faris Khalil will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al Wasl the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
One of those days for Fabio Lima
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match20 Feb 2027
A 2‑1 win over Al Dhafra, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
151% of the income goes out in wages at Al Wasl
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Marked 8.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
12 goals on loan for Saldanha
22 appearances at Sharjah and the goals keep coming. Al Wasl are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al Wasl can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Feb 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Feb 2027
Al Jazira pay $940.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market1 Feb 2027
Add another name to the list: Siah Jamegan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Soufiane Bouftini. The answer from Al Wasl has not changed — yet.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gianfranco Castellanos, and the manager let it.
Match30 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
20 appearances away from home and 11 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Nobody could get near Serginho
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match11 Jan 2027
Al Wasl refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 40 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Rodrigo keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Wasl may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
Al Ahli come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al Wasl did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
One of those days for Fabio Lima
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Leo Duru and Al Wasl agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Siaka Sidibé
6 goals and a season average of 7.30 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
17 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Dec 2026
The small margins put Al Wasl out
Out, 3‑1 to Al Shabab, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market21 Dec 2026
Ali Saleh puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Wasl, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
One of those days for Serginho
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.33, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A masterclass from Adryelson
Marked 8.72 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.43 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Loan watch21 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Al-Qadisiyah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Wasl and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad21 Dec 2026
4 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Dec 2026
Al Wasl refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Dec 2026
Still nobody has beaten Al Wasl
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Adryelson's mistake decides it
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al Wasl needed to.
Match12 Dec 2026
It needed Adryelson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Al Jazira, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ali Saleh is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.23 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
The one thing Fabio Lima could not do
Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match28 Nov 2026
6 unbeaten for Al Wasl
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Al Wasl did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
438% of the income goes out in wages at Al Wasl
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
One of those days for Fabio Lima
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match28 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fabio Lima. 2‑0 against Baniyas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match16 Nov 2026
Al Wasl refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 9.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match14 Nov 2026
Three points for Al Wasl, 2‑1 the final word against Al Fujairah in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miguel Borja, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
One of those days for Serginho
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.82, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Shots: 15, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad16 Nov 2026
International call for Fabio Lima
Fabio Lima joins up with his country. Al Wasl lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
Ali Saleh puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Wasl, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 7.87 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Al Wasl had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I watch every Al Wasl game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al-Qadisiyah runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
The spotlight tightens on Miguel Borja
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Match24 Oct 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Al Ahli defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
667% of the income goes out in wages at Al Wasl
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A masterclass from Ali Saleh
Marked 8.68 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match3 Oct 2026
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match26 Sep 2026
Al Wasl cannot stop winning
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
Three points for Al Wasl, 2‑1 the final word against Emirates Club in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.89 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kurt Zouma, and the manager let it.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Al-Qadisiyah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Wasl and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 45. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Serginho runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Renato Tapia
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match19 Sep 2026
Al Wasl make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al Wasl have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market21 Sep 2026
So close: João Alves’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Al Dhafra moved on, João Alves reports back to Al Wasl, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Miguel Borja gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Ali Saleh’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Wasl.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al Wasl, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fabio Lima and Al Wasl agree another 3 years.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Al Wasl has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market24 Aug 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Adryelson’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Al Shabab come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al Wasl did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pedro Malheiro commits to Al Wasl for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Renato Tapia in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Miguel Borja's contract
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Market10 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Al Wasl will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Pedro Malheiro knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al Wasl, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Fabio Lima has been here 12 seasons
268 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Market3 Aug 2026
Al Wasl say no — this time
The offer from Al-Orobah for Fousséni Silué was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Renato Tapia and Al Wasl agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Renato Tapia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
The name of Lancine Bamba has come up in conversations Al Wasl were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.