Marked for Ali Al-Sultan
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Dec 2032
Édouard Mendy breaks a bone — 154 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 154 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings13 Dec 2032
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Words exchanged at Al-Ahli
Enzo Millot and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market13 Dec 2032
Only the photograph left for Jaber Issa
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jaber Issa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ahli the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match11 Dec 2032
6 unbeaten for Al-Ahli
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Al-Ahli did not have in the autumn.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Abdulrahman Ghareeb falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom13 Dec 2032
Al-Ittihad will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Ali Al-Sultan has pre-agreed a move to Al-Ahli, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Match11 Dec 2032
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Feras Al-Brikan. 1‑0 against Al-Ittihad, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad13 Dec 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ali Hazazi and Al-Ahli agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings13 Dec 2032
Successful dribbles: 48. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market13 Dec 2032
Only the photograph left for Ali Al-Sultan
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ali Al-Sultan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom13 Dec 2032
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Ali Al-Sultan has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Roger Fernandes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Houssem Aouar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match11 Dec 2032
0‑1 to Al-Ahli, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad13 Dec 2032
A season average of 7.23 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
The dugout13 Dec 2032
The manager has not finished forgetting Danilo Pereira's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout13 Dec 2032
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Waleed Al-Ahmadi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad18 Oct 2032
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Ittihad lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings18 Oct 2032
A brace, and George Ilenikhena takes the afternoon — 9.11
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. George Ilenikhena provided it, and the 9.11 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market18 Oct 2032
Only the photograph left for Fahad Al-Nemer
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fahad Al-Nemer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad18 Oct 2032
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Oct 2032
Whatever happens, Al-Ittihad do not lose
7 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.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Words at Al-Ittihad training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danilo Pereira is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Defences have started doubling up on Roger Fernandes
13 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match16 Oct 2032
Three points for Al-Ittihad, 2‑0 the final word against Al-Shabab in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Looking ahead18 Oct 2032
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 2032
“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-Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 May 2032
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 May 2032
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdullah Al-Nemer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ittihad the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad31 May 2032
Houssem Aouar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout31 May 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saud Haroun, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 May 2032
Yakou Meïté 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-Ittihad, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2032
The name of Unai Hernández keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al-Ittihad say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout31 May 2032
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout31 May 2032
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout10 May 2032
“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.
Squad10 May 2032
Ali Al-Sultan gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ali Al-Sultan has just signed for Al-Ittihad, and for once the answer mattered.
Market10 May 2032
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Ittihad they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 2032
Roger Fernandes 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.
Squad10 May 2032
Houssem Aouar falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom10 May 2032
Al-Hilal will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Ahmed Sharahili has pre-agreed a move to Al-Ittihad, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The dugout10 May 2032
Ahmed Al-Ghamdi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al-Ittihad will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market10 May 2032
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ittihad know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout10 May 2032
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Jan 2032
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Al-Ahli scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market5 Jan 2032
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad5 Jan 2032
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Al-Ahli will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Market5 Jan 2032
“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-Ahli, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match3 Jan 2032
9 unbeaten for Al-Ahli
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Al-Ahli did not have in the autumn.
Squad5 Jan 2032
Words exchanged at Al-Ahli
Merih Demiral and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 Jan 2032
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ahmed Al-Shehri and Al-Ahli agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings5 Jan 2032
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match3 Jan 2032
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Al-Ahli. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Oct 2031
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Ahli lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Ahli may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Merih Demiral 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.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Words at Al-Ahli training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdulrahman Ghareeb is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom20 Oct 2031
Wages swallow 127% of the Al-Ahli income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
“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.
The dugout20 Oct 2031
Feras Al-Brikan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al-Ahli will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad20 Oct 2031
The formation has left Fahad Al-Hamad behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Al-Ahli will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Player ratings20 Oct 2031
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 May 2031
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Hassan Al-Musallam has, at Al-Ahli, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad5 May 2031
Words exchanged at Al-Ahli
Merih Demiral and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 May 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdulrahman Ghareeb and Al-Ahli agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 May 2031
A row about effort at Al-Ahli
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdulrahman Ghareeb was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 May 2031
Feras Al-Brikan has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al-Ahli will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout5 May 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdulrahman Al-Harthi, and the manager let it.
Market5 May 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Édouard Mendy signs something — a contract at Al-Ahli or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market5 May 2031
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Al-Ahli, another week without a signature from Hassan Al-Musallam.
The dugout5 May 2031
Ali Al-Sultan 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-Ahli, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match28 Apr 2031
Al-Ahli are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 48 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market28 Apr 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fahad Al-Sultan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ahli the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Enzo Millot 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-Ahli this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Apr 2031
Wages eat 133% of everything Al-Ahli 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.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Abdulrahman Ghareeb falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad28 Apr 2031
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Bassem Al-Arini, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
Nobody at Al-Ahli will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market28 Apr 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ahli know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 Apr 2031
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ricardo Mathias has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Mar 2031
Al-Ahli up to position 3
48 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Merih Demiral 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 Mar 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fahad Al-Sultan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Ahli the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
Wages swallow 152% of the Al-Ahli income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Words at Al-Ahli training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdulrahman Ghareeb is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout3 Mar 2031
No hiding place for Ali Makki
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ali Makki, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Mar 2031
Nobody at Al-Ahli will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Jaber Issa slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Jaber Issa is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout3 Mar 2031
“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.