Marked for Abdullah Al-Rashidi
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Al-Faisaly are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Jean Charles Ahoua 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 Nov 2028
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Theo Bongonda 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 dugout20 Nov 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nasser Al-Dawsari is on it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdullah Al-Rashidi, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Wilfried Eza 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.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
A test against the best for Al-Faisaly
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Al-Hilal.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Salem Qabbos is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Looking ahead20 Nov 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nasser Al-Dawsari’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Al-Faisaly needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Oct 2028
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.38, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Theo Bongonda and Al-Faisaly agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Andrei Girotto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Oct 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Theo Bongonda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces9 Oct 2028
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match7 Oct 2028
A 2‑0 win over Al-Fateh, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout9 Oct 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.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. 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
Uneasy
Squad11 Sep 2028
A fracture rules Saad Al-Hassan out for 22 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Faisaly will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Sep 2028
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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Theo Bongonda 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 dugout11 Sep 2028
“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.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
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 dugout11 Sep 2028
“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-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Aug 2028
Andrei Girotto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Theo Bongonda 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Al-Faisaly. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
Market7 Aug 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market7 Aug 2028
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Nasser Al-Dawsari arrives from Al-Hilal with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
Market7 Aug 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Abdullah Bin Subayt may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“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-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jul 2028
Al-Ittihad pay $1.8M, 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Theo Bongonda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad31 Jul 2028
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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
A promise honoured at Al-Faisaly
Something was said to Theo Bongonda and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout31 Jul 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
Uneasy
Market24 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Al-Ittihad waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Al-Faisaly is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Raphael Silva breaks a bone — 88 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Theo Bongonda 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.
Market24 Jul 2028
Add another name to the list: Hajer have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Munif Doshi. The answer from Al-Faisaly has not changed — yet.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Seck 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.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Too much change too quickly at Al-Faisaly
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ibrahima N'Diaye is on it.
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The Al-Faisaly academy earns its keep
18 graduates, from a department now rated 9 out of 20. Nothing about the academy appears in a result, and nothing about the club’s future exists without it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
A fracture rules Raphael Silva out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Faisaly will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Al-Faisaly know it.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Al-Faisaly asked and Al-Fateh said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Theo Bongonda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ahmed Al-Mhemaid and Al-Faisaly agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
Nobody at Al-Faisaly 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 dugout17 Jul 2028
“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
Uneasy
Squad10 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Mamadou Ndiaye
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Faisaly lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad10 Jul 2028
102 days out for Raphael Silva after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Al-Faisaly will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdoulaye Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Padova have kept their man, and Al-Faisaly go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Mohammed Al-Shanqiti 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.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
Nobody at Al-Faisaly 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 dugout10 Jul 2028
“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.
Market10 Jul 2028
A season-long audition: Al-Ra'ed still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Al-Faisaly's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
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 Raphael Silva has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jun 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Al-Faisaly will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market12 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market12 Jun 2028
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. André-Jordy Ella had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad12 Jun 2028
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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Abdoulaye Seck 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.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
A loan enquiry to Al-Ahli: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
Al Ahli have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 May 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Al-Faisaly can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad15 May 2028
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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Al-Shanqiti 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 dugout15 May 2028
Ali Al-Hassan 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-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 May 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdullah Al-Rashidi is on it.
Squad15 May 2028
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Al-Faisaly would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdoulaye Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Karim Ashraf 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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdulaziz Al-Othman, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
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 dugout17 Apr 2028
“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-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Al-Faisaly. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Faisaly have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Mohamed Absi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“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-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Fahad Al-Dossari has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al-Faisaly 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 Apr 2028
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Al-Faisaly money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Mar 2028
A fracture rules Abdoulaye Seck out for 34 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Faisaly will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Al-Faisaly know it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Theo Bongonda 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Al-Shanqiti 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Abdullah Al-Rashidi is on it.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“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
Uneasy
Squad28 Feb 2028
A fracture rules Abdoulaye Seck out for 48 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Al-Faisaly will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match28 Feb 2028
The season ends: position 8 for Al-Faisaly
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 35 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Karim Ashraf 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.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“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.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Sultan Al-Ahmadi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Al-Faisaly dressing room was either.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match26 Feb 2028
Point won or two lost for Al-Faisaly?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Hilal? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Defensive actions: 12. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Feb 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Feb 2028
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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Mohamed Absi 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.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Wilfried Eza, and the manager let it.
Match19 Feb 2028
0‑1 to Al-Ittihad, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Mohammed Al-Shanqiti 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 dugout21 Feb 2028
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Looking ahead21 Feb 2028
The leaders are next for Al-Faisaly
Al-Hilal top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Abdullah Al-Rashidi'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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Faisaly have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad24 Jan 2028
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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Jan 2028
Abdullah Al-Mogren has left for Al-Wehda in a $120.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad24 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdoulaye Seck was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Qadisiyah have kept their man, and Al-Faisaly go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Marked 7.88 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Al-Faisaly had the best player on the pitch.
Transfer targets24 Jan 2028
A loan enquiry to Padova: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets24 Jan 2028
Al-Faisaly have made the call to Al-Qadisiyah. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Yousef Al-Shammari will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jan 2028
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market3 Jan 2028
Theo Bongonda hands in a written request
“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-Faisaly can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
“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.
Match1 Jan 2028
Al-Wehda made Al-Faisaly work for it, but the scoreboard read 5‑4 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match1 Jan 2028
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehda, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
Ninety minutes of Karim Ashraf at his very best
Marked 9.84. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Al-Faisaly.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Seck 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.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Nassr have kept their man, and Al-Faisaly go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Mohamed Absi 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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Dec 2027
Theo Bongonda 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.
The terraces6 Dec 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Karim Ashraf has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“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.
Match4 Dec 2027
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match4 Dec 2027
A 1‑0 win over Al-Shabab, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdullah Bin Subayt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Marked 7.69 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Al-Faisaly had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Nov 2027
Al-Qadisiyah ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Al-Faisaly — 7.77
1 for Abdoulaye Seck, marked 7.77, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Seck 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Karim Ashraf 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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ahmed Al-Mhemaid, and the manager let it.
Match20 Nov 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Al-Ittihad leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al-Faisaly needed to.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 2027
Mohamed Absi 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Bin Subayt 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdullah Al-Rashidi, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Wilfried Eza knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Wilfried Eza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
When it matters, Awad Dahal plays
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.
Looking ahead15 Nov 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Abdullah Al-Rashidi’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Al-Faisaly needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A season on the outside for Theo Bongonda
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Al-Faisaly has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market15 Nov 2027
Al-Faisaly have let the market know Yousef Al-Shammari can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Looking ahead15 Nov 2027
Looking ahead: Al-Ittihad at home
A side in position 5 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Oct 2027
Al-Diriyah will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Al-Faisaly were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Theo Bongonda 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Abdoulaye Seck 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 dugout1 Nov 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.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Mohamed Absi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Fernando Pacheco'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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sultan Al-Ahmadi on a 4‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.53, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad4 Oct 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrei Girotto and Al-Faisaly agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Andrei Girotto 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.
Match2 Oct 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Karim Ashraf. 3‑2 against Al-Ahli, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces4 Oct 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Karim Ashraf has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings4 Oct 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdullah Bin Subayt 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raphael Silva, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A brace, and Karim Ashraf takes the afternoon — 8.44
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Karim Ashraf provided it, and the 8.44 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Theo Bongonda 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.
Match11 Sep 2027
A 2‑0 win over Al-Ra'ed, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abdullah Al-Rashidi commits to Al-Faisaly for another 4 years.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Al-Faisaly
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdullah Bin Subayt was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sultan Al-Ahmadi on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
A promise honoured at Al-Faisaly
Something was said to Mohammed Al-Shanqiti and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 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-Faisaly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Al-Faisaly training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Seck 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Al-Faisaly know it.
Market3 May 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 May 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout3 May 2027
“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.