Marked for Abdalla Hatem
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Oct 2029
“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.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Khauan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Mayed Saeed 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.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Both jobs done by Leonel Wamba — 6.82
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.82, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
7.64, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Al Shabab had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
Half-satisfied: Interim Coach on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Looking ahead15 Oct 2029
Al Shabab take on the side everybody is chasing
Al Jazira arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
The dugout15 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdullah Khamis, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Pressure builds in the Al Shabab boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market2 Jul 2029
“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 Shabab can pretend not to have heard.
Market2 Jul 2029
The chase for Khauan ended with $450.0K changing hands and Al Ain out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad2 Jul 2029
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Naft Tehran have kept their man, and Al Shabab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Nasser Mabkhout 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Hussain Qassem 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
Intake day at the Al Shabab academy
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jun 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad25 Jun 2029
The step up is real for Khauan
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Market25 Jun 2029
Al Wasl paid $930.0K and Al Shabab took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad25 Jun 2029
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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Wasl have kept their man, and Al Shabab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Hesham Fouad has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
The dugout25 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of Abdalla Hatem
“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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
The formation has left Khalil Ibrahim behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Al Shabab will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market25 Jun 2029
Experience through the door at Al Shabab
Khalil Ibrahim arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 May 2029
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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 May 2029
A row about effort at Al Shabab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdan Abdulrahman was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 May 2029
The name of Sultan Saeed keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al Shabab say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout21 May 2029
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Al Shabab. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout21 May 2029
Abdalla Hatem 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 Abdalla Hatem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch21 May 2029
The goals keep arriving from Ismail Al Hashmi’s exile
3 goals in 23 games at Baniyas — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Al Shabab updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout14 May 2029
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
Allan Nyom 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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom14 May 2029
Still no name above the door at Al Shabab
Day 13 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
The dugout14 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mansoor Al-Harbi, and the manager let it.
Squad14 May 2029
Hamdan Abdulrahman 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.
Market14 May 2029
The name of Loreintz Rosier keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al Shabab say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad14 May 2029
Nasser Mabkhout has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Al Shabab that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout14 May 2029
Abdalla Hatem 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.
The dugout14 May 2029
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
Uneasy
Squad26 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Al Shabab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Allan Nyom was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at Al Shabab
Nasser Mabkhout 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anwar Moutawafiq commits to Al Shabab for another 4 years.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A quiet fortnight at Al Shabab
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
Youssef Ismail has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Al Shabab 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 dugout26 Mar 2029
“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
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at Al Shabab
Fahad Mabkhout 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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Allan Nyom 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.
Match10 Feb 2029
Al Wahda made Al Shabab work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Marked 7.93. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
the manager has his say
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” the manager on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Sultan Saeed gets picked when it counts
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 Sultan Saeed is on it.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdalla Hatem, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Al Shabab will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Jan 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Fahad Mabkhout 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Reda Jaadi and Al Shabab agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
Al Shabab asked and Al Wahda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match6 Jan 2029
A point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
Al Shabab have made the call to Al Shaab. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
Al Shabab have made the call to Al Ahli. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Abdalla Hatem named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Abdalla Hatem is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
In brief
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Match
Honours even between Al Shabab and Baniyas
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Abdalla Zaal
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The dugout
Half-satisfied: the manager on the draw
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Jan 2029
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.52 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Abdalla Hatem, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.05
A mark of 8.05 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Jan 2029
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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Dec 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bandar Al Bloushi. 3‑1 against Al Dhafra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces1 Jan 2029
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Bandar Al Bloushi 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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Ángel Galván slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ángel Galván is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout1 Jan 2029
the manager has his say
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” the manager on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match13 Dec 2028
Al Shabab win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 119th minute. Al Jazira will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Abdalla Hatem, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.84
A mark of 7.84 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Allan Nyom 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 terraces18 Dec 2028
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match16 Dec 2028
0‑1 to Al Wasl, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
the manager answers for it
“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.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
Sultan Saeed gets picked when it counts
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 Sultan Saeed is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Al Shabab
Fahad Mabkhout 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.
Match18 Nov 2028
3 matches without a goal for Al Shabab
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Loreintz Rosier, and the manager let it.
Match18 Nov 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
the manager answers for it
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Al Shabab are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout20 Nov 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 dugout20 Nov 2028
Abdulla Idrees 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
Crisis
Squad6 Nov 2028
Allan Nyom and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match4 Nov 2028
0‑1 to Emirates Club, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
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.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
the manager answers for it
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Yaman Zanirni makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdalla Hatem, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Nov 2028
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Bandar Hassan has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad6 Nov 2028
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Abdoulaye Touré has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Looking ahead6 Nov 2028
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Hamdan Abdulrahman’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Al Shabab needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Oct 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Allan Nyom 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bandar Al Bloushi commits to Al Shabab for another 4 years.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Al Shabab are still strangers to each other
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Match21 Oct 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Al Jazira leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yaman Zanirni, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Half-satisfied: the manager on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout23 Oct 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
Steady
Match7 Oct 2028
A 1‑2 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?
Match4 Oct 2028
A 2‑0 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 ratings9 Oct 2028
Abdalla Hatem, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95
A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.19, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fahad Mabkhout commits to Al Shabab for another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces9 Oct 2028
At 16 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.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
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
Uneasy
The dugout2 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fahad Mabkhout and Al Shabab agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Allan Nyom 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 Shabab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout2 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Abdalla Hatem makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Match30 Sep 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” the manager was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Al Shabab dressing room was either.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
The form table has caught Ángel Galván
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Cássio Acosta moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Al Shabab than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al Shabab may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.09, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Allan Nyom 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 terraces25 Sep 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Abdalla Hatem 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 ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match23 Sep 2028
Al Fujairah made Al Shabab work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Al Shabab are still strangers to each other
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
the manager has his say
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” the manager on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout25 Sep 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
The terraces21 Aug 2028
Al Shabab sell a favourite for $1.4M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Hamad Al Suwaidi was one of the reasons people came, and $1.4M does not replace that by itself.
Squad21 Aug 2028
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A move Abdalla Hatem would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Abdalla Hatem is living that version at Al Shabab, and it tends to show in the first month.
Market21 Aug 2028
Hamad Al Suwaidi has left for Al Nasr in a $1.4M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words exchanged at Al Shabab
Fahad Mabkhout 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.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
Al Shabab asked and Al Wasl said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Sultan Saeed 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
Al Wahda pay $27.0K, 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.
Transfer targets21 Aug 2028
A loan move for Abdoulaye Touré is in the works
Al Shabab have made the call to Al Nasr. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
Continental nights are coming to Al Ahly
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
The offer went to Slavia Prague this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
The dugout5 Jun 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.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
The offer went to Al Nasr this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market5 Jun 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al Ahly is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Jun 2028
The season belongs to Zizo
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Al Ahly have had the benefit of it.
Market5 Jun 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 Ahly, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market5 Jun 2028
Al Ahly say no — this time
The offer from El Dakhleya for Samuel Oppong 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.
Squad5 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 Ahly this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.