Marked for Mohamed Hassan
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market13 Sep 2027
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet 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.
Match11 Sep 2027
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Masr El Makasa. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
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.
Match11 Sep 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Omar Hassan’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Masr El Makasa.
The terraces13 Sep 2027
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.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
Fathy Mohsen 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
Upbeat
Market6 Sep 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Masr El Makasa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Masr El Makasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Masr El Makasa close the window on a squad of their own making
8 in and 12 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Masr El Makasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Walid Hassan 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 targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ENPPI have kept their man, and Masr El Makasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Fathy Elneny 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.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
A loan move for Omar El Saaiy is in the works
Masr El Makasa have made the call to Al Ahly. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Mouad Gounfissi named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Mouad Gounfissi is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad23 Aug 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market23 Aug 2027
“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.
Match21 Aug 2027
Masr El Makasa make home a hard place to visit
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Market23 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Mohamed Hassan again, and this time the name on the line is ASO Chlef. Masr El Makasa are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match21 Aug 2027
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Masr El Makasa have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ramadan Trezeguet and Masr El Makasa agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Masr El Makasa asked and Al Ahly said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
The crowd has taken to Kássio
At 21 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market9 Aug 2027
The offer from MC Oran for Mohamed Hassan 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.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Mohamed Hassan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Masr El Makasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fathy Elneny 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Trezeguet Hegazi and Masr El Makasa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Kaizer Chiefs: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
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 dugout9 Aug 2027
Ahmed Said 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 Masr El Makasa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Aug 2027
The Omar Hassan story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Omar Hassan signs something — a contract at Masr El Makasa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Masr El Makasa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
No thanks: Bruce Bvuma rejects the move
Masr El Makasa had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Kaizer Chiefs, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Masr El Makasa asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market2 Aug 2027
Fathy Elneny is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Masr El Makasa has been clear about where Fathy Elneny stands, which is more than many ever get.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Al Ahly: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oluwaseun Oladimeji, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Jul 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 Masr El Makasa can pretend not to have heard.
Market19 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Al Gaish have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Fathy Elneny. The answer from Masr El Makasa has not changed — yet.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Masr El Makasa asked and Cascavel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fathy Elneny was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Mamelodi Sundowns: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Independiente: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Mohamed Hassan 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Masr El Makasa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Jul 2027
Paradou come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Masr El Makasa did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Mahmoud Marwan was one of the reasons people came, and $3.5M does not replace that by itself.
Market5 Jul 2027
Mahmoud Marwan has left for ES Setif in a $3.5M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Omar Hassan commits to Masr El Makasa for another 4 years.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Fathy Mohsen 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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
A loan move for Jody February is in the works
Masr El Makasa have made the call to Mamelodi Sundowns. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
5 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
Upbeat
Market21 Jun 2027
$14.7M from São Paulo for Yasser Warda. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Masr El Makasa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” USM Alger had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The terraces21 Jun 2027
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Yasser Warda was one of the reasons people came, and $14.7M does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The deal with Al Ahly is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Masr El Makasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Everybody at Masr El Makasa saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 33 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Jun 2027
“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.
Market7 Jun 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Masr El Makasa people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer from ASO Chlef for Mohamed Hassan 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.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Masr El Makasa have done the hard part with Mamelodi Sundowns, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Market7 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Masr El Makasa have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fathy Elneny was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ramadan Marwan commits to Masr El Makasa for another 5 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 May 2027
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. Masr El Makasa will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The dugout31 May 2027
Amr Zaki: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Masr El Makasa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 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 Masr El Makasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad31 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ramadan El Wensh and Masr El Makasa agree another 3 years.
Market31 May 2027
Masr El Makasa have let the market know Mohamed Hassan can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout31 May 2027
Mohamed Hassan 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 Mohamed Hassan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout31 May 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.
Market31 May 2027
The Omar Hassan talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Masr El Makasa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 May 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Aqtay Abdallah
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Masr El Makasa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market24 May 2027
Fathy Elneny 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 Masr El Makasa can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 May 2027
Ramadan Trezeguet 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 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Walid Hassan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Jô
“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.
Market24 May 2027
The Yasser Warda story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Yasser Warda signs something — a contract at Masr El Makasa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout24 May 2027
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.
The dugout24 May 2027
Ramadan El Wensh 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 dugout24 May 2027
The manager comes out for Yasser Warda
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Yasser Warda has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 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 Najran this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hussain Habkor, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 May 2027
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.
The dugout24 May 2027
Ali Al-Makrami 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 Ali Al-Makrami trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad24 May 2027
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 May 2027
The mood at Najran has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Najran
Hesham Balaha 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 May 2027
Diego Venancio 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 Najran, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Najran
Haman Mandjan 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Najran training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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 dugout10 May 2027
Diego Venancio 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 Najran, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 May 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Najran
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Saeed Al-Sheikh has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Match3 May 2027
Najran sink to position 12
13 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad3 May 2027
Tempers go at Najran
Haman Mandjan 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Najran training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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 May 2027
Sultan Mandash loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Sultan Mandash's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Boardroom3 May 2027
$3.0M taken back off the Najran table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
The dugout3 May 2027
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.
Market3 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Ali Hajjas may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Najran have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Najran
Haman Mandjan 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Mukhtar Ali is doing the arithmetic
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Najran says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Najran, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Talal Al-Shubili is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Najran
Mohamed Hassan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“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; Najran are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces22 Mar 2027
The mood at Najran has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Najran may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Mar 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 Najran this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Najran training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
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 dugout22 Mar 2027
Diego Venancio 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 Najran, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ibrahim Al-Sulami
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Najran lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Najran may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Najran
Mohamed Hassan 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 Feb 2027
Hesham Balaha 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 targets15 Feb 2027
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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Diego Venancio wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Najran know now that the thought has arrived.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rayan Al-Mousa, and the manager let it.
Match13 Feb 2027
Al-Qadisiyah left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Looking ahead15 Feb 2027
A six-pointer for Najran
Al-Wehda next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ibrahim Al-Sulami
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Najran lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Faisal Al-Ahmadi has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Najran can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match8 Feb 2027
Najran are in real trouble now
Position 12, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match6 Feb 2027
At last: Najran win one
10 matches without a win, and then this, against Hajer. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Najran
Mohamed Hassan 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Najran asked and Al-Ahli 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 Feb 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hesham Balaha. 2‑1 against Hajer, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces28 Dec 2026
The mood at Najran has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad28 Dec 2026
84 days out for Nasser Al-Saiari after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Najran will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match26 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Najran's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Najran has to find a result from somewhere.
Match26 Dec 2026
Najran cannot find the net
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Najran this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 Dec 2026
Al-Khaleej left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Mohamed Hassan
“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 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Faisal Al-Ahmadi to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Nov 2026
Chastening afternoon for Najran
A 0‑4 beating by Al-Nassr was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Supporters organise against the Najran board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Nasser Al-Saiari out for 113 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Najran will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Najran have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Najran
Hesham Balaha 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bassem Ben Aissa, and the manager let it.
Match30 Nov 2026
Halfway: Najran sit in position 12
8 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Doors closed at Najran
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Mohamed Hassan knocks on the manager's door
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Looking ahead
The leaders are next for Najran
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 121 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match21 Nov 2026
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Najran scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Najran
Haman Mandjan 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 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match21 Nov 2026
Al-Wehda made Najran work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Omar Bugiel was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.00. 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Faisal Al-Ahmadi kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Nasser Al-Saiari out for 135 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Najran will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad9 Nov 2026
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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Najran
Mohamed Hassan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rayan Al-Mousa, and the manager let it.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Najran, another week without a signature from Omar Bugiel.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Najran 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
73 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Matías Esquivel 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 Nov 2026
Jô signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jô and Masr El Makasa agree another 1 years.
Match31 Oct 2026
A point taken on 89 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Masr El Makasa game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Najran runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match31 Oct 2026
It needed Aqtay Abdallah to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ismaily, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces2 Nov 2026
Anger at Najran spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match31 Oct 2026
The drought breaks for Najran
10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Hajer were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Najran this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Najran training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hesham Balaha 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Three points for Najran, 2‑1 the final word against Hajer in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.04. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Najran.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Najran told Mohamed Hassan something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Omar Bugiel
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Squad
Talal Al-Shubili named in the team of the month
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Najran
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Najran are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Najran
Mohamed Hassan 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Najran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hesham Balaha was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“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 dugout21 Sep 2026
Mouhamed Mbaye 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 Mouhamed Mbaye trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Najran have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Sep 2026
Najran out of the cup
Al-Batin ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Najran's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Najran has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Najran
Hesham Balaha 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 dugout14 Sep 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.08 — 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Najran
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
15 new faces, and Najran are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Najran this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Najran offered $210.0K; Al-Faisaly said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Hesham Balaha 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched Hesham Balaha
7.98, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Najran had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
No place for Mohamed Hassan in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Najran are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout31 Aug 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Masr El Makasa people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad17 Aug 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
El Dakhleya come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Masr El Makasa did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $28.4K — a club that wants Joachim Ojera enough to be asked twice.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ramadan Trezeguet 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 targets17 Aug 2026
Masr El Makasa have gone to Arab Contractors with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Market17 Aug 2026
Arab Contractors paid $360.0K and Masr El Makasa took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Walid Hassan 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dibba waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Masr El Makasa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market10 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Arab Contractors keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yasser Warda commits to Masr El Makasa for another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Masr El Makasa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ramadan Mostafa gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ramadan Mostafa has just signed for Masr El Makasa, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and Masr El Makasa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Masr El Makasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fathy Elneny 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
El Dakhleya come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Masr El Makasa did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ramadan Trezeguet 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
Add another name to the list: ASO Chlef have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mohamed Hassan. The answer from Masr El Makasa has not changed — yet.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Masr El Makasa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Walid Hassan 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 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Ibrahim Mohsen, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Mamelodi Sundowns 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.