Marked for Ali Hassan
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Jul 2029
Sharjah refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 48 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
Sharjah had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Al Ain, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad30 Jul 2029
A falling-out at Sharjah
Kodjo Laba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Majed Hassan has improved at 37, 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.
Market30 Jul 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bandar Khalfan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market30 Jul 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hamdan Khalfan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market30 Jul 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bandar Ismail is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market30 Jul 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Nasser Rashid has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
Oumar Traoré 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
Steady
Market11 Jun 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Baniyas waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sharjah is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market11 Jun 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.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
No thanks: Mahmoud Juma rejects the move
Sharjah had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Al Shaab, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
Sharjah and Baniyas have settled on $180.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
$2.2M on the table at Al Shaab. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad11 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 24 days on the sidelines for Igor Coronado, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Ali Hassan gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ali Hassan has just signed for Sharjah, and for once the answer mattered.
Market11 Jun 2029
The chase for Ali Hassan ended with $470.0K changing hands and Al Shaab out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words exchanged at Sharjah
Kodjo Laba 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Jun 2029
Sharjah refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 48 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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 Sharjah, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
Sharjah have gone to Al Shaab 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
An offer of $470.0K for Ali Hassan
Sharjah have gone to Al Shaab 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
A falling-out at Sharjah
Kodjo Laba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
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 targets4 Jun 2029
$480.0K was the most the club would pay and Al Nasr were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Words at Sharjah training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luiz Turatto 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
Uneasy
Market30 Apr 2029
“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 Shaab, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Martín Pino 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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Apr 2029
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch30 Apr 2029
“I watch every Al Shaab game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al Wasl runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Market30 Apr 2029
Martín Pino linked with a move away
The name of Martín Pino keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al Shaab say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout30 Apr 2029
Ali 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Mar 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at Al Shaab
Martín Pino 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.
Boardroom19 Mar 2029
Wages eat 131% of everything Al Shaab earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
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 dugout19 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.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Ali 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 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Youssef Al Naqbi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Al Shaab. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces29 Jan 2029
The mood at Al Shaab 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A one-man rearguard from Amer Obaid
There were 7 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.
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Shaab, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market29 Jan 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Walid Al Junaibi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al Shaab the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Martín Pino 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 targets29 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zbrojovka Brno have kept their man, and Al Shaab go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match27 Jan 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Ali Hassan 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.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Dec 2028
No end in sight to Al Shaab's wait for a win
17 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al Shaab has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Dec 2028
11 saves: Amer Obaid was the team
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market11 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al Shaab is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Martín Pino 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 Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Still no name above the door at Al Shaab
Day 10 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.
Match9 Dec 2028
A bad afternoon for Al Shaab against Dibba
0‑1 to Dibba, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Dec 2028
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch11 Dec 2028
“I did not go to Al Wasl to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Shaab and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 26 matches say the rest.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Nov 2028
The wait goes on for Al Shaab
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match20 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Al Shaab
Position 14 and 0 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match18 Nov 2028
Beaten 0‑3 by Al Fujairah, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad20 Nov 2028
6 saves: Amer Obaid was the team
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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
A falling-out at Al Shaab
Martín Pino and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Martínez 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
Aminu Sani 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.
Boardroom20 Nov 2028
Nobody left the Al Shaab dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
In brief
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Player ratings
A costly moment from Ali Hassan
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The dugout
Amer Obaid gets picked when it counts
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The dugout
The manager has not finished forgetting Ali Hassan's mistake
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Oct 2028
10 matches without a win for Al Shaab
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Al Shaab are no longer polite ones.
Match23 Oct 2028
Every point is an argument now for Al Shaab
Position 14 and 0 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad23 Oct 2028
A falling-out at Al Shaab
Martín Pino and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match21 Oct 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Mohamed Hussain to a room that had heard them before.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words at Al Shaab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Martínez 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 dugout23 Oct 2028
When it matters, Amer Obaid 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.
Boardroom23 Oct 2028
Al Shaab counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Al Shaab now.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Al Shaab pick somebody else ahead of Khauan
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces9 Oct 2028
Anger at Al Shaab 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.
Match4 Oct 2028
Cup progress for Al Shaab
A 1‑1 win over Al Wahda, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match7 Oct 2028
0‑4 to Al Ahli, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match7 Oct 2028
The wait goes on for Al Shaab
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad9 Oct 2028
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Mahmoud Juma beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Isaac Success commits to Al Shaab for another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Martín Pino 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Saood Al-Noufeli has just signed for Al Shaab, and for once the answer mattered.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Jan 2028
Mahmoud Suqrat damages knee ligaments — 28 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match8 Jan 2028
Chastening afternoon for Al Shaab
A 0‑3 beating by Al Ahli was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match8 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Al Shaab's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al Shaab has to find a result from somewhere.
Market10 Jan 2028
Al Shaab say no — this time
The offer from Al Ahli for Ali Yaqoob 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A move Rashed Omar 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. Rashed Omar is living that version at Al Shaab, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Al Shaab
Martín Pino and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Al Shaab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Youssef Al Naqbi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match8 Jan 2028
The goals have deserted Al Shaab
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Al Shaab can tell you which week it ends in.
Match8 Jan 2028
Al Shaab leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.