The Al Ahli Post
Squad18 Jan 2027
A one-man rearguard from Gianfranco Castellanos
There were 8 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.
The terraces18 Jan 2027
Al Ahli 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. Ibrahim Al Shamsi was one of the reasons people came, and $1.4M does not replace that by itself.
Match16 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Al Ahli
4 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Business is business: Ibrahim Al Shamsi goes
Al Ain paid $1.4M and Al Ahli took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Hamad Saeed in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Ahli this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Al Ahli training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vinícius Peixoto 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.
Boardroom18 Jan 2027
Al Ahli beat the market to Hasan Al-Muharrami from Baniyas
Baniyas will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Hasan Al-Muharrami has pre-agreed a move to Al Ahli, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Match16 Jan 2027
Al Nasr take the points off Al Ahli
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Al Ahli count the cost of losing Omar Nader
28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
In brief
- Market Hassan Al Hashmi linked with a move away
- Player ratings Hassan Al Hashmi runs at them all day
- Market Hamad Al-Khorayef arrives on loan