Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Michele Amato did not need any: 7.72, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Abdulkarim Sultan 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Turki Al-Nemer. 2‑1 against Al-Faisaly, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 19 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.
13 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.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Mojzel lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Mojzel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Mojzel has been clear about where Salman Al-Otaibi stands, which is more than many ever get.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Saudi Al-Watani? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Youssef Al-Shammari is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Nobody at Al-Mojzel 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.
“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-Mojzel, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Talal Al-Mutairi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Al-Mojzel the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
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-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadSalem Al-Sheikh falls out with a teammate over standards
“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-Mojzel, and it is not being withdrawn.
He is going to Damac, the club has $380.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Turki Al-Harbi has left for Damac in a $380.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Al-Mojzel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salem Al-Sheikh 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.
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-Mojzel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al-Mojzel, and 1 appearances in 24 say he has earned the hearing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
“I watch every Al-Mojzel game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Damac runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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-Mojzel can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: Al-Hazem have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mateo Medina. The answer from Al-Mojzel has not changed — yet.
Rashid Al-Khaibari 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.