The Al Shabab Post
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Nobody could get near Rashid Yaqoob
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Rashid Hussain damages knee ligaments — 69 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 69 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Al Shabab say no — this time
The offer from Siah Jamegan for Fahad Omar 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Abdullah Ismail attracts admirers
The name of Abdullah Ismail has come up in conversations Al Shabab were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Al Shabab
Maximiliano Velazco 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Al Shabab training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Reda Jaadi 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Business is business: Mohamed Yaqoob goes
Al Ain paid $92.0K 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Emirates Club tell Al Shabab: Isaac Tshibangu is not for sale
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.
The terraces25 Jan 2027
Al Shabab supporters have found a favourite in Saeed Juma
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Saeed Juma 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.
In brief
- Squad Al Shabab lose Ibrahim Al Suwaidi
- Transfer targets Al Shabab ask about Khamis Saleh
- Player ratings Saeed Juma was the difference for Al Shabab