Fahad Al-Harbi

Attacking Midfielder (L) - Maluku Utara United
24 Feb 2029
Saturday
Process

Marked for Fahad Al-Harbi

130 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Maluku Utara United 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.

Match

Maluku Utara United sink to position 17

24 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi 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 Maluku Utara United can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vico 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.

Market

Arema join the queue for Teguh Amiruddin

Add another name to the list: Arema have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Teguh Amiruddin. The answer from Maluku Utara United has not changed — yet.

Squad

Rizky Pellu 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

Back issues
126 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Maluku Utara United 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.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Maluku Utara United

Position 17 and 24 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.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi 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 Maluku Utara United can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vico 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Maluku Utara United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. França 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.

Squad

Aditya Warman signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aditya Warman and Maluku Utara United agree another 3 years.

In brief

122 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Maluku Utara United 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.

Match

Maluku Utara United sink to position 17

24 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Rizky Pellu puts it in writing

“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 Maluku Utara United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Safrudin Tahar keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Maluku Utara United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Vico 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Maluku Utara United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. França 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 119% of everything Maluku Utara United 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.

Squad

Abduh Lestaluhu 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.

Market

The Arwin Javad story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Arwin Javad signs something — a contract at Maluku Utara United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

121 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi asks to leave Maluku Utara United

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Maluku Utara United

Vico 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.

Squad

França 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.

In brief

118 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Maluku Utara United 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.

Match

Maluku Utara United are in real trouble now

Position 17, 24 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.

Market

Rizky Pellu puts it in writing

“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 Maluku Utara United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Vico 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Maluku Utara United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. França 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.

Boardroom

158% of the income goes out in wages at Maluku Utara United

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

In brief

116 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

16 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Maluku Utara United

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Safrudin Tahar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Maluku Utara United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi asks to leave Maluku Utara United

“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.

Squad

Vico 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Maluku Utara United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. França 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Rizky Santoso

“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.

In brief

112 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

18 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Maluku Utara United

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Maluku Utara United is running low.

Player ratings

Vico runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

No end in sight to Maluku Utara United's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Maluku Utara United has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Safrudin Tahar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Maluku Utara United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Teguh Amiruddin keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Maluku Utara United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi puts it in writing

“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 Maluku Utara United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Vico 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 Maluku Utara United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Maluku Utara United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. França 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Arwin Javad

Marked 8.05 — 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.

In brief

108 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

21 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Maluku Utara United

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Safrudin Tahar is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Maluku Utara United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi asks to leave Maluku Utara United

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Maluku Utara United

Vico 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.

Squad

França 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Vico

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Safrudin Tahar 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.

Squad

Maluku Utara United pick somebody else ahead of Manahati Lestusen

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.

Match

No goals between Maluku Utara United and PSBS Biak

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. PSBS Biak will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

104 Edition

The Maluku Utara United Chronicle

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Maluku Utara United

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad

Abduh Lestaluhu: 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.” Maluku Utara United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Fahad Al-Harbi puts it in writing

“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 Maluku Utara United, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Maluku Utara United

Vico 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.

Squad

Fahad Al-Harbi gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Fahad Al-Harbi has just signed for Maluku Utara United, and for once the answer mattered.

Squad

Septian David 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.

Match

Vico sends Maluku Utara United past PSM

It finished 1‑0, and it was Vico’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Maluku Utara United.

Player ratings

Vico takes the honours

Marked 7.74 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Maluku Utara United had the best player on the pitch.

Market

Maluku Utara United buy the years ahead of Fahad Al-Harbi

He is 18, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.

In brief

76 Edition

The Al-Njoom Post

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

9 matches without a win for Al-Njoom

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Al-Njoom are no longer polite ones.

Match

Al-Njoom taken apart

0‑3 to Hajer, 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.

Squad

Kattê 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-Njoom this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Bruno Fernández 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Robin Kelder

“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.

Squad

Al-Njoom count the cost of losing Sami Al-Subaie

21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Al-Njoom 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.

Market

Al-Shoulla are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Al-Njoom will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Market

The Prince Ibara talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Njoom know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief