The Al-Taawoun Chronicle
Match16 Jul 2035
Al-Taawoun are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 51 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market16 Jul 2035
Nawaf Al-Huwiri has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Taawoun they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market16 Jul 2035
Bagas Santoso 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 The request is on a desk at Al-Taawoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Tempers go at Al-Taawoun
Oscar 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.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Aschraf El Mahdioui 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.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Guy Abada signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Guy Abada and Al-Taawoun agree another 5 years.
In brief
- Market The Faisal Al-Hassan conversation is coming
- Squad When it matters, Oscar plays
- Market The clock does Nawaf Al-Huwiri’s negotiating for him