Marked for Houssem Aouar
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Mar 2028
“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-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad27 Mar 2028
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Mar 2028
A 4‑3 win over Al-Hilal, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad13 Mar 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
15 goals and a season average of 7.97 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Unai Hernández: 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.” Al-Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market13 Mar 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Al-Ittihad heard it as anything else.
Match8 Mar 2028
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al-Ittihad have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Danilo Pereira 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A performance of 9.83 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 8.59 — 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Marked 8.52 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Feb 2028
“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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Ahmed Al-Ghamdi
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Feb 2028
15 goals and a season average of 7.97. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match7 Feb 2028
Al-Ittihad are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 58 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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-Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Feb 2028
The offer from Ohod for Isaías Rodríguez 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.
Market7 Feb 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Al-Ittihad heard it as anything else.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Houssem Aouar 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
A performance of 9.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Nothing got past Fabinho
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match29 Jan 2028
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.92 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
A defender's afternoon for Fabinho
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market31 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Danilo Pereira 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.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Marked 9.04 — 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.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Marked 9.07 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Jan 2028
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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.88 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market24 Jan 2028
Al-Hazem come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al-Ittihad did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market24 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match22 Jan 2028
1‑3 to Al-Hilal, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Predrag Rajković, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Jan 2028
A 2‑0 win over Al-Fateh, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market17 Jan 2028
Napoli pay $40.5M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market17 Jan 2028
RB Leipzig paid $16.6M and Al-Ittihad took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
12 goals and a season average of 7.84 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The terraces17 Jan 2028
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 26 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market17 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Danilo Pereira 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.
Match15 Jan 2028
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match10 Jan 2028
Al-Ittihad refuse to drop out of the race
Position 1, 52 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
11 goals and a season average of 7.80 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Market10 Jan 2028
The offer from JS Saoura for Jan-Carlo Simić 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.
Market10 Jan 2028
“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-Ittihad, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match8 Jan 2028
Nobody wants to play Al-Ittihad right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Houssem Aouar 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.
Match8 Jan 2028
Al-Ettifaq made Al-Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Marked 9.09 — 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.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market3 Jan 2028
The offer from Napoli for George Ilenikhena 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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Al-Ittihad will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.75 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market3 Jan 2028
Add another name to the list: Napoli have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Moussa Diaby. The answer from Al-Ittihad has not changed — yet.
Match1 Jan 2028
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al-Ittihad have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad3 Jan 2028
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Jan 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Al-Ittihad heard it as anything else.
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
A performance of 9.49 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Nothing got past Fabinho
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Houssem Aouar 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
7 goals and a season average of 7.60. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
A performance of 9.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match18 Dec 2027
A 2‑0 win over Al-Fateh, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“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.
Market20 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Steven Bergwijn’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match13 Dec 2027
Al-Ittihad are in among the leaders
Position 1 and 40 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market13 Dec 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad13 Dec 2027
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Dec 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A season average of 7.52 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match4 Dec 2027
Nobody wants to play Al-Ittihad right now
7 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Ittihad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market6 Dec 2027
“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-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
9 goals and a season average of 7.67 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Market6 Dec 2027
Fabinho wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Al-Ittihad hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.59, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match4 Dec 2027
A 3‑2 win over Al-Nassr, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
A performance of 9.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 43 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match20 Nov 2027
Nobody wants to play Al-Ittihad right now
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Houssem Aouar 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
8 goals and a season average of 7.39. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Marked 8.56 — 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
Three points for Al-Ittihad, 1‑0 the final word against Al-Qadisiyah in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“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.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match6 Nov 2027
6‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad8 Nov 2027
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market8 Nov 2027
“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-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Ittihad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Nov 2027
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
8 goals and a season average of 7.54. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match6 Nov 2027
Still nobody has beaten Al-Ittihad
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Nov 2027
He is 21, he is averaging 7.30, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Market1 Nov 2027
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Al-Ittihad hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad1 Nov 2027
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Marked 9.49 — 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
Al-Faisaly made Al-Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages eat 115% of everything Al-Ittihad 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
There were 7 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Houssem Aouar 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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.96 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
6 goals and a season average of 7.46 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“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.
Match23 Oct 2027
It needed Houssem Aouar to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Al-Hilal, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Oct 2027
Al-Ettifaq will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Al-Ittihad were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Marked 9.40 — 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.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Marked 9.16 — 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.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.90, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Oct 2027
5 goals and a season average of 7.38. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Oct 2027
4‑1, and Houssem Aouar took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Al-Ittihad tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Danilo Pereira and Al-Ittihad agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market4 Oct 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Al-Ittihad heard it as anything else.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Al-Ittihad know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
118% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Ittihad
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Al-Taawoun left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.56, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“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.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market27 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Steven Bergwijn’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match15 Sep 2027
A 3‑0 win over Al-Batin, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market20 Sep 2027
“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-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match18 Sep 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Houssem Aouar’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al-Ittihad.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Ittihad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Aug 2027
There were 7 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.
Market23 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Ahmed Al-Ghamdi again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Nahda. Al-Ittihad are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match21 Aug 2027
Al-Qadisiyah made Al-Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Marked 8.55 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Aug 2027
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
The shirt still fits. Ali Al-Otaibi is back at Al-Ittihad, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market16 Aug 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market16 Aug 2027
As if he never left: Ali Al-Dosari returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ali Al-Dosari is a Al-Ittihad player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market16 Aug 2027
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Fahad Al-Dawsari is a Al-Ittihad player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A performance of 9.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 9.12 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
Al-Nassr pay $4.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer from Al-Hazem for Antony Otero 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Predrag Rajković wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Al-Ittihad hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad14 Jun 2027
He is 21, he is averaging 7.18, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Jun 2027
Al-Shabab pay $450.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Mar 2027
The small margins put Al-Ittihad out
Out, 1‑2 to Al-Ahli, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
13 goals and a season average of 7.62 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Gabriel Carvalho: 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.” Al-Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” George Ilenikhena commits to Al-Ittihad for another 5 years.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
13 goals and a season average of 7.62. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market8 Feb 2027
Saad Al-Mosa 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 Al-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Awad Al-Nashri: 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.” Al-Ittihad have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Houssem Aouar commits to Al-Ittihad for another 4 years.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match6 Feb 2027
Al-Fateh made Al-Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jan 2027
Hassan Kadish 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 Al-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.56 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad25 Jan 2027
He is 21, he is averaging 7.18, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
2‑3 to Al-Hilal, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
253% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Ittihad
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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 8.56 — 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
The one thing Moussa Diaby could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 39 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match13 Jan 2027
A 1‑0 win over Najran, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 34, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 31, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market18 Jan 2027
Hamed Al-Ghamdi has left for Al-Nassr in a $2.9M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Danilo Pereira 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Still nobody has beaten Al-Ittihad
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Moussa Diaby is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.51 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Jan 2027
6‑0, and Youssef En-Nesyri took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Al-Ittihad tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Houssem Aouar
10 goals and a season average of 7.57 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Moussa Diaby 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.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 9.82 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market11 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Hamed Al-Ghamdi again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Nassr. Al-Ittihad are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.32, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.90, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market11 Jan 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ahmed Sharahili has his answer from Al-Ittihad; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Al-Ittihad have had the benefit of it.
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Al-Ittihad
5 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Danilo Pereira 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.54 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.97, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The award goes to Roger Fernandes, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Match2 Jan 2027
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.47 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.87 — 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.45 — 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Faisal Al-Ghamdi, and the manager let it.
Match19 Dec 2026
It needed Danilo Pereira to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Najran, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad21 Dec 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mohammed Al-Absi knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Moussa Diaby 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.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.41 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Shots: 15, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad14 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Hamed Al-Ghamdi
“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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Dec 2026
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Fabinho
“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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.87 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 8.73 — 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Houssem Aouar is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.35 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“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-Ittihad, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Nov 2026
3‑0, and Roger Fernandes took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Al-Ittihad tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad30 Nov 2026
55 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
He is 21, he is averaging 7.14, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
A performance of 9.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 489% of everything Al-Ittihad 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 8.48 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Al-Ittihad may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.78, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“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.
Match7 Nov 2026
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Oct 2026
Al-Ittihad are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 15 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
117 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Moussa Diaby 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
770% of the income goes out in wages at Al-Ittihad
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.64 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match3 Oct 2026
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
The one thing Houssem Aouar could not do
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Fabinho stands above it all
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.61 on the card, and the Al-Ittihad support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
The one thing Moussa Diaby could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Match26 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for Al-Ittihad?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Taawoun? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Market28 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al-Ittihad know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Ittihad, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match29 Aug 2026
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 33. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market31 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Al-Ittihad did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market31 Aug 2026
“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-Ittihad can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match29 Aug 2026
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al-Ittihad have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Al-Ittihad have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Moussa Diaby 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Fabinho shuts the door
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Aug 2026
Al-Qadisiyah made Al-Ittihad work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.22 — 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match15 Aug 2026
Hajer will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Al-Ittihad were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market17 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Al-Ittihad did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market17 Aug 2026
The name of Saleh Al-Shehri has come up in conversations Al-Ittihad were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Moussa Diaby 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-Ittihad this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 9.61 — 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 9.30 — 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Al-Ittihad heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Steven Bergwijn and Al-Ittihad agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Moussa Diaby 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The name of George Ilenikhena has come up in conversations Al-Ittihad were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Steven Bergwijn’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.