From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Fahad Saeed 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ramón Mierez, and the manager let it.
Match30 Jan 2027
A bad afternoon for Al Nasr against Al Wasl
0‑2 to Al Wasl, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“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 Nasr, and 2 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market1 Feb 2027
The Ramón Mierez story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ramón Mierez signs something — a contract at Al Nasr or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Al Nasr would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
A one-man rearguard from Fahad Saeed
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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Ermis come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al Nasr did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
181% of the income goes out in wages at Al Nasr
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
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 17, 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 ratings25 Jan 2027
A mark of 7.67, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The team sheet said everything about Marcos Delgado
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Marcos Delgado.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Issam Faiz, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Jan 2027
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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
Al Dhafra come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Al Nasr did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Ramón Mierez 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 ratings18 Jan 2027
Marked 8.94 — 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 ratings18 Jan 2027
Marked 8.54 — 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 ratings18 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Jan 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jan 2027
Mehdi Ghayedi has left for Al Ain in a $3.2M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market11 Jan 2027
Al Nasr say no — this time
The offer from Al Wasl for Hussain Mahdi 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Luka Milivojević 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Abdoulaye Touré again, and this time the name on the line is Ermis. Al Nasr are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match9 Jan 2027
Al Ain left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Marked 8.09 — 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Serdar Saatçı, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market11 Jan 2027
The Gláuber talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Nasr know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match4 Jan 2027
Al Nasr up to position 3
31 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Mehdi Ghayedi has come up in conversations Al Nasr were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Ramón Mierez 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
A bad afternoon for Al Nasr against Dibba
1‑2 to Dibba, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
“I did not go to Al Fujairah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Nasr and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad4 Jan 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Fahad Saeed lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
292% of the income goes out in wages at Al Nasr
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 ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Jônatas 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.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
The spotlight tightens on Ramón Mierez
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
One booking too many, and Gláuber sits out. Al Nasr lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
4.67 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Dec 2026
Fahad Saeed is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Fahad Saeed: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match19 Dec 2026
Whatever happens, Al Nasr do not lose
15 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Match16 Dec 2026
Al Nasr march on in the cup
Sharjah are out and Al Nasr go through, 0‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market21 Dec 2026
Mehdi Ghayedi 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 Nasr can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
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 ratings21 Dec 2026
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Fahad Saeed 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.88 — 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
Match12 Dec 2026
Still nobody has beaten Al Nasr
The unbeaten run reaches 13. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Fahad Saeed 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 ratings14 Dec 2026
Nothing got past Gláuber
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Marked 8.96 — 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.
Match12 Dec 2026
A 2‑0 win over Al Shabab, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 20, 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 ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.42, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Al Shaab to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Nasr and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Nikola Vukić 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Dec 2026
Still nobody has beaten Al Nasr
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match7 Dec 2026
Al Nasr up to position 3
25 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 9.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
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 Nasr, and 2 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abdoulaye Touré, and the manager let it.
Match5 Dec 2026
1‑1, 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
Upbeat
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match28 Nov 2026
11 unbeaten for Al Nasr
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Al Nasr did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Nothing got past Gláuber
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 363% of everything Al Nasr 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Fahad Saeed 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
4.76 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Match28 Nov 2026
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Sharjah defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market23 Nov 2026
“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 Nasr, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match21 Nov 2026
Nobody wants to play Al Nasr right now
3 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.
Squad23 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 9.06 — 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marouan Azarkan. 2‑1 against Baniyas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings23 Nov 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.
Squad23 Nov 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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Al Nasr lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 32 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match14 Nov 2026
9 unbeaten for Al Nasr
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Al Nasr did not have in the autumn.
Squad16 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match14 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Serdar Saatçı. 1‑0 against Al Dhafra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad16 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match9 Nov 2026
Al Nasr are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 17 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match7 Nov 2026
Still nobody has beaten Al Nasr
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 9.10 — 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.
Match7 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mehdi Ghayedi. 2‑1 against Al Fujairah, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Al Fujairah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Nasr and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.43 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match31 Oct 2026
Whatever happens, Al Nasr do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Fahad Saeed 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 363% of everything Al Nasr 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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.49 — 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fahad Saeed, and the manager let it.
Match31 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Al Wasl leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The armband comes off Issam Faiz
Al Nasr will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Market2 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Nasr know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market26 Oct 2026
“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 Nasr, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match24 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Al Nasr 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Fahad Saeed 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ramón Mierez. 2‑1 against Al Shaab, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.75 — 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 ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.73, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Issam Faiz, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Al Nasr right now
3 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
Three points for Al Nasr, 3‑2 the final word against Al Ahli in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 9.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.84 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gustavo Mueller, and the manager let it.
Market19 Oct 2026
The Gláuber talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Al Nasr know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Issam Faiz knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Issam Faiz trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 ratings12 Oct 2026
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.
Match10 Oct 2026
Three points for Al Nasr, 2‑1 the final word against Al Ain in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ramón Mierez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings12 Oct 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.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Al Fujairah to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Nasr and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Al Nasr
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Al Nasr are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Luka Milivojević 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 ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
535% of the income goes out in wages at Al Nasr
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.
Squad5 Oct 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Honours even between Al Nasr and Dibba
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad5 Oct 2026
At 27 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Al Nasr have a decision that made itself.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Sep 2026
Mehdi Ghayedi 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 Nasr can pretend not to have heard.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Al Nasr's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Al Nasr has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 ratings28 Sep 2026
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Gláuber 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
32 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Emirates Club, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Mehdi Ghayedi
“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 ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.04 — 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 ratings21 Sep 2026
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Al Nasr needed to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Issam Faiz
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Fahad Saeed 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
Unisport Bafang are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Al Nasr will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 7.73 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Al Nasr had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Nothing got past Gláuber
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match12 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Al Shabab will be the happier side with the point.
Market14 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mehdi Ghayedi signs something — a contract at Al Nasr or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Sep 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 Nasr can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
So close: Felipe Motta’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Al Dhafra moved on, Felipe Motta reports back to Al Nasr, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Fahad Saeed 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 540% of everything Al Nasr 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ramón Mierez
“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 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market7 Sep 2026
Dibba are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Al Nasr will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Fahad Saeed lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
Mehdi Ghayedi 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 Nasr can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: Arshia Sarshogh joins from Sharjah in a deal worth $520.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ramón Mierez 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
63 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad31 Aug 2026
27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 fee is $1.9M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al Ahli drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Lautaro Porres commits to Al Nasr for another 4 years.
Market24 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mohammed Abdulbasit has his answer from Al Nasr; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market17 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Hussain Mahdi again, and this time the name on the line is Al Wahda. Al Nasr are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market17 Aug 2026
Salem Sultan is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al Nasr has been clear about where Salem Sultan stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market17 Aug 2026
Al Nasr bring in an old head
Marcos Delgado is 38 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market17 Aug 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mehdi Ghayedi signs something — a contract at Al Nasr or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Al Nasr would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The fee is $530.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al Jazira drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kevin Agudelo commits to Al Nasr for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ramón Mierez 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Market10 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Al Nasr will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 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.
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luka Milivojević and Al Nasr agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ramón Mierez 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 Nasr this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Al Nasr have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
58 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.