Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Al-Qadisiyah left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Al-Amri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Younes El Bahraoui has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Two goals and a mark of 8.64 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two goals and a mark of 8.38 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Taawoun and Hajer in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Younes El Bahraoui has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Al-Amri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohammed Al-Dossary was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Faisal Al-Qahtani and Al-Taawoun agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Saad Al-Subaie after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Al-Taawoun told Abdulrahman Al-Anazi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mohammed Al-Hassan has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fahad Al-Sulami has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yasser Al-Khaibari has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Waleed Al-Nemer has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Saleh Al-Amri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Taawoun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al-Taawoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Nasser Al-Khaibari has, at Al-Taawoun, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij 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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Al-Amri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Sabri Dahal, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.01
A mark of 8.01 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Marked 8.24 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
SquadWords at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ahmed Bahusayn provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and El Masry waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Al-Taawoun is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Al-Taawoun people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Younes El Bahraoui is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Al-Taawoun close the window on a squad of their own making
16 in and 7 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
4 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.
Younes El Bahraoui 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Moscow have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Saleh Al-Amri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Oscar was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.25. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
1‑5 to Al-Shabab, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
6 goals in one match, Saleh Al-Amri on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Taawoun and Al-Shabab.
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Ibrahim Mahnashi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Al-Dossary is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
16 combined actions and 6.95. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The name of Hamed Al-Shanqeeti has come up in conversations Al-Taawoun were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Al-Amri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Saad Al-Subaie was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Al-Taawoun dressing room was either.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Al-Taawoun asked and Al-Qadisiyah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Taawoun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Krasnodar keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Younes El Bahraoui and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Saeed Al-Mutairi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Saad Al-Ahmadi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from ENPPI for Koshaim Al-Qahtani 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Everything agreed with Al-Ittihad, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Clermont Foot keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Al-Taawoun asked and Al-Orobah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Al-Taawoun asked and Cremonese said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Saleh Al-Amri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Al-Taawoun have made the call to Krasnodar. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutSaleh Al-Amri knocks on the manager's door
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Taawoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Al-Taawoun have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Benevento keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The phone has started ringing about Yousef Al-Salem again, and this time the name on the line is Al-Shabab. Al-Taawoun are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Marin Petkov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Taawoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Racing Genk keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Al-Taawoun asked and Charlton Athletic said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Younes El Bahraoui and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Petkov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Abdulrahman Hindi has his answer from Al-Taawoun; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Taawoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Parfait Guiagon was one of the reasons people came, and $16.5M does not replace that by itself.
The fee is $1.4M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Fayha drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mohammed Al-Baqawi has, at Al-Taawoun, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Al-Taawoun asked and Al-Diriyah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 15 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Taawoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have shaken hands with Al-Fayha; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Damac keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
20 appearances and 1 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Petkov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The words a physio says slowly. 68 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer went to Damac this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Al-Taawoun offered $3.1M; Damac said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The phone has started ringing about Parfait Guiagon again, and this time the name on the line is MC Alger. Al-Taawoun are listening politely and promising nothing.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marin Petkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Al-Taawoun have made the call to KAA Gent. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Parfait Guiagon's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marin Petkov signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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-Taawoun can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Al-Taawoun have done the hard part with Al-Khaleej, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Abdulrahman Al-Anazi has, at Al-Taawoun, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Faris Al-Ghamdi is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The fee is $310.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Fayha drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Ohod paid $180.0K and Al-Taawoun took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
He is 19, and nobody at Al-Taawoun signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
$1.3M settles it between the clubs for Sabri Dahal
Al-Hilal have accepted the money. What Al-Taawoun do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Al-Taawoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
The fee is $570.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Fayha drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer went to Al-Fayha this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdulmalik Al-Marwani is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Careers are short and most of them do not end in a deal like this one. Ahmed Bamasud has just secured his, and nobody at Al-Taawoun begrudges him it — out loud.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Al-Taawoun enter the window
101 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
In brief
SquadWords at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
108 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bassam Al-Hurayji signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 116 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Victor Hugo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al-Taawoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ibrahim Mahnashi has written the date down.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Younes El Bahraoui signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Al-Taawoun the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
The coaching staff have set Younes El Bahraoui something separate to do. Whether it is a weakness being addressed or a strength being sharpened, nobody outside the building will know until it shows up on a Saturday.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Marin Petkov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Oscar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Parfait Guiagon's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bassam Al-Hurayji signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marin Petkov signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ibrahim Mahnashi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Parfait Guiagon signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Al-Taawoun the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mohammed Al-Dossary has written the date down.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Taawoun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al-Taawoun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sebastián Mella is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marin Petkov and Al-Taawoun agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Parfait Guiagon signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mohammed Al-Dossary trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
4 goals in 24 games at Al-Shoulla — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Al-Taawoun updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Al-Taawoun has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Hamed Al-Shanqeeti has written the date down.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdulrahman Hindi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ibrahim Mahnashi has written the date down.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Al-Taawoun told Mahdi Faqihi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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-Taawoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Oscar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Shabab have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Parfait Guiagon signs something — a contract at Al-Taawoun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
4 goals in 22 games at Al-Shoulla — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Al-Taawoun updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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-Taawoun would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Al-Taawoun spent the window trying to move Adeeb Al-Hassan on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oscar provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Fayha have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Al-Taawoun have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.86 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Al-Taawoun close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Al-Taawoun asked and Al-Qadisiyah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al-Taawoun and Al-Qadisiyah in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer from Al-Fateh for Bassam Al-Hurayji 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.
The phone has started ringing about Koshaim Al-Qahtani again, and this time the name on the line is ENPPI. Al-Taawoun are listening politely and promising nothing.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hassan Al-Rashid has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bandar Al-Rashid is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.84 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Al-Taawoun offered $1.2M; Al-Qadisiyah said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The deal with Al-Ahli is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 45. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
6 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.
The offer went to Al-Qadisiyah this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Al-Hilal keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The fee is $500.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Al-Ittihad drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals in one match, Parfait Guiagon on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Taawoun and Al-Hilal.
Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Saad Al-Subaie after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Saad Al-Subaie after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
14 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Al-Ittihad in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Nobody at Al-Taawoun is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
A 1‑1 draw with Al-Khaleej leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Saad Al-Subaie chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Marked 8.31 — 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.
“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 dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Saad Al-Subaie, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ahmed Bahusayn trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Al-Taawoun can tell you which week it ends in.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Saad Al-Subaie left the room before anybody could ask which.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Abdullah Al-Sheikh is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sultan Al-Salem has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Position 6, 19 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“I watch every Al-Taawoun game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al-Shoulla runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Saad Al-Subaie left the room before anybody could ask which.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Younes El Bahraoui is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Al-Wehda next, and one man in the Al-Taawoun dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abderrazak Hamdallah provided it, and the 9.65 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Younes El Bahraoui did not need any: 8.33, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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.
6 goals in one match, Oscar on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Al-Taawoun and Hajer.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Saad Al-Subaie on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Abdullah Al-Mansour is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Al-Taawoun have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
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.
7.70, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Victor Hugo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
13 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Saad Al-Subaie chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
13 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Oscar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ali Al-Qahtani commits to Al-Taawoun for another 3 years.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Saad Al-Subaie was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Al-Taawoun dressing room was either.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Al-Ra'ed? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Abderrazak Hamdallah’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Al-Taawoun needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oscar provided it, and the 8.43 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Faisal Al-Mansour has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ibrahim Al-Hassan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Al-Taawoun close the window on a squad of their own making
14 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Oscar and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Al-Taawoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Victor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Masr El Makasa have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
8.16. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.05 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
$370.0K was the most the club would pay and Al-Fateh were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Ahli have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.24 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Marin Petkov at his very best
Squad13 new faces, and Al-Taawoun are still learning each other
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al-Taawoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
$380.0K was the most the club would pay and Al-Fayha were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Deportes Tolima have kept their man, and Al-Taawoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Muteb Al-Mufarrij 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Victor Hugo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Utrecht paid $14.1M and Al-Taawoun took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oscar provided it, and the 8.14 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Aschraf El Mahdioui has gone, the accounts have $14.1M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Al-Taawoun had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Boca Juniors, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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-Taawoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Al-Taawoun offered $510.0K; Al-Mojzel said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Al-Saudi Al-Watani had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Everything agreed with Boca Juniors, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Modena keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Al-Taawoun have gone to Al-Mojzel with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$840.0K was the most the club would pay and Al-Qadisiyah were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Saad Al-Shammari is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The offer from ES Setif for Muteb Al-Mufarrij 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.
The name of Aschraf El Mahdioui has come up in conversations Al-Taawoun were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Still no offer on the table, and Oscar’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.