Al Wasl U20

31 Dec 2026
Thursday
Process
22 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Serginho

Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Al Wasl throw away a 2-goal lead

2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Emirates Club the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Al Wasl will enjoy reviewing.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Malheiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dinko Horkaš

“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 ratings

Cameron Puertas was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. 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.

Market

Al Wasl may not be able to give Daniel Pedrozo what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Daniel Pedrozo wants continental football; whether Al Wasl can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Serginho is carrying Al Wasl

7 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Al Wasl share the spoils with Emirates Club

A 2‑2 draw with Emirates Club leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

Back issues
21 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

The small margins put Al Wasl out

Out, 1‑2 to Al Nasr, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Player ratings

Brahian Palacios beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Dinko Horkaš keeps Al Wasl in it on his own

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.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adryelson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Hugo makes it 100

100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

Loan watch

Atiq Esam wants to come home

“I did not go to Baniyas to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Wasl and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 19 matches say the rest.

Player ratings

Serginho stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.61 on the card, and the Al Wasl support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

Dinko Horkaš gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dinko Horkaš is on it.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout The manager has not finished forgetting Omer Farooq Nasim's mistake
  • The dugout Mehdi Taremi does not fit this one
20 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Dinko Horkaš

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.

Squad

Mehdi Taremi takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Player ratings

Vintage Mehdi Taremi — 9.80

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 9.80, and nobody on the pitch better.

Match

Al Wasl refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 31 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Al Wasl

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.

Player ratings

Serginho beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Pedro Malheiro 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 Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Nobody wins at Al Wasl

10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Match

Mehdi Taremi the difference as Al Wasl beat Al Jazira

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mehdi Taremi. 3‑2 against Al Jazira, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

19 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Age has not caught Mehdi Taremi yet — 8.15

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.15 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Player ratings

Serginho beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Al Wasl

The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Words exchanged at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Malheiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Al Wasl see off Sharjah

Three points for Al Wasl, 2‑1 the final word against Sharjah in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Looking ahead

Al Wasl and Al Jazira meet at the summit

The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.

Player ratings

One of those days for Renato Júnior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Loan watch

12 goals on loan for Saldanha

14 appearances at Sharjah and the goals keep coming. Al Wasl are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

18 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Brahian Palacios

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Yousif Ali: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al Wasl have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Pedro Malheiro falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

6 unbeaten for Al Wasl

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Al Wasl did not have in the autumn.

Match

Al Wasl make home a hard place to visit

9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.

Match

Halfway: Al Wasl sit in position 3

25 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.

Loan watch

11 goals on loan for Saldanha

13 appearances at Sharjah and the goals keep coming. Al Wasl are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

The dugout

Soufiane Bouftini 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.

In brief

17 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Brahian Palacios beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Kurt Zouma falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Cameron Puertas in the eights

A performance of 8.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Nicolás Giménez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Al Dhafra end the Al Wasl run at 4

Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.

Match

Al Dhafra snatch it back from Al Wasl

A goal on 92 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Loan watch

Atiq Esam wants to come home

“I did not go to Baniyas to sit and watch. I want to come back to Al Wasl and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 15 matches say the rest.

Match

Honours even between Al Wasl and Al Dhafra

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

  • The dugout Dinko Horkaš has become a man the manager trusts
  • Loan watch The goals keep arriving from Saldanha’s exile
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
16 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

A day Serginho will not forget

4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Match

No mercy from Al Wasl

Al Fujairah will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Al Wasl were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Match

Al Wasl up to position 3

23 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Match

Al Wasl make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Al Wasl have 4 straight wins of it.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

One of those days for Serginho

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Al Wasl and Al Fujairah in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Malheiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Brahian Palacios runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

15 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Serginho

Successful dribbles: 46. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Majed Al Naqbi

21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Wasl lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Vintage Mehdi Taremi — 8.22

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.22, and nobody on the pitch better.

Match

Al Wasl cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

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

Market

Al Wasl promote Hamad Omar from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hamad Omar 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.

Market

Al Wasl promote Hassan Al Kamali from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hassan Al Kamali 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.

Match

Al Wasl see off Al Shaab

Three points for Al Wasl, 1‑0 the final word against Al Shaab in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

14 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Serginho beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 46. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

The knee: Majed Al Naqbi out for 30 days

30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Al Wasl lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Al Wasl leave it late against Al Nasr

Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and Al Nasr spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.

The dugout

Lancine Bamba: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Al Wasl have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Words exchanged at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro 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.

Match

Nicolás Giménez the difference as Al Wasl beat Al Nasr

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicolás Giménez. 3‑2 against Al Nasr, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The dugout

Dinko Horkaš 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 terraces

One of their own: Brahian Palacios

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.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kurt Zouma 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.

In brief

13 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Majed Al Naqbi

38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Al Wasl lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Serginho was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 38. 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.

Player ratings

Vintage Mehdi Taremi — 8.07

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.07, and nobody on the pitch better.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Malheiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Mehdi Taremi sends Al Wasl past Al Ahli

It finished 2‑0, and it was Mehdi Taremi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Wasl.

Market

Daniel Pedrozo has his eye on Europe

It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Al Wasl can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.

Squad

Al Wasl are still strangers to each other

5 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 dugout

A satisfied Hamad Nader

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Hamad Nader could afford to be generous.

The dugout

Soufiane Bouftini gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Soufiane Bouftini is on it.

In brief

12 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Pedro Malheiro 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 Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Late improvement for Dinko Horkaš

At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

Squad

Juan Campos is a better footballer than he was

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.

Squad

Adryelson falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Al Wasl come up short against Al Ain

Al Ain left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

No hiding place for Saša Ivković

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saša Ivković, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Cameron Puertas was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 16. 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.

Loan watch

Atiq Esam has seen enough of Baniyas

“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 Wasl, and 1 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

Hamad Nader faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Hamad Nader after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

In brief

11 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

4 goals for Abdelrahman Saleh

The match ball belongs to Abdelrahman Saleh, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Match

Al Wasl march on in the cup

Al Fujairah are out and Al Wasl go through, 4‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Squad

Dinko Horkaš stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Player ratings

Brahian Palacios beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words exchanged at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš 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.

Squad

Lancine Bamba is a better footballer than he was

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.

Player ratings

Abdelrahman Saleh in the eights

A performance of 10.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The terraces

One of their own: Juan Campos

He is 19 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.

Match

Al Wasl see off Dibba

Three points for Al Wasl, 2‑0 the final word against Dibba in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

10 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Serginho runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 42. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Boardroom

Al Wasl told to sell

The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Real improvement from Dimas at Al Wasl

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Dimas is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Malheiro 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 dugout

Pedro Malheiro is still paying for one afternoon at Al Wasl

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.

Squad

A smaller club would suit Pedro Malheiro now

He has had enough of the noise. Whether Al Wasl can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.

The dugout

Hamad Nader on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Hamad Nader after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Dinko Horkaš

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

In brief

9 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Brahian Palacios beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adryelson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

One of those days for Serginho

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.29, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Pedro Malheiro did the work nobody counts — 7.61

10 combined actions and 7.61. 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.

Match

Al Wasl caught on 90 minutes

The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Emirates Club scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.

Match

Honours even between Al Wasl and Emirates Club

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

Pedro Malheiro 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 Pedro Malheiro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

Hamad Nader: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

8 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Serginho beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 39. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

Mehdi Taremi scores twice — 8.93

Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

Pedro Malheiro 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 Wasl this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Late improvement for Dinko Horkaš

At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

Squad

Mohammad Buzairi is a better footballer than he was

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.

Match

Mehdi Taremi sends Al Wasl past Al Shabab

It finished 2‑1, and it was Mehdi Taremi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Al Wasl.

The terraces

One of their own: Brahian Palacios

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.

Squad

Kurt Zouma falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

No time for Al Shabab to settle

The goal that put Al Shabab ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Al Wasl equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.

In brief

7 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A hiding for Al Wasl

Beaten 1‑4 by Al Jazira, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Dinko Horkaš

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Lancine Bamba is a better footballer than he was

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.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Malheiro is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Cameron Puertas was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. 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.

The dugout

Dinko Horkaš gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Al Wasl promote Faisal Khalfan from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Faisal Khalfan 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.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Al Wasl

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Loan watch

Atiq Esam counts the days

“I watch every Al Wasl game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Baniyas runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Squad Too much change too quickly at Al Wasl
  • Market The Pedro Malheiro talk will not go away
6 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Market

Soufiane Bouftini says no to Ismaily

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Soufiane Bouftini had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Player ratings

A brace, and Cameron Puertas takes the afternoon — 8.30

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Cameron Puertas provided it, and the 8.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Boardroom

Al Wasl close the window on a squad of their own making

16 in and 20 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.

Market

Abdulla Al-Shamsi’s move to Al Fujairah falls through

The deal that would have taken Abdulla Al-Shamsi to Al Fujairah has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Al Wasl with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.

Squad

Words exchanged at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro 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.

Transfer targets

Al Wasl rebuffed over Amer Al Junaibi

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al Shaab have kept their man, and Al Wasl go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Boardroom

1 academy graduates step up at Al Wasl

Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adryelson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Business is business: João Alves goes

Emirates Club paid $120.0K and Al Wasl took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

In brief

5 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Al Wasl say no — this time

The offer from Emirates Club for Nicolás Giménez 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.

Market

Business is business: Renato Tapia goes

Crvena Zvezda paid $5.0M and Al Wasl took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Market

Ali Saleh moves on

Al Wahda pay $1.4M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Business is business: Salem Al-Azizi goes

Emirates Club paid $180.0K and Al Wasl took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Transfer targets

Al Wasl rebuffed over Iago

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dibba have kept their man, and Al Wasl go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

4 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Renato Tapia agrees terms with Crvena Zvezda

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Al Wasl people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Al Wasl turn down Al Fujairah for Dimas

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Transfer targets

Iago turns down Al Wasl

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Dibba keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Karim El Berkaoui

Al Wasl asked and Al Dhafra said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Malheiro 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.

Market

Al Fujairah watching Abdulla Al-Shamsi

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Al Wasl have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

Emirates Club expected to open talks for Salem Al-Azizi

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Al Wasl will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

The dugout

Faisal Omar knocks on the manager's door

“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 Wasl, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

3 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

No deal for Karim El Berkaoui at that price

Al Wasl offered $2.8M; Al Dhafra 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.

Transfer targets

Yannick Agnero will not be coming to Al Wasl

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Lech is saying, and nobody at Al Wasl is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Saeid Saharkhizan

Al Wasl asked and Esteghlal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Eyes on Dimas again

The phone has started ringing about Dimas again, and this time the name on the line is Al Fujairah. Al Wasl are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Adryelson falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Squad

Salem Al Shamsi out for 28 days

The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Salem Al Shamsi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

No place for Salem Al-Azizi in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Salem Al-Azizi has his answer from Al Wasl; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

The Pedro Malheiro talk will not go away

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

In brief

2 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Al Wasl say no — this time

The offer from Sharjah for Ali Saleh 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Al Wasl

Pedro Malheiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Al Wasl rebuffed over George Ilenikhena

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Al-Ittihad have kept their man, and Al Wasl go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

One of our own: Salem Al Shamsi joins the Al Wasl first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Salem Al Shamsi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Bandar Abdulrahman steps up from the Al Wasl academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bandar Abdulrahman 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.

Market

Faisal Omar steps up from the Al Wasl academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Faisal Omar 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.

Squad

Words at Al Wasl training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Renato Tapia 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.

Transfer targets

Al Wasl try to borrow Yannick Agnero

Lech have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Saeid Saharkhizan is in the works

Al Wasl have made the call to Esteghlal. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

1 Edition

The Al Wasl Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Al Wasl turn down Crvena Zvezda for Pedro Malheiro

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Ali Saleh asks to leave Al Wasl

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

A career in one shirt: Ali Saleh

11 seasons and 193 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.

Squad

Mehdi Taremi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mehdi Taremi and Al Wasl agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Al Wasl

Dinko Horkaš was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Al Wasl

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Malheiro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief