JEDDAH, 2 July 2005 — Al-Ittihad won the return leg of the final series 2-1 against Sfaxin of Tunisia last night to clinch the Arab Champions League title before a full house crowd of 26,000 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. The home team won on 4-1 aggregate having also won the away game in Tunisia by 2-0 last week.
Playing like the champion team that they are, Ittihad were in control of the match all evening and two first half goals by Muhammad Nur gave them the lead they protected to the very end.
Nur’s first goal came in the 11th minute when his header ricocheted off defender Fathi Algarbi into the net after the ball was earlier deflected by the Sfaxin goalkeeper.
Brazilian international Sergio set up Nur for the second goal with a lob pass that found the Ittihad striker near the penalty box in the 23rd minute.
Sfaxin pulled one back when Rauf Al-Hamazi received a high ball from the right side and slammed home a goal in the 42nd minute.
The Tunisian visitors stepped up their attacks between the 49th and 64th minutes but their efforts bore no fruit in light of Ittihad’s rock-solid defense.
The victory gives Ittihad a big morale boost as the Jeddah-based club meets Al-Hilal of Riyadh in a week’s time in the second match of the stepladder final in the King Fahd Cup soccer tournament.
The winner advances to a winner-take-all match against the waiting top finalist Al-Shabab. Ittihad earned a shot at second-ranked Hilal by ousting another Riyadh squad, Al-Nasr, in the stepladder’s first match.
Real Madrid Sign
Uruguayan Pair
Reuters adds from Madrid: Real Madrid have signed Uruguayan internationals Pablo Garcia and Carlos Diogo, the Spanish club said in a statement yesterday.
Midfielder Garcia has signed a four-year contract and defender Diogo a five-year deal. Garcia, 28, has a reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder, though he was also the main playmaker for Primera Liga side Osasuna.
He will compete for the midfield holding role at Real with Denmark’s Thomas Gravesen. Diogo, 21, signed from Argentine side River Plate, is a versatile player comfortable in defence or midfield. Garcia and Diogo will be officially presented as Real Madrid players next week and will join the squad for this month’s tour of the United States, China, Japan and Thailand.
