JEDDAH, 24 May 2007 — Wehda and Al-Ittihad clash today in the second stepladder match of the King’s Cup Final Four competition.
The match is being bruited about these parts as the battle of the giants although verily Ittihad is the giant with six King’s Cup titles under their belt and Wehda the sleeping giant.
The dark horse of the football season, Wehda managed to eliminate the defending champions Al-Shabab last week after winning the first stepladder match in Makkah 2-1.
The stunning victory confounded sport critics. They never thought Shabab would be eliminated in that match. As for Wehda, their qualification for the Final Four was itself an achievement and anything beyond that is already a bonus.
Ittihad and Wehda are two teams driven by ambitions.
Wehda are looking to go all the way to the final against Al-Hilal and end their four decades-long wait of a King’s Cup final appearance.
To achieve this dream, the team must battle Ittihad for 90 minutes today at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. Wehda meant business this season and managed to win the other teams’ respect with an all-new team lead by he experienced German coach Theo Bucker.
For Ittihad the challenge is that they have to do something to repair the damage done as a result of two major defeats against archrival Ahli in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup final and Crown Prince Cup final.
Ittihad play the 4-5-1 formation with a very strong defense line supported by the midfield. Ittihad rely on one striker in the front line in Keta, who is known as a good striker with dangerous speed. Keta will be supported by a strong midfield led by team captain Muhammad Nur, Manaf Abu Shgeer and Ibrahim Suwaeed.
The Ittihad defense line will have to come up with a new plan to guard the very fast Wehda striker Naser Al-Shamrani. The team use a defense line with one player staying behind the defenders. If the Ittihad defense played on one line, this will create a golden opportunity for Wehda strikers to score relying on their speed. One striker, however, would make things easy for the Wehda defense.
The biggest headache for Wehda will be dealing with Ittihad midfield. Wehda will try hard to pressure the players and not give them enough space to maneuver. For Wehda players, getting Nur is like getting 50 percent of Ittihad’s midfield power.
Wehda play the 3-5-2 formation. Wehda kept the faith in this formation the whole season and it did help the team to advance to the stepladder matches. Like Ittihad Wehda want to control the midfield because controlling the midfield means controlling the match.
Wehda enjoy a great advantage over Ittihad in the goalkeeping. Mabrook Zayed, Ittihad goalkeeper, was injured after the Ahli match in the Saudi league, which ended 1-1. The alternative goalkeeper Tayseer Al-Nteef is injured also and there is a great chance that he may not play. Assaf Al-Garni, Wehda goalkeeper, showed excellent and confident performance during the season and contributed a lot to Wehda’s victories. He is supported a lot by strong Wehda defense line. The Ittihad club has a wealth of experience playing pressure matches. Most of Ittihad players are playing in the national team and they have the moxie in the big games.
Critics point to Ittihad as the ones facing greater pressure because they qualified for the final two times and failed to secure at least one title. The team that play relaxed football and not lose control inside the pitch are most likely to win, critics said.
