Glory for Shabab Al-Ahli with first UAE Pro League title win

Glory for Shabab Al-Ahli with first UAE Pro League title win
they came from behind to wrap up Their first ADNOC Pro League title in fittingly determined fashion (Twitter/@Shabab_AlAhliFC)
Short Url
Updated 09 May 2023

Glory for Shabab Al-Ahli with first UAE Pro League title win

Glory for Shabab Al-Ahli with first UAE Pro League title win
  • Here are Arab News’ top picks and a talking point from the latest action

DUBAI: Elation abounded for Leonardo Jardim’s long-term leaders Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club when they came from behind to wrap up their first ADNOC Pro League title in fittingly determined fashion.

And Lourency’s double put Al-Bataeh in pole position to edge a tense, final-day survival showdown during a memorable matchweek 25.

The table-topping merged outfit were indebted to second-half strikes from Uzbekistan midfielder Aziz Ganiev and emerging UAE winger Yahya Al-Ghassani to secure a 2-1 victory at Baniyas.

Their superior head-to-head record against now-dethroned champions Al-Ain, who beat Al-Wasl 3-2, and Al-Wahda, who downed 10-man Ajman 3-2, rendered this week’s deciding round moot at the top.

Much is still at stake, however, in the battle to avoid following bottom-placed Al-Dhafra – who thrashed Al-Jazira 4-1 in a dead-rubber contest begun by veteran Sultan Al-Ghaferi’s 40-yard lob – into the First Division League.

Twelfth-placed Al-Bataeh ended their 14-match winless run in opportune style with a 2-0 victory against 10-man Al-Nasr, meaning they sit two-points ahead, with an equal head-to-head record and goal difference, of 13th-placed fellow promoted club Dibba Al-Fujairah who determinedly drew 1-1 at a Sharjah for whom ex-Barcelona striker Paco Alcacer netted.

Mid-table Al-Ittihad Kalba and Khor Fakkan played out a 1-1 stalemate.

Here are Arab News’ top picks and a talking point from the latest action.

Player of the Week – Lourency (Al-Bataeh)

An apt time for club and leading scorer to terminate long droughts.

Al-Bataeh can head into a pressurized matchweek 26 with wind in their sails after this essential second-half dismantling of inconsistent giants Al-Nasr.

Lourency, as he has so often been in the 2022-2023 debut top-flight stint for a club only founded 11 years ago, was cast as savior, moving onto 12 league goals with a well-taken double.

The first was a delicate clip via Cameroon forward Anatole Abang’s imaginative pass, slotting his second following another cute assist from Malian defensive midfielder Sekou Gassama.

The ex-Goztepe forward had last netted in the Feb. 18 2-1 loss at Al-Wahda, seven matchweeks prior.

Critically, the Brazilian’s resurgence came under the care of lauded ex-Al-Ain and UAE goalkeeper Mutaz Abdulla – a 2002-2003 AFC Champions League winner – who had been drafted in to salvage Al-Bataeh’s rudderless campaign.

The curious patience afforded to long-term caretaker Said Chkhit may yet not prove terminal to the club’s ambitions of sticking in the ADNOC Pro League. Al-Bataeh had previously won under the Moroccan on Nov. 12.

Defining work, however, is still to be done.

Al-Bataeh hold a slender points advantage but must visit an Al-Ain reeling from concession of their top-flight trophy. Dibba host doomed Al-Dhafra, the only club below them in the rankings.

With the two relegation rivals sharing 1-0 away wins this term, head-to-head records are ruled out. Dibba must win, ideally handsomely, to pull off their great escape.

But Al-Bataeh have given themselves a strong shot at survival, thanks to the timely performance of their summer addition Lourency.

Goal of the Week – Sultan Al-Ghaferi (Al-Dhafra)

A blast from the past by Al-Ghaferi.

The 36-year-old defensive midfielder struck an unforgettable opener on Saturday against a former employer.

There appeared zero danger when goalkeeper Ali Khaseif – an ex-teammate at Al-Jazira and the UAE – threw out from a harmless 21st-minute free-kick. But seconds later Al-Ghaferi intercepted a wayward pass and hammered the ball back 40 yards, over the scrambling shot-stopper’s head.

The venomous effort was reminiscent of Clarence Seedorf’s iconic, rasping drive for Real Madrid against Atletico, rather than David Beckham’s career-making chip for Manchester United at Wimbledon.

Al-Ghaferi has featured sporadically throughout Al-Dhafra’s demotion, who are ending 11 years in the ADNOC Pro League. He played only once for Al-Jazira during a miserable 2019-2020 season.

Coach of the Week – Leonardo Jardim (Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club)

Andriy Yarmolenko, Miralem Pjanic, Jason Denayer, Alcacer, Allan and several other stars claimed global headlines when ADNOC Pro League sides went on an unprecedented – and star-studded – summer shopping spree.

The name, however, who would go on to define 2022-2023 went under the radar, despite a glittering CV.

Jardim proved a fitting choice when Shabab Al-Ahli tried to turn repeat cup success into top-flight glory, for the first time since 2017’s revolutionary amalgamation. It would also be a fitting goal scorer who sealed their supremacy.

Al-Ghassani earned a legendary victory at Baniyas, turning on the afterburners before effortlessly sweeping in a one-on-one.

Numerous coaches at Shabab Al-Ahli and Al-Wahda, bar Henk ten Cate, had all failed to turn the winger’s rich promise into tangible results. That is where Jardim’s patient prior work at Monaco, Sporting Lisbon, and others came to the fore.

The Portuguese has also transformed the likes of Ganiev, Igor Jesus, Yuri Cesar, Harib Abdalla, and Ahmed Jamil into ruthless winners.

The foundations are in place for a bountiful era.

Goal difference, or head-to-head?

A technical matter, but one with real-life impact.

The ADNOC Pro League’s decision to maintain head-to-head record as the first tiebreaker instead of goal difference ensured that every match counts.

It has, though, denied this stunning season an apt end.

If goal difference was in place, second-placed Al-Ain’s vastly superior +33 would mean they would head into the matchweek 26 finale knowing defeat for Shabab Al-Ahli and victory for them would result in a record-extending 15th top-flight title. Now, the title race is wrapped up even with a three-point gap from first to third-placed Al-Wahda.

The ADNOC Pro League is not alone in its stance. Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A, and Saudi Arabia’s Roshn Saudi League have applied the same method.

But would it be worth copying England’s Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, or Germany’s Bundesliga? It is a complex issue, worthy of study.


French Open’s No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild

French Open’s No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild
Updated 59 min 12 sec ago

French Open’s No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild

French Open’s No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev loses to 172nd-ranked qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild
  • Seybolt Wild needed to win three matches in qualifying rounds last week just to make it into the men’s bracket
  • It’s the first time the second-seeded man lost in the first round of the French Open since 2000

PARIS: If anyone thought a couple of recent runs to Week 2 at the French Open and a clay-court title a little more than a week ago made Daniil Medvedev a little fonder of the red stuff, forget it.

A first-round loss as the No. 2 seed at Roland Garros — against Thiago Seybolt Wild, a qualifier ranked 172nd who never had won a Grand Slam match anywhere until Tuesday — sure reminded Medvedev of his distaste for the slow surface used in Paris.

“I had a mouthful of clay since probably the third game of the match, and I don’t like it. I don’t know if people like to eat clay, to have clay in their bags, in their shoes, the socks — white socks, you can throw them (into the) garbage after clay season,” said Medvedev, who won the 2021 US Open and reached three other major finals on hard courts. “Maybe some people like it. I don’t.”

Seybolt Wild needed to win three matches in qualifying rounds last week just to make it into the men’s bracket — something he’d failed to do on eight previous attempts at Slams — but looked very much like he belonged on Court Philippe Chatrier. He hit big forehands and kept his nerve down the stretch to oust Medvedev 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It’s the first time the second-seeded man lost in the first round of the French Open since 2000, when Pete Sampras — no fan of clay himself — was eliminated by Mark Philippoussis.

“It definitely was the happiest day of my life,” said Seybolt Wild, a 23-year-old from Brazil. “I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I knew how to play. I have watched him play 1,000 times already. I just had to believe in myself.”

So what was his game plan going in?

“Walking on the court, I really just wanted to get the angles, try to get to the net as much as possible, try to use my forehand against his,” Seybolt Wild explained. “It worked pretty well.”

Did it ever.

Employing a high-risk, high-reward style, Seybolt Wild compiled a 69-45 edge in total winners, including 47-15 on the forehand side.

He hadn’t even played a tour-level main-draw match at all in 2023, instead competing on the lower-level ATP Challenger Tour. At his most recent event, in Turin, Italy, Seybolt Wild made it to the quarterfinals and left with a paycheck for $5,950.

“His life is going to be better if he plays like this every match,” Medvedev said. “He’s going to get more money, more sponsors, win big titles. But he has to play like this. Not once on the Philippe Chatrier, but a lot of times in different tournaments all over the world throughout the year.”

At his news conference, Seyboth Wild drew the sort of attention and questions that arrive when a relatively unknown player pulls off a stunning win.

One reporter pulled out some puns related to Seyboth Wild’s last name, including references to whether this was his “wildest victory” and exceeded his “wildest dreams” — to which the response was: “I honestly don’t know how many times I have heard that joke, but it never gets old.”

Later, a query arrived about a far more serious matter: The Rio de Janeiro state prosecutors’ office charged Seyboth Wild in June 2022 with domestic violence against his ex-partner. He has denied any wrongdoing; a ruling is expected sometime this year.

“I don’t think it’s a subject we should talk about ... right here,” Seyboth Wild said. “I don’t think it’s a question you should be (asking).”

Medvedev’s exit was the most significant result as the first round closed. The top women’s seeds in action all advanced, including defending champion Iga Swiatek, 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff, reigning Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and two-time major finalist Ons Jabeur. So did No. 4 Casper Ruud (the runner-up to Rafael Nadal a year ago), No. 6 Holger Rune, No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 16 Tommy Paul among the men.

Good as he’s always been on hard courts, Medvedev never was known for his prowess on clay: He began his French Open career with a 0-4 record. But he’s been showing signs of improvement, reaching the quarterfinals in Paris in 2021 and the fourth round last year, and claiming the trophy on the surface in Rome this month.

He just could never quite get the upper hand during a 4-hour, 15-minute contest.

Medvedev, who was treated by a trainer for a nosebleed in the third set, didn’t help himself by double-faulting a career-high 15 times, something he blamed in part on the wind that topped 15 mph.

By turns, Medvedev credited Seybolt Wild for playing well, saying the guy could end up ranked in the top 30 by year’s end, but also seemed a bit miffed.

“I honestly hope he’s going to play like this later on,” Medvedev said, “because if not, I’m going to be disappointed. I’m going to be like, ‘Why today? Why not in two days?’”

He was asked how he would characterize his relationship with clay, now that this portion of the tour calendar is done.

“Every time it finishes, I’m happy,” Medvedev replied. “So I’m happy. I’m happy again.”


Hudson quits as US men’s soccer team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan

Hudson quits as US men’s soccer team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan
Updated 31 May 2023

Hudson quits as US men’s soccer team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan

Hudson quits as US men’s soccer team interim coach, is replaced by Callaghan
  • Hudson was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4, four days after Berhalter’s contract expired
  • Callaghan figures to have the full player pool available for the CONCACAF Nations League final four

NEW YORK: Anthony Hudson quit as interim head coach of the US men’s soccer team on Tuesday, just two weeks before he was to lead the Americans in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals.

He was replaced by B.J. Callaghan, another holdover from former coach Gregg Berhalter’s staff.

Hudson’s departure was announced just six days after the US Soccer Federation said he was remaining as coach of the Americans through the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. The USSF said Hudson was taking a job with a club but did not identify the team or the role.

The USSF said the decision to elevate Callaghan, a 41-year-old from Ventnor, New Jersey, was made by Matt Crocker, who is leaving relegated Southampton to become USSF sporting director on Aug. 2. Crocker is leading the search for a permanent coach to guide the team through the 2026 World Cup, which the Americans will co-host.

Neither Callaghan nor Crocker was made available to media by the USSF to discuss the change.

Hudson was appointed interim coach on Jan. 4, four days after Berhalter’s contract expired. Hudson led the Americans to two wins, one loss and two draws. His five games were the fewest for a US coach since John Kowalski led the team against Canada and Mexico in March 1991 between the terms of Bob Gansler and Bora Milutinovic.

Callaghan figures to have the full player pool available for the CONCACAF Nations League final four. The defending champion Americans play Mexico on June 15 and Canada or Panama three days later.

Most Europe-based players are expected to skip the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which starts June 24 and runs through July 16.

Callaghan played at Ursinus and spent six seasons at Villanova, becoming associate head coach. He worked in the youth academy of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, then became an assistant coach in 2014.

He was hired by the USSF as strategy analyst and assistant coach in January 2019, a month after Berhalter became head coach. He had been an assistant to Hudson this year.

Notes: The USSF also announced exhibitions on Oct. 14 against Germany at East Hartford, Connecticut, and on Oct. 17 against Ghana at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The games are on FIFA fixture dates, meaning Europe-based players will be available.


Sevilla, Roma’s Mourinho put perfect European records on line in Europa League final

Sevilla, Roma’s Mourinho put perfect European records on line in Europa League final
Updated 31 May 2023

Sevilla, Roma’s Mourinho put perfect European records on line in Europa League final

Sevilla, Roma’s Mourinho put perfect European records on line in Europa League final
  • Sevilla have played six and won six finals of the Europa League since their first in 2006
  • The Roma coach can make more history by becoming the first coach to win the Europa League with three different clubs

BUDAPEST, Hungary: A remarkable perfect record in European soccer must fall when Sevilla face Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Sevilla have played six and won six finals of the Europa League since their first in 2006, when the second-tier competition was still called the UEFA Cup.

“For them to play the final is a normal thing, for us it is an extraordinary event,” Mourinho said on Tuesday, though adding: “History does not play.”

Still, history also has something to say about Mourinho. The former Porto, Inter Milan and Manchester United coach has a 5-0 career mark in finals of the three major European club competitions, dating to 2003 and Porto’s UEFA Cup triumph.

Mourinho actually has more European title wins than Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar has total games managed in those same competitions. The 62-year-old Mendilibar’s career is peaking since joining then-struggling Sevilla just two months ago.

“I have had more opportunities to play in European competitions, but Mendilibar is of the same generation as me, with the same white hair,” the 60-year-old Mourinho said. “We are on an equal footing.”

Only one record can survive their meeting at Puskas Arena in Budapest, where the Europa League trophy is just the start of the rewards for the winning club.

Neither Roma nor Sevilla can finish in the top four of their domestic leagues that would have ensured qualifying for the Champions League.

Their only path to the Champions League next season — and the potential tens of millions of euros (dollars) in extra prize money from UEFA — is taking the group-stage place protected for the Europa League winner.

The high value of this Europa League to both clubs is in stark contrast to a Mourinho comment from 10 years ago that became infamous.

“If I win the Europa League it will be a big disappointment for me because I don’t want to play in it,” he said on being re-hired by Chelsea. It was seen as throwing shade on his predecessor Rafa Benitez, who weeks earlier as Chelsea interim coach won the 2013 Europa title.

Mourinho and Benitez are among four coaches who have led two different teams to win the 52-year-old competition.

The Roma coach can make more history by becoming the first coach to win the Europa League with three different clubs, joining his Porto and Man United (2017) teams. And this just one year after the latest team in his storied career won the inaugural Europa Conference League to make Mourinho the first coach with titles in each of the three club competitions.

Mendilibar has a more modest background yet has arguably outcoached Mourinho in his brief spell at Sevilla.

Replacing former Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli in March, Mendilibar became Sevilla’s third coach this season with the team just two points clear of the La Liga relegation zone.

Mendilibar’s Sevilla have lost only two of 11 league games, is one point off seventh place going into the final round this weekend, and is unbeaten in the Europa League after eliminating Man United — despite trailing 2-0 after 83 minutes at Old Trafford in the first leg — and Juventus.

Roma came to Budapest having gone seven Serie A league games without a win, and advancing to the final with a 0-0 draw in the second leg at Bayer Leverkusen, managing just one goal attempt compared to 23 for the Germans.

“I don’t think they need many chances to score and to win,” Mendilibar said of Roma. “I don’t think they worry too much about getting to the opposition goal.”

Mourinho fans can point to that being a classic quality of his teams — doing exactly what was needed to win.


Bayern Munich bring back Rummenigge to supervisory board

Bayern Munich bring back Rummenigge to supervisory board
Updated 30 May 2023

Bayern Munich bring back Rummenigge to supervisory board

Bayern Munich bring back Rummenigge to supervisory board
  • “He is one the biggest figures in the history of our club, everyone knows what he has done,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said
  • Bayern were without a sporting director following the dismissal of Hasan Salihamidžić along with Kahn on Saturday

MUNICH: Former chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is returning to Bayern Munich as a member of the club’s supervisory board.
Bayern said on Tuesday that 67-year-old Rummenigge, a former player and long-time employee of the club before he made way for incoming CEO Oliver Kahn in December 2021, was coming back to ensure its continued success.
“He is one the biggest figures in the history of our club, everyone knows what he has done,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said. “His experience, his competence and his international network will enormously help Bayern be successful in the future, too.”
Bayern were without a sporting director following the dismissal of Hasan Salihamidžić along with Kahn on Saturday, when they won a record-extending 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.
Bayern presented Jan-Christian Dreesen as Kahn’s replacement on Sunday, when Hainer said he would propose Rummenigge’s return at the club’s shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday.
Rummenigge, a former striker who scored 162 goals in 310 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern, won the European Cup with the club in 1975 and 1976. He also won two Bundesliga and two German Cup titles before leaving for Inter Milan in 1984.
He returned to Bayern in 1991 as vice president and was the club’s chief executive from 2002 until Kahn took over. Bayern won 14 Bundesligas, 10 German Cups and two Champions League trophies in that time and Rummenigge helped the Bavarian powerhouse increase turnover from 176 million euros ($189 million) to 679 million euros ($728 million). The public limited company behind Bayern posted a profit in every financial year during the period, helping to build reserves rarely seen in debt-ridden European soccer.
Bayern’s supervisory board includes Hainer as president, Jan Heinemann from stakeholder Adidas, Markus Duesmann of Audi, Werner Zedelius from Allianz, honorary president Uli Hoeneß, Thorsten Langheim from Deutsche Telekom, Dieter Mayer as vice president, former Bavarian state president Edmund Stoiber, and Rummenigge.


Baseball United names Karachi Monarchs as its second franchise

The Karachi Monarchs are Baseball United's second franchise. (Supplied/Baseball United)
The Karachi Monarchs are Baseball United's second franchise. (Supplied/Baseball United)
Updated 30 May 2023

Baseball United names Karachi Monarchs as its second franchise

The Karachi Monarchs are Baseball United's second franchise. (Supplied/Baseball United)
  • Pakistani team will face Mumbai Cobras in Dubai Showcase in November
  • Two more franchises set to be named in coming weeks

KARACHI: Baseball United, the first professional baseball league serving the Middle East, India and Pakistan, has announced the award of its second franchise to Karachi.

The new franchise, and first professional baseball team in Pakistan’s history, will compete against Baseball United’s recently announced team from India, the Mumbai Cobras.

The new team is called the Karachi Monarchs and will use the Karachi “K” and a bejeweled crown as its primary brand marks. The Monarchs’ name honors Karachi’s leadership role as Pakistan’s industrial, economic and financial capital, while also paying homage to the city’s passionate love for baseball’s bat and ball counterpart: cricket. The Karachi Kings are one of the founding franchises of the Pakistan Super League, the nation’s premier cricket league.

Monarchs is also the moniker of one of the United States’ most successful baseball teams. The Kansas City Monarchs won 12 Negro league titles — most of which came before Major League Baseball’s integration — aided by Hall of Famers like Satchel Paige, Ernie Banks and Jackie Robinson.

“It’s an honor to welcome the great city of Karachi into the Baseball United family,” said Kash Shaikh, the league’s president, CEO and co-owner.

“This city is both historic and forward-looking. It’s the commercial, cultural and cosmopolitan heartbeat of Pakistan. It’s as large as New York City but has a median age that’s 15 years younger. And those young people love their sports.

“Our Baseball United team is so excited about the opportunity to connect with all of them as we work to inspire more and more Pakistanis to fall in love with the game of baseball.”

Karachi is the 12th largest city in the world, with a metropolitan area of nearly 20 million people. Like Mumbai, it sits along the Arabian Sea and is the country’s main seaport.

The Karachi Monarchs and Mumbai Cobras will battle it out alongside two other, soon-to-be-named, franchises at Baseball United’s Dubai Showcase in November.

The Monarchs and Cobras are expected to be the league’s biggest rivals, following in the footsteps of the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams, which regularly draw hundreds of millions of viewers to their international matches.

“In the United States, we have the Yankees versus the Red Sox,” said John Miedreich, executive vice president of baseball operations and co-owner of Baseball United.

“In South Asia, they have India versus Pakistan. We’ve seen the passion and pageantry that surrounds these nations’ cricket matches. Now, we can’t wait to see all that drama unfold on the baseball diamond.”

Baseball United will name the Monarchs’ honorary general manager and manager in the coming days. The two other Showcase franchises will be named over the next two months. Following the announcements of all four teams, Baseball United will conduct its first draft, selecting Showcase players from its official player pool.

The announcement of the Karachi franchise comes on the heels of Baseball United’s partnership with Pakistan Federation Baseball, the country’s governing body for the sport, and the most successful baseball federation in South Asia. The agreement will enable the two organizations to grow the game across Pakistan and within Pakistani communities worldwide.