JEDDAH, 28 November 2005 — Al-Ittihad club placed star defender Hamad Al-Muntashiri on injured list Saturday following a muscle rupture in his thighs. Muntashiri suffered the injury during the game against Al-Qadisiya. After consulting the team’s doctor the club rested the player for three weeks. The injury puts a question mark on Muntashiri’s participation in Ittihad’s scheduled matches for World Cup for Clubs finals in Japan from Dec.11-18.
Players’ Registration
RIYADH, 28 November 2005 — The second term for registering Saudi and non-Saudi professional players will start from Dec. 1, 2005, to Jan. 12, 2006, a source from the Saudi Football Federation said. The source urged the clubs to complete paperwork for the new players they seek to register. No registration request will be accepted after the deadline.
Awareness Seminar
RIYADH, 28 November 2005 — Prince Muhammad ibn Faisal, president of the Al-Hilal Club, inaugurated the first awareness seminar at the club media center. The theme of the seminar is to bring players closer and to increase sports awareness among them. The club administration hopes that the seminar would deliver the desired message.
Weak Defense
JEDDAH, 28 November 2005 — Weak defense led to Ahli’s huge 4-1 loss against Al-Hilal, said Yousif Al-Anbar, the club’s coach. Al-Anbar praised Ahli’s performance in their last match but lashed out at the below par performance of the defense line. “We created opportunities but failed to score more because of the strong defensive wall of Hilal,” said Al-Anbar, adding that Hilal cahsed in on good four opportunities and that made the difference. Al-Anbar hopes the team will fix the problem before their crucial match against Asian champions Al-Ittihad on Saturday.
