JEDDAH, 19 December 2005 — The adventurous tour of the spirited Al-Ittihad Club ended in Japan with a 3-2 loss to Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica in the match for third place at the FIFA’s Club World Championship yesterday.
Alvaro Saborio was the hero for Saprissa, scoring the first two goals himself and then setting up the winning 89th-minute free kick from Ronald Gomez.
Saborio opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but Al-Ittihad came back strong. Mohammed Kallon came in on the 28th minute, pouncing on the loose ball after his initial shot had been saved.
Cameroon striker Joseph-Desire Job put them 2-1 ahead with a 53rd-minute penalty shot. The shot was misjudged, and the referee allowed Job to score one more penalty.
Ittihad dominated the match and had many chances to score more than once. But a rash challenge by Ittihad defender Osama Al-Muwallad on Gomez inside the penalty box in the 85th minute lifted Saprissa over the Asian champions. After Asian Player of the Year Hamad Al-Montashari was sent off for stamping on Saborio, Saborio converted the penalty and allowed Gomez to smash home the resulting free kick.
Ittihad’s repeated attempts to clinch a tie were cleanly tackled by the surging Saprissa, which put an end to Ittihad’s adventure in Japan.
Mabrouk Salama, an avid supporter of the Ittihad team cried over the chances squandered by the team in each half.
“Had we not lost the chances, we would have finished in third,” said an emotional Salama. “Nevertheless, we honor Saudi Arabia ending the competition with a fine performance. The team will get back to league with a new image that will put fear to its opponents.”
