JEDDAH, 9 February 2007 — City rivals Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad come to grips at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal stadium in Jeddah today. At stake is the first major trophy of the season.
The teams renew their storied rivalry in the final of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup competition and their army of supporters is expected to turn out in force for the crucial match.
Ahli and Ittihad clash in a final match for the ninth time in the history of both teams. Ittihad have the upper hand in their head-to-head with Ahli winning six against two by Ahli.
Ahli lost the Crown Prince Cup against Ittihad 3-2 in 1958. The second final match between Ahli and Ittihad was in 1978 in King’s Cup in which Ahli defeated Ittihad 4-0. Third match was in 1997 when Ittihad defeated Ahli in the final of Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup 3-1. In 1999 and 2000, Ittihad defeated Ahli in the King’s Cup final matches 1-0 and 2-1. Ahli came back in 2002 and defeated Ittihad 2-1 in the final of Crown Prince Cup. In 2003, Ittihad and Ahli met in the final of the King’s Cup in Riyadh with Ittihad winning by 3-2. The last time both sides tangled in a final match was in the 2004 Crown Prince Cup and Ittihad again won 1-0 in Jeddah.
Ahli are now determined to put an end to Ittihad superiority in final matches and also bury their reputation as the best team to reach but seldom to win the final. For the first time also, the two Serbian coaches, Nebusha from Ahli and Demetri from Ittihad will meet face-to-face in the final and the first match ever. The Ittihad coach has a unique record in leading Ittihad to the final and winning. The Ittihad coach steered the team in 1997 to the first three major trophies in Ittihad history and in the history of the Saudi Football Federation when Ittihad won the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup, Crown Prince Cup and the King’s Trophy. The coach came back in 1999 and delivered four trophies for Ittihad and became the first coach to lead Ittihad to great achievements.
The Ittihad coach managed to bring Ittihad back again to the final match after two years. The last time Ittihad played in the final match was against Shabab in June 2004 when Ittihad lost the final match 1-0 no thanks to a Manga goal in Jeddah.
That Ahli are in position to stem the tide of losses against Ittihad is because
many of Ittihad’s key players are out either due to injuries or suspension. Ittihad lost the services of midfielder Ibrahim Suwaeed and winger Ahmad Al-Dokhi after both players were red carded in the semifinal match against Shabab.
The Ittihad defense line is suspect due to the absence of injured players Reda Tukar and Usama Al-Muwallad. Abdullah Al-Waked, midfielder, is a doubtful starter for Ittihad because of injury.
Midfielder Muhammad Amin has been groomed to cover for the absence of Al-Waked and Al-Suwaeed. Amin said that Ittihad would not suffer much with the absence of these players because there are many good players to fill the gap brought by their absence.
He said, “Ittihad reaching the final after two seasons of missing the final match will be the strong motivation for Ittihad team to win.”
Amin promised Ittihad fans to deliver the trophy. He said that the coach assigned him with a special mission during that match and that he will play 200 percent to deliver the win for Ittihad.
On the other hand, Ahli are now ready more than ever despite the 1-0 defeat by Wehda in Makkah in the Saudi League Football League. Ahli’s defense line and the goalkeeper are ready to defend the team from Ittihad attacks. Ahli goalkeeper Yaser Al-Musaileem has the better experience in critical matches than Ittihad goalkeeper Mustapha Malaieka. Malaieka transferred to Ittihad club from Madinah’s Al-Ansar team. Malaieka is a substitute for Ittihad’s star goalkeeper Mabruk Zaiyed who has long been out of the team injured. Many are betting that the goalkeepers will determine the winner of the trophy and in this case Ahli club holds the edge.
An interesting sidelight is the matchup between Ahli striker Malek Muaz and Ittihad defender Hamad Al-Muntasheri. Ahli are depending heavily on Muaz up front and will go for an early goal to try and rattle Ittihad. Al-Muntasheri’s job against Muaz will be quite a challenge as his quarry is one of the most dangerous strikers in the Saudi league.
If one were to consider Ahli’s poor performance Ittihad should have no trouble but then again Ahli might have played badly to trick Ittihad and come out for the final an entirely different team.
Ahli want an important win to open the season with optimism and especially since a defeat against Ittihad won’t help boost their confidence ahead of the Arab Champions League match next Tuesday.
Ahli coach has five strong cards to play with the return of Jufain Al-Bishi, Muhammad Eid, Turki Al-Thagafi, Alaa Reshani and Mutaz Al-Musa. These players might as well determine the fate of the match if the coach managed to use them wisely in the final match. Eid and Al-Bishi are two strong defenders next to Tunisian star Khaled Badra Waleed Abdu Rabbu. Al-Thagafi, Reshani and Al-Musa are big names next to Tayseer Al-Jasim and Saheb Al-Abdullah. The absence of team captain Hussein Abdul Ghani is not expected to negatively affect the team performance since there are many able-bodied players to fall back on.
In the past six years Ahli qualified for the final of this competition four times. They secured the title two times in 2001 and 2002 against Al-Nasr and against Al-Hilal. Ahli lost the 2003 final against Al-Ittifaq 4-3 and in October 2005, Ahli lost the final match against Hilal 2-0.
