JEDDAH, 27 April 2007 — Long-time football rivals Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are going to clash head to head tonight in the Crown Prince Cup final that many predict will go down in history as a landmark match between the two teams.
Crown Prince Sultan will present the trophy to the winners to provide a fitting climax to the tournament and the season.
The anticipation and excitement of a great Jeddah derby was palpable with the fans of the two teams already airing and exchanging views on the relative merits of their teams, and with both insisting that the trophy is theirs.
That the tickets were sold out at 4.30 p.m. yesterday is also another testimony to the interest this final has generated in the city. The tensions between the two teams are already high as both the teams had recorded a win each in two earlier competitions, making today’s final a decisive one.
Ahli had snatched the Prince Faisal Cup from Ittihad in February, while Ittihad crushed Ahli’s hopes of making it to the semifinals of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Tournament.
So all eyes and hopes rest on this pivotal match. And at 8.20 p.m. today, the streets of Jeddah will be close to empty, as people, those unlucky not to land a ticket, will remain glued to their TV sets. Friends have set up gatherings at cafes to jointly savor their favored team’s success.
And like in all sport, the quotient of unpredictability despite all the hard training and fine-tuning, will play a role. While the fans’ hearts well with the hope of their team remaining standing tall after the final whistle is blown, it will also be beating faster if and when the rival team gains ascendancy, proving that soccer is not for faint hearts.
But what is predictable is that after the final whistle a significant part of the city will be celebrating until dawn. Some of the fans have even started decorating their cars with their teams’ colors and hope to go on an all night binge by cruising around the streets with their horns blaring. All posing a major problem for the traffic police.
Col. Muhammad Al-Qahtani, the head of Jeddah’s traffic police, told Arriyadhiyah, that final preparations have been made to control traffic and ease congestion in areas they feel would be affected. They have also worked out a plan for a smooth flow of pedestrian traffic.
The police also said that they will not stop fans celebrating but at the same time will not tolerate violations that endanger the safety of people.
For the past few days, the two Serbian coaches of the rival teams are going about putting their players through their paces, while fine-tuning their strategies.
The clouds of gloom that had hung over Ahli for five years have been blown away by their new coach Nebusha Msocovic, who has inducted superstars such as Malik Muaz into the lineup to enliven Ahli’s game and give the team and its large number of supporters renewed hope.
Ittihad, in spite of some recent victories, has nevertheless been struggling for the past two seasons. But they have refound their vigor under new coach Dimitri Davidovic.
At the start of the season, Ittihad’s captain and most valuable player, Muhammad Nur, got six months of his one-year suspension by the Saudi Football Federation over a contract dispute with his club waived and his return has allowed Dimitri more room to maneuver.
Al-Ahli managed to qualify for the final by beating Al-Hilal 3-1 on aggregate. This came following their 2-0 first-leg win at home and a 1-1 draw in Riyadh against Al-Hilal. After their first leg 1-0 defeat to Al-Ittifaq in Dammam, the Jeddah Tigers — as Ittihad are called by their fans — beat Ittifaq 4-1 at home, to make the finals.
Writers and critics are all of one opinion that of all the Saudi clubs this season, the two teams have performed the best and that too consistently. Ittihad has won the cup four times, while Al-Ahli has won the cup two times.
In a press conference yesterday, the coaches — Nebusha and Dimitri — were all praise for their teams’ outstanding performances this season.
“The team that is more focused and makes less mistakes will win tomorrow’s match,” said Dimitri, adding that his team’s job is not going to be easy as they are going to be facing a strong and organized squad.
“Al-Ahli was just beaten in Algeria and were ousted from the Arab Champions League...This will make them more determined to win today’s match,” he said, adding, “In the finals there is only one path and that is to win.”
Nebusha, meanwhile, said his wish had been granted as he wanted Ahli to meet Ittihad in the final because they are one of the best teams, not only in Saudi Arabia but also in Asia. He added though Ahli beat Ittihad 3-0 in the Prince Faisal Cup that doesn’t make today’s match any easier. “Ittihad has previously reached the World Club Cup final and has outstanding players and a great coach,” he said.
Commenting on Nebusha’s remarks, Dimitri said that Jeddah should be proud that the final is being played between Ittihad and Ahli.
“But when Nebusha praises (Ittihad), that means that we need to be very careful.”
In response, Nebusha replied that he was not praising for the sake of praising but rather stating facts.
Silah Company, the official sponsor of the finals, has also developed new sponsorship procedures especially for the final. Ahmad Muhtaseb, Silah’s executive manager, said: “The company has learned from the mistakes made during the Prince Faisal Cup final. The Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium will open its doors to fans by 1 p.m. Tickets for seats at the first class section are SR200 instead of SR300 and the rest cost SR20 each.”
The company has only printed 17,500 tickets despite the fact that the stadium can hold up to 23,000 fans. Muhtaseb added that this was to avoid congestion and ensure fans have more space to enjoy the match. At the Prince Faisal Cup final, fans — including those who had first class tickets costing SR300 — reported that they had to sit on steps. A large number of angry fans were reported to have left the stadium before the first half ended due to lack of seating.
The company has also placed two giant screens outside the stadium to allow those who cannot enter the stadium to view the match from afar. Hundreds of fans at the Prince Faisal Cup final had reportedly jumped the stadium walls to see the match.
Tonight’s match is also set to be refereed by two Swiss referees, according to the Saudi Football Federation. Massimo Busca will handle the second final in the Kingdom. Last year he refereed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques final.
