JEDDAH, 12 August 2007 — Al-Ittihad is gearing up for the new football season with a 23 days training session in Switzerland for 34 players. This season’s squad includes some new players from Ittihad’s youth team.
Ittihad’s Brazilian coach José Candinho has included members of the youth team so that they gain experience, and he selected Switzerland as the venue for training in order to help the team develop their stamina.
The team trained both in morning and evening for one week and also participated in friendly matches, with Ittihad drawing the first 2-2, and winning the second against a Swiss Second Division side 3-1.
Ittihad team captain and star midfielder Muhammad Nur, having suffered an injury to his heel, did not participate in the friendlies. He has been given 10 days to rest and recover.
Ittihad have a tough task this season as defending champions of the King’s Cup. The team is preparing for the season with an eye on other teams, especially their Jeddah-based rivals Al-Ahli.
Ittihad will also be playing without their striker Hamza Idrees, who announced his retirement from football after the team’s final match last season. The team will have a strong left wing in Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani, who performed superbly in the Asian Cup in Indonesia and was a major asset in securing wins for the national side.
In related news, the honorary members of the Ittihad Club announced that general body meeting would be held on Sept. 9 to select a new president. The date has been chosen to enable many Ittihad members to come for the meeting in order to have a quorum.
Ahli, meanwhile, has also announced it will be participating in an international friendly tournament in Switzerland starting tomorrow. Ahli will face Wydad Athletic Club Casablanca of Morocco.
