SME-Written by/ Mohammed Al Joker
A hot mission for Emirati football represented by Shabab Al Ahli Club, which begins its journey in the continental championship today. It is a happy coincidence that the club is always the first, as it was the first to participate in a regional championship, the GCC Clubs Championship in 82, and won the silver medal. The late Dawood Mohammed won the title of top scorer in the championship with six goals. Al Shabab was the first to win the Cooperation Championship through Al Shabab Club in 91, and won the titles of best player and best goalkeeper for Abdul Qader Hassan. It was the first to represent us in the Club World Cup in 2009, and other numbers and statistics, as the entity stands out as one of the entities that we are proud of in the game’s history. Coincidence wills that our representative will start in the Asian Championship, and there is a big difference between then and now.
In the past, we knew the players and memorized their names by heart, but today it is difficult to know them, except for a few on the fingers of one hand, due to the different orientations and technical vision they set for the game. This is very difficult. I was sitting in the hall of the Happiness Building during our daily session, and the team passed by us before traveling to have a light meal at the club restaurant. We saw the players, and I liked the local players who insisted on passing by us one by one and greeting the attendees, including the presidents (Qasim Sultan), former board members, and the stars of the club’s captains in the amateur era (Ahmed Issa and Hamdoun). We put our hands in the hands of our children, and we felt happy, reassured, and optimistic about them, while the largest number of players are from the category of foreign and resident players, and there are many of them. They have increased, and the numbers seem to be increasing even more. May God help the local player! It has become a phenomenon that is invading our clubs! Today, the match is against Sepahan team, in the city of Isfahan, in the preliminary round of the play-off qualifying for the AFC Champions League elite. Here we remember the most famous Iranian football stars who played for Al-Ahly and Al-Shabab before the merger: Hassan Roshan, Hassan Nazari, Karimi, Miladi, Ahmed Nour Allah, who shone with Al-Wahda, Mehdi Qaedi, who succeeded with Kalba, Ali Daei, one of the world’s top scorers, Minavand, Iman Mab Ali, and currently on the team’s roster in Iran, Seyyed Ezatullahi, and the new player Sardad. The “Knights” are looking forward to returning with a victory that will guarantee qualification to the second round of the play-off, to meet Al-Gharafa of Qatar on the 13th of the month in Doha, and according to it, the winner qualifies to join the main round of the tournament as runner-up of the ADNOC Professional League, and seeks to be with the elite. Five clubs will play the preliminary round matches for the first edition of the tournament in the 2024-2025 season, which starts today. We wish our clubs success in a hot season from the beginning. And God is behind the intention.
