CWC Quarterfinal #1: Al Ittihad vs. Al Ahly Match Thread [R]

[ursula]

Let's have some pre-game chatter!

Game date and place: 11/12/05 19:20 Tokyo

TV in the USA:

Live: FSC and FSE: 5 am Eastern, Sunday December 11th.

Rebroadcast: FSC only: 9 am, 5pm, and 11pm Eastern, Sunday December 11th, plus 11pm Eastern, Monday December 12th.


Anybody have TV info in other countries?

[CL_2004]

I got my money on Al-Ahly and their unbeaten streak being extended throughout this tournament.

[happy]

Al Ittihad will win it

Their $ have bought good European players like Kallon & Job to strength their team :D

[Templinho]

Anybody have TV info in other countries?It doesn't appear to be on here in the UK, so any streaming links would be appreciated. :)

[HiJazzey]

I know ART sport are showing it. I'm going to have to go to Edgware Road to watch it. If there's an Arabic restaurant/cafe in your area Templinho, you might be able to watch it there (provided they subscribe to ART)

[Templinho]

Thanks HiJazzey, I'll look into it. :)

[Zviggy]

Al Ittihad will win it

Their $ have bought good European players like Kallon & Job to strength their team :D

For us less advanced soccer fanatics :) , would you be able to tell us who Kallon and Job are? Do you mean Job that played for Middlesbrough?

Also anyone got possible starting lineups?

[HiJazzey]

Yes, he's the same Job who played for Middlesborough. Kallon, you should've heard of! He was the youngest player ever to score at international level, he played for Inter and Monaco etc... . A fantastic player.

[Zviggy]

Thanks for that HiJazzey, no cant say that Kallon rings a bell. Unfortunately dont follow soccer as much as i used to but starting to slowly get back into it.

[Edgar]

All-Ittihad played a 4-4-2 in the AFC CL final games. Their standard formation seems to be:

G Mabrouk Zaid

D Ahmed Dokhi
D Osama Al Harbi
D Adnan Ibrahim
D Hamad Al Montashari

W Manaf Abushgeer
M Saud Ali Khariri
M Mohammed Noor
w Tcheco (Brazil)

F Mohamed Kallon (Sierra Leone)
F Joseph-Desire Job (Cameroon)

The starting line-up may change, as they added to their ranks 3 Brazilian players: defender Marcao, midfielder Pedrinho and forward Lima

From FootballAsia.com -> link (http://www.footballasia.com/en/news/index.asp?id=41863&sec=0&ssec=0&cid=1323&mth=12&yr=2005)

AFC Champions League holders Al Ittihad have named their 23-man squad for the upcoming FIFA World Club Championship, which includes six foreign players, four of whom are Brazilian.

The Jeddah-based side only fielded three non-Saudi players during their successful AFC Champions League campaign – Brazilian playmaker Tcheco and forwards Joseph Desire Job of Cameroon and Mohammed Kallon of Sierra Leone.

However, the relaxed eligibility rules for the Club World Championship have allowed Ittihad to add defender Marcao, midfielder Pedrinho and forward Lima to their roster for the competition, which begins in Japan this weekend.

The squad named by coach Anghel Iordanescu includes the nucleus of the side that beat Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 5-3 on aggregate in last month’s AFC Champions League final including skipper Mohammed Noor, goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid and AFC Player of the Year Hamad Al Montashari.

FIFA Club World Championship 2005
Al Ittihad squad

Goalkeepers: Mabrouk Zaid, Hussain Al Sadig, Tasir Al Antaif

Defenders: Ahmed Dokhi, Redha Tukar, Ali Al Garni, Mesfr Al Kahtani, Osama Al Harbi, Marcao, Adnan Falatah, Hamad Al Montashari

Midfielders: Mohammed Haidar, Manaf Abushgeer, Tcheco, Abdoh Hakami, Saud Khariri, Pedrinho, Ibrahim Sowed, Mohammed Noor

Forwards: Mohamed Kallon, Hamzah Idris, Joseph Desire Job, Lima

[happy]

Al-Ittihad 3 Brazilian players had been banned by Fifa from playing in the CWC

It would pleasedAl-Ahly as the club had been complaining about the 3 players sinceAl-Ittihad won the ACL

[HiJazzey]

The three Brazilians (Marcao, Lima, Pedrinho) have been disqualified, because they were signed outside of the Saudi transfer window.

[SwissGCZ]

To the neutral observer the Arab (dream) derby is the more interesting quarterfinal of the two. Will Ahly extend their incredible 55-game unbeaten streak? Will Ittihad continue to display their impressive form?

personal prediction: Ittihad wins 2-1
The three Brazilians (Marcao, Lima, Pedrinho) have been disqualified, because they were signed outside of the Saudi transfer window.
Eh, I think it's for the better. Let the players play who earned it...

[MoRado]

Al-Ahly will keep their record, they'll win the match.

[Cannon]

any info on who to watch in the Al Ahly squad?

[Cannon]

Al-Ahly will keep their record, they'll win the match.
I don't know much about their squad but with Al Ittihad's problems (Job suspended, Al Harbi 1 year ban, 3 disqualified players, etc) it sounds like they are in bad shape for this match.

[USsoccerLA]

does anyone know if there are any players that will be in the world cup 06?

[HiJazzey]

HT 0-0

Ugly tight game so far. Very few shots on goal.

[louisb]

Maybe it's the beer talking, but I;ve found this one surprisingly entertaining so far. Seen much more boring EPL games.

Maybe it's the light snow forcing both sides to keep running up and down the field. With all warm climate teams playing besides Liverpool I hope it continues to snow where ever they are in japan. The bench shots of the players in 3 layers under their warmups is highly amusing. Maybe a foot of snow this week would make Fifa cancel this stupid tournament.

There's some info on all the sides on fifa's website. I'm too lazy/buzzed/tired to go find the link.

This game needs an own goal

[Sparks2005]

1-0 to Al Ittihad. 78 minutes gone.

The goal came from a mistake by the goalkeeper, but he was playing well until then.