Amid Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented rush for football gold this past summer, the feeling was that Al Ittihad were being rebuilt with one eye on this week.
As the kingdom’s reigning national champions, the Jeddah side make perfect hosts for the country’s first staging of the Fifa Club World Cup, the home team in the seven-club tournament that welcomes to Saudi Arabia’s second city the recent best from differing continents.
Manchester City were confirmed for the event four days after Karim Benzema signed on at Ittihad. In defeating Inter Milan in Istanbul, the European champions sealed a December date with the then-Ballon d’Or holder; they had even dispatched Benzema and Real Madrid en route to the Uefa Champions League crown.
Nevertheless, the Frenchman was soon joined in Jeddah by compatriot N’Golo Kante, a World Cup winner and hoarder of every major European club trinket, too. The most recent, in fact, was the Club World Cup with Chelsea in Abu Dhabi early last year.
Of course, other starry names swiftly followed. Fabinho, a linchpin in Liverpool’s domestic and continental success under Jurgen Klopp, and another with a Club World Cup crown.
Jota, Celtic’s enterprising winger who, unlike his three new teammates, was some way from his peak. At 24, the Portuguese was two years younger than Luiz Felipe, another Ittihad summer recruit. The Brazil-born defender, who qualifies for Italy, spent the past six years at Lazio and Real Betis.
Part of the idea, the theory goes, was to have not simply a team capable of competing at the sharp end of the rapidly burgeoning Saudi Pro League – Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ahli were significantly restocked also – and in Asia.
But to represent the country with distinction at its inaugural Club World Cup – and the tournament’s final in its current guise (it swells to 32 teams next time out, in 2025).
Ittihad’s participation, and by extension Saudi Arabia’s new football landscape, is expected to draw even more international attention between Tuesday’s kick off and the final on December 22. A sturdy performance from its home team would therefore be welcome.
However, Ittihad’s preparations have been far from ideal. Last month, on the back of a solitary win in nine games underlined by an insipid Champions League defeat to Iraq’s Air Force Club, league-winning manager Nuno Espirito Santo was dismissed. Ittihad lay sixth in the table.
Marcelo Gallardo, the gilded Argentine, was promptly installed, a consummate and constant trophy collector with boyhood club River Plate. “El Muneco” – “The Doll” – had been consistently linked with Europe’s establishment, both while in charge of River and during the eight months since he decided to depart, but instead he chose Saudi Arabia for his first coaching role outside South America.
Gallardo opened his tenure with a draw away to Al Ettifaq, then oversaw three successive victories. Yet last Thursday’s 3-1 defeat at an albeit in-form Damac, and with some prominent players omitted, offered a note of caution. The corner had not been completely turned.
For sure, Ittihad are favourites to advance from the opening match against Oceania champions Auckland City, even if the New Zealanders are participating in a record-extending 11th Club World Cup. In 2014, they took home bronze, highlighting the danger of underestimating them.
Get past Auckland, and Egyptian titans Al Ahly will form a considerable challenge in the next round; a 10th Club World Cup for the African champions signals their experience on this stage.
That said, Gallardo knows well the tournament, also. In 2015, his River Plate finished runner-up to Barcelona in Japan. As one of several South Americans among Ittihad's current set-up – Felipe, unfortunately, is ruled out with injury – he will attach extra significance to a competition often coveted on that continent.
Last year, Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal showed the value of a deep run. Like Ittihad, they came into the Club World Cup in wretched nick, but convalesced considerably in Morocco to defeat Wydad Casablanca and Flamengo to meet Madrid in the final.
Only the third Asian team to reach the showpiece, Hilal were valiant runners-up, losing 5-3 to the newly anointed five-time winners. Benzema, pre-Ittihad, was one of the names on the scoresheet.
The forward's presence as captain now should serve as a comfort and a catalyst as Ittihad hold home hopes in a history-making Club World Cup.
A strong showing in Jeddah feels necessary not only for the Saudi champions, but the kingdom’s formidable and far-reaching football project, too.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Racecard
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections: 6.30pm: RM Lam Tara, 7.05pm: Al Mukhtar Star, 7.40pm: Bochart, 8.15pm: Magic Lily, 8.50pm: Roulston Scar, 9.25pm: Quip, 10pm: Jalmoud
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
More from UAE Human Development Report:
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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