Al-Arabi SC (Qatar)

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Al-Arabi
Full nameAl-Arabi Sports Club
(Arabic: النادي العربي الرياضي)
Nickname(s)Fareeg Al-Ahlam (The Dream Team)
Century Club in Qatar
Short nameARB
Founded1 April 1952 (71 years ago) (1952-04-01)
GroundGrand Hamad Stadium
Capacity13,000
PresidentSheikh Tamim Bin Fahad Al Thani
ManagerYounes Ali
LeagueQatar Stars League
2022–23Qatar Stars League, 2nd of 12
WebsiteClub website
Al Arabi's active sections

Football

Basketball

Handball

Volleyball

Futsal

Reserves

Al-Arabi Sports Club (Arabic: النادي العربي الرياضي) is a Qatari sports club based in the capital city Doha. Founded in 1952, the most prominent team of the club is the football team that competes in the Qatar Stars League.[1] The club's home ground is the 13,000-seat Grand Hamad Stadium, where they have played since their establishment.

Al-Arabi had their first major success in 1978, winning the Emir of Qatar Cup, followed by various titles during the 1980s and 1990s. The club enjoyed their greatest period of success in those two decades, winning 17 major trophies. Domestically, Al-Arabi have won seven league titles, eight Emir of Qatar Cups, one Qatar Crown Prince Cup and six Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cups.

Al-Arabi's regular kit colours are red shirts and shorts with red socks. The club's crest has been changed several times in attempts to re-brand the club and modernise its image. The current crest, featuring a ceremonial falcon, is a modification of the one introduced in the early 1950s. They are known as having the largest fan base in Qatar. The AFC conducted a survey on their official website to determine the most prominent fan base in Qatar, revealing that Al-Arabi secured the top position with 41% of the votes, closely followed by Al-Rayyan in second place. the most prominent team of the club is the football team that competes in the Qatar Stars League. In terms of championships won, they are the second most successful club on a local level after Al Sadd. Al-Arabi is known by various nicknames including "Dream Team", "The Red Devils", and "Century Club".

History[edit]

Foundation (1952–1990)[edit]

The club was founded in 1952 under the name "Al-Tahrir", making them the second oldest team in Qatar. In 1957, the club merged with Al-Wehda, a club founded which was founded on that year led by Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari, after playing a friendly. They merged under the name of Al-Wehda. Al-Wehda did not play out Qatar or host any foreign clubs due to lack of financial possibilities for the club. In 1972, the club integrated under their current name, Al Arabi.[2] The first president of the club was Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Ansari.

Al-Arabi was known for having one of the largest fan bases in all of Qatar, as well as other Gulf states, and was well-known overseas. Their popularity outside of the Middle East was bolstered by their achievements and national team players, until 2003 when it reached its peak with the signing of Argentine legend Gabriel Batistuta.[3]

It placed 14th place in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics's 1901–2000 Asian Club of the Century.

Founders[edit]

Golden era (1990–2000)[edit]

The 1990s marked the start of a continuous chain of succession for Al-Arabi. The dream team had come to fruition with the likes of Marco Antônio and Richard Owebukeri who were the top scorers in the league at one point. Perhaps the most significant player was Mubarak Mustafa, who is still considered one of the best Qatari footballers in history. The team, impressing many with its versatile squad, took the Qatari league by storm, winning it 5 times out of 10. Not satisfied merely with local success, the team achieved runners-up position in the AFC Champions League in 1995.[4]

They won their first Heir Apparent cup in 1997.[5]

Decline (2000–2011)[edit]

The new century saw a significant slump in Al-Arabi's performance. Factors which impacted this may include the departure of Mubarak Mustafa and the increase of competitiveness from local clubs. In the 2002 season, Al Arabi finished in 7th place, the lowest position since its debut in the Qatar Stars League.

The arrival of Gabriel Batistuta in 2003 saw a glimpse of hope for Al-Arabi as they finished significantly higher in the league than the last 2 previous seasons, however they ended up finished 9th in the league at the end of the 2007 season, a new low. They did not win a single domestic title during this period, and had limited success in international competitions. Furthermore, they suffered their largest-ever defeat against Al Sadd that season when they were beaten 7–0, which resulted in the sacking of their coach Cabralzinho.[6]

In 2006, due to popular dissent accosting the club president Sheikh Falah bin Jassim, there was an administration change which resulted in Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak being elected as president.

Management crisis (2011–present)[edit]

The beginning of the 2011–12 season looked bright for Al Arabi, with the club winning their first domestic silverware in 13 years by defeating Umm Salal SC in the final of the 2011 Sheikh Jassem Cup. However, a string of bad results in the league resulted in the sacking of their coach, Paulo Silas.

They were also eligible to play in the 2012 AFC Champions League, which they were the first team to be eliminated from. During this period, the club had been in charge of 3 coaches in a span of 3 months. They infamously made history by being the first team since 2007 to lose every match in the group stage, as well as the first Qatari team to achieve this.[7] As a result, the club's Director of Football, Mubarak Mustafa, announced his departure from the club.[8] Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah al-Mal, president of the club, announced his retirement from sports.[9] He was replaced by Hitme Bin Ali Al Hitmi. The fiscal budget of the club was reduced from 15 million riyals to 9 million riyals.[10]

Al Arabi Fans Club[edit]

Al Arabi Fans Club was established on 21 October 2015, and it was created to support the team in all sports and to gather the fans to think of innovative ways to support and cheer the teams throughout the season.[11] The same day the Fan Club was established, Al Arabi Club management decided to withhold the Number (1) jersey permanently from the list of the first team players and award it to the Fans, whom officially became the number (1) player in Al Arabi Club, Where Captain Masoud Zeraei waived his number (1) and awarded it to the Fans, who will retains its permanently under resolution. They have the most supporters in Qatar and that is one of the reasons why the gave them shirt number (1).

Stadium[edit]

Grand Hamad Stadium (Arabic: استاد حمد الكبير), also known as the Al-Arabi Sports Club Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The football team Al-Arabi SC play there. The stadium holds 13,000 people. The stadium was used extensively during the 2006 Asian Games, and was a venue for several different sports; these include football, table tennis, rugby sevens and fencing. Iraq national football team played their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) games at the ground. They used the Stadium as a home for Yemen national football team in 2015 Fifa World qualification (AFC), but in 2023 the team moved to their new ground Althumama stadium which was one of the world cup 2022 stadiums, it holds about 44400 people.

Rivalries[edit]

Al-Rayyan[edit]

Al-Rayyan and Al Arabi are often the most considered the most passionate sets of fans in Qatar. This derby known as "Fans Derby".

Head-to-head[edit]

From 1994 to 2017.

Head-to-head
Competition P W D L GF GA GD
Qatar Stars League 49 11 17 21 63 88 −25
Sheikh Jassem Cup 4 3 1 0 8 2 +6
Emir Cup 6 2 1 3 9 10 −1
Crown Prince Cup 7 1 1 5 6 16 −10
Reserve League 5 1 1 3 12 15 −3
Qatar Stars Cup 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
Total 72 18 21 33 98 133 −35

Al Sadd[edit]

This is the clash of Qatar's two most successful teams: Al Sadd and Al Arabi. For some fans, winning this derby is more noteworthy than winning the league itself. The derby is an important component of the country's culture.[12]

Al Arabi always regarded themselves as the club of Qatar's working class, in contrast with the more upper-class support base of Al Sadd. The social class divide between the two fan bases eventually diminished.[12]

Memorable matches[edit]

Bold indicates a win.

Season Result Competition Notes
1981–82 0–1 Emir Cup
1985–86 1–0 Emir Cup
1992–93 2–0 Emir Cup
1995–96 0–0 Qatar Stars League Al Arabi crowned champions.
2009–10 3–3 Qatar Stars League Al Sadd come back from 3–0 down to deny Al Arabi an ACL spot.

Head-to-head[edit]

From 1996 to 2017.

Head-to-head
Competition P W D L GF GA GD
Qatar Stars League 49 13 12 24 54 91 −37
Sheikh Jassem Cup 6 1 0 5 8 13 −5
Emir Cup 11 3 2 6 11 17 −6
Crown Prince Cup 2 1 0 1 3 3 0
Reserve League 6 2 2 2 11 11 0
Qatar Stars Cup 4 1 2 1 8 12 −4
Total 78 21 18 39 95 147 −52

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers[edit]

Period Kit manufacture Shirt main sponsor Shirt sub sponsor
2000–2001 Thailand Grand Sport

Doha Bank

None
2001–2002 Germany Adidas None
2002–2003" None
2003–2004 Italy Erreà None
2004–2005" Thailand Grand Sport None None
2005–2006 None None
2006–2007 Germany Adidas

Doha Bank

None
2007–2008 Switzerland Burrda Sport None None
2008–2009 None None
2009–2010 QPM Salman & brother & Al Rayan Bank
2010–2011 Salman & brother
2011–2012 Germany Adidas
2012–2013 None
2013–2017 None None
2017–2018 Switzerland Burrda Sport None None
2018–2019 Germany Puma None None
2019-2021

Doha Bank

Sharq Insurance & Dreama

2021 – 2022

Sharq Insurance & Dreama & Snoonu

2022 – 2023

Snoonu

2023 – Present Germany Adidas

Doha Bank

None

Honours[edit]

International[edit]

Domestic[edit]

League results[edit]

Qatar Stars League

Performance in AFC competitions[edit]

1987: Group stage (Top 8)
1993: Qualifying – 1st round
1995: Runners-up
1996: Group stage (Top 8)
1999: First Round
1990–91: Second Round
1993–94: Semi-final
2012: Group stage
2023:

Performance in AGCFF competitions[edit]

1983: Group stage
1986: Runners-up
1993: 3rd place
1995: 3rd place
1996: 6th place
1998: 5th place
1999: 4th place
2002: Group stage
2006: Group stage
2011: Quarter-finals
2015: Group stage

Performance in UAFA competitions[edit]

1991: Group stage
1995: Group stage
1987: Group stage
1992: Runners-up

Players[edit]

As of Qatar Stars League:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Qatar QAT Yousef Muftah
3 DF Qatar QAT Mohammed Sayyar
4 MF Qatar QAT Abdulrahman Anad
5 DF Spain ESP Simo Keddari
6 MF Qatar QAT Abdullah Marafee
7 MF Italy ITA Marco Verratti
8 MF Qatar QAT Ahmed Fatehi
9 FW Syria SYR Omar Al Somah
10 MF Brazil BRA Rafinha
11 MF Netherlands NED Mohamed Taabouni
12 DF Qatar QAT Hamid Ismail
13 DF Qatar QAT Mohammed Alaaeldin
14 DF Qatar QAT Helal Mohammed (on loan from Al-Khor)
15 DF Qatar QAT Jassem Gaber
16 DF Qatar QAT Abdullah Al-Sulaiti
18 MF Qatar QAT Mohammed Essam
19 MF Qatar QAT Ibrahim Kala
20 FW Qatar QAT Abdullah Sherif
21 GK Qatar QAT Mahmud Abunada
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Senegal SEN Abdou Diallo
23 FW State of Palestine PLE Alaa Aldeen Hassan
24 FW Qatar QAT Abdullah Murisi
25 MF Qatar QAT Mohammed Al-Sulaiti
27 MF Qatar QAT Ahmed Moein
28 MF Tunisia TUN Youssef Msakni
30 GK Qatar QAT Noureldin Mohammed
31 GK Qatar QAT Jasem Al-Hail
32 DF Qatar QAT Salem Reda
33 MF Qatar QAT Abdulrahim Al-Baloushi
34 MF Qatar QAT Abdullah Faroun
40 MF Qatar QAT Shadi Bouri
40 FW Qatar QAT Marwan Hassan
44 MF Qatar QAT Hassan Saif
45 DF Qatar QAT Al Hashmi Al Hussain
47 MF Qatar QAT Tamer Bouri
96 GK Qatar QAT Amir Hassan
99 FW Qatar QAT Rami Suhail

Out on loan[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Qatar QAT Khalifah Al-Malki (on loan to Al-Shamal)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Qatar QAT Abdulaziz Al-Ansari (on loan to Al-Shamal)

Club staff[edit]

Technical and administrative staff

Last updated: April 2019.

 
Coaching staff
Head coach Qatar Younes Ali
Assistant coach Spain Juan Cruz Ochoa López
2nd assistant coach Iceland Bjarki Már Ólafsson
Physical coach Spain Miguel Angel Garcia
Performance Analyst Brazil Thiago Cardoso Souza
Goalkeeper coach Italy Ferdinando Scarpello
Administration staff
Team manager Qatar Adel Al Busairi[13]
Reserve team manager Qatar Hamad Al-Sulaiti[13]
Deputy director Qatar Ali Al-Sulaiti
 
Youth team technical director
Technical director Netherlands Petrus In 't Groen
Youth team coaching staff
U–19 head coach Croatia Teo Pirija
U–17 head coach Sudan Omer Khalid
U–15 head coach Tunisia Abderrazak Kniss
U–14 head coach Sudan Yousif Hamoor
U–13 head coach Netherlands Gideon Dijks
Goalkeeper coach Brazil Sandro Daros
Brazil Orlando Ribecaro

Club officials[edit]

Managerial history[edit]

Present and past managers of Al-Arabi (incomplete):[14][15]
(* denotes caretaker role)

Al-Arabi (1972–present)[edit]

Management[edit]

Position Staff
President Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani
general secretary Talal Al-Kuwari
Director General Faleh Al Hader

Last updated: 8 October 2011
Source: Board of Directors

Presidents[edit]

  • Qatar Muqbal bin Ali Al-Hitmi (1972–76)
  • Qatar Abdulrahman Al Jaber Muftah (1976–78)
  • Qatar Sultan Khaled Al-Suwaidi (1978–88)
  • Qatar Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al-Mal (1988–00)
  • Qatar Sheikh Jassim bin Fahad bin Jassim Al-Thani (2000–01)
  • Qatar Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2001–02)
  • Qatar Sheikh Falah bin Jassim Al-Thani (2002–06)
  • Qatar Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak Al-Thani (2006–09)
  • Qatar Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al-Mal (2009–12)
  • Qatar Hitmi bin Ali Al-Hitmi (2012–2016)
  • Qatar Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2016–2020)
  • Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Fahad bin Jaber Al-Thani (2020–)

Club rankings[edit]

National ranking[edit]

As of 9 May 2023.[18]
Current Rank Country Team Points
3 Qatar El Jaish SC 1427
4 Qatar Al-Rayyan SC 1410
5 Qatar Al-Arabi SC 1332
6 Qatar Al-Gharafa SC 1354
7 Qatar Qatar SC 1308

Asian ranking[edit]

As of 9 May 2023.[19]
Current Rank Country Team Points
84 Thailand Chiangrai United 1365
85 Japan Gamba Osaka 1364
86 Qatar Al-Arabi SC 1363
87 Saudi Arabia Al-Faisaly FC 1361
88 Thailand Chonburi FC 1361

World ranking[edit]

As of 9 May 2023.[20]
Current Rank Country Team Points
876 Nigeria Remo Stars 1316
877 Serbia Voždovac 1380
878 Qatar Al-Arabi SC 1332
879 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 1346
880 Portugal C.S. Marítimo 1427

References[edit]

  1. ^ "QSL – Al Arabi". qsl.com.qa. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Alarabi Sports Club – History". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  3. ^ "From Batistuta and Desailly to Xavi and Sneijder: Qatari football's highest-profile signings ever". 29 July 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Asian Club Competitions 1994/95". Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Qatar – List of Cup Winners". Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. ^ الدوري القطري تاريخ و نجوم (in Arabic). Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  7. ^ QFA.com – Al Arabi end Asian campaign on losing note
  8. ^ Unknown, Unknown (18 June 2020). "AFC Official website biggest fan base in Qatar". Archived from the original on 1 September 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  9. ^ "العربي يغلق باب الترشح لانتخاباته في الثامنة مساء". Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  10. ^ "Al Arabi Sports Club holds AGM". Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  11. ^ "قنوات الكأس : دوري نجوم قطر 2015 - 2016". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  12. ^ a b "Al Sadd vs Al Arabi". QFA. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Al Arabi appoints Al Busairi as first team manager". Qatar Stars League. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Interview" (in Arabic). al-watan.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  15. ^ مسابقة كأس سمو الأمير لكرة القدم المباريات النهائية (in Arabic). alkass.net. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  16. ^ "العربي يقيل زاماريو رسميا". alghad.com. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  17. ^ a b "Al Arabi Manager history". Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Qatar Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Asia Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  20. ^ "World Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking". Retrieved 9 May 2021.

External links[edit]