Al-Arabi SC

Al-Arabi SC (Doha)

Full name	Al-Arabi Sports Club
Nickname(s)	"Fareeg Al-Ahlam" ("The Dream Team") "The Red Devils" "Century Club"
Founded	1952
Ground	Grand Hamad Stadium Doha Qatar (Capacity: 18,000)
Chairman	Dr.Abdullah al-Mal
Manager	Pierre Lechantre
League	Qatari League
2010/11	Qatar League, 4th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Al-Arabi Sports Club (Arabic: النادي العربي الرياضي‎), also known as Al-Arabi Al-Qatari, is a Qatari professional sports club fielding teams in a number of sports, most notably football. The club based in Doha, Qatar. Their stadium is called Grand Hamad Stadium. Al-Arabi Doha is known by its different nicknames: "Dream Team", "The Red Devils", "Emperor of Qatari football", and "Century Club". Al-Arabi Doha are known for having one of the largest fan bases in Qatar next to rivals Al Rayyan. Al-Arabi Doha are the second most successful club on a local level after Al Sadd.

History

Foundation (1952–1990)

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 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.^[1] The first president of the club was Ahmed Ali 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.

The club first competed in the Qatari League in 1982. It came in 14th place in International Federation of Football History & Statistics's 1901–2000 Asian Club of the Century, the highest from Qatar.

Golden era (1990–2000)

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.

They won their first Heir Apparent cup in 1997.

Fall from greatness (2000–2011)

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.

The club's fans were angry at the president of the club, Sheikh Falah. So in 2006, there was an administration change which saw Sheikh Faisal bin Mubarak elected president.

Management crisis (2011–present)

The beginning of the 2011–12 season looked bright for Al Arabi, with the club bagging 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.^[2] As a result, the club's Director of Football, Mubarak Mustafa, announced his departure from the club.^[3] Furthermore, Dr. Abdullah al-Mal, president of the club, announced his retirement from sports.^[4]

League results

Honours

• Qatari League: 7

1983, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997

• Emir of Qatar Cup: 8

1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993

• Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 1

1997

• Qatar Sheikh Jassem Cup: 6

1980, 1982, 1994, 2008, 2010, 2011

Crest

• 

  Al Arabi's crest, late 1900's
• 

  Al Arabi's crest, present

Stadium

The team play their matches in the state-of-the-art Grand Hamad Stadium Stadium, whose capacity adds up to 18,000 including VIP stands. Such a capacity reflects the demand expected from the Qatari population. The location of the stadium is in Doha. 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 played their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) games in the stadium as home ground.

Rivalries

Al Sadd

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. Qatar's derby is an important component of the country's culture, which celebrates football every time the two teams face each other.

Al Arabi always regarded themselves as the club of Qatar's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class support base of Al Sadd. At the present time, the fan bases of both are almost similar and are supported by all social classes. Being the fans of the most successful Qatari side, Al Sadd supporters have much to brag about; big scores against their arch-rivals in recent years increased the white and black supremacy over this derby.^[5]

Memorable matches

Emir cup finals

• Emir cup final 1982: Al Arabi 1-0 Al Sadd
• Emir cup final 1986: Al Sadd'Al Sadd 3-2 Al Arabi

League matches

• 1995/1996 season: Al Arabi 0-0 Al Sadd (Al Arabi crowned champions)
• 2001/2002 season: Al Sadd 6-2 Al Arabi
• 2003/2004 season: Al Sadd 7-0 Al Arabi
• 2009/2010 season: Al Sadd 3-3 AlArabi

Bold indicates a win.

Al Rayyan

Al Rayyan and Al Arabi have had fierce competition since the beginning of the Qatari league. They are both very similar, both in measures of success, and in number of supporters. They, along with Al Sadd, dominated the league during the 1900s, thus their rivalry dates back to the beginning of the club's formation. In Qatar, the match-up between these two teams is referred to "El Clásico", in reference to the historic rivalry between Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona.

Current squad

First team

Al Arabi in November 2011

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Masoud Zeraei 2 DF Muaz Adam 3 DF Meshal Al Enezi 4 DF Mohammed Al Zeyarah 5 DF Johar Al Kaabi 6 MF Abdulaziz Hatem 8 DF Waleed Mohiuddin 9 MF Mohammed Salem 10 MF Leonardo Pisculichi 11 MF Majdi Siddiq

No. Position Player 17 MF Abdulaziz Al Sulaiti 19 DF Ali Sanad an Nuami 20 FW Ernest Papa Arko 24 MF Abdullah Marafee 27 MF Mohammed Al Kuwari 29 MF Boualem Khoukhi 31 DF Ahmed Dad 40 GK Rajab Hamza 55 DF Hadi Aghili (captain) 82 FW Ali Mejbel

For recent squad changes see: List of Qatari football transfers winter 2011–12.

Reserve team

As of October 8, 2011.^[6]

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

No. Position Player 7 FW Ahmed Saleh Khalfan 12 FW Omar Hammad 14 MF Mohamed Malalla Kubaisi 15 DF Ahmed Al Nahawi 18 MF Ahmed Al Kulaifi 22 GK Ali Shaban Jafari

No. Position Player 23 DF Yousef Jaafar 28 DF Mohammed Khalfani 63 GK Mohammed Naseeb 80 FW Óscar 91 MF Abdullah Al Araimi

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Pierre Lechantre
Assistant Manager	Abdullah Saad
Goalkeeping Coach	Wesley Antuom
Fitness Coach	Fernando Jose
Director of Football	Mubarak Mustafa

Club officials

Managerial history

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

Paulo Silas, former manager of Al Arabi.

Period	Manager
1992–93	Colin Addison
1993–94	René Simões
1996–98	Džemaludin Mušović
2000	Luis Santibáñez
2000–01	Adnan Dirjal
2003	Carlos Roberto Pereira
Nov 2003 – Jun 05	Wolfgang Sidka
May 2005 – May 06	Ilie Balaci
Jul 2006 – Oct 06	Henri Michel
Oct 2006 – Feb 07	Abdullah Saad
Feb 2007 – Mar 08	José Romão
Mar 2008 – Apr 08	Adilson Fernandes
Jul 2008 – Dec 08	Zé Mario
Dec 2008 – Jul 10	Uli Stielike
Jul 2010 – Jun 11	Péricles Chamusca
Jun 2011 – Jan 12	Paulo Silas
Jan 2012 – Mar 12	Abdullah Saad*
Mar 2012 –	Pierre Lechantre

Management

Last updated: October 8, 2011
Source: Board of Directors

Other sports

Besides football, the club has teams for swimming, handball, tennis, athletics, volleyball, and basketball.

Volleyball

Al-Arabi's volleyball team automatically qualified for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 edition of the FIVB Club World Championship as Qatar were the hosts and Al Arabi were selected participate in the tournament and represent Qatar. They have never advanced past the group stage in all three of their appearances.

Christian Pampel is among the notable volleyball players to have played for Al Arabi Volleyball.

Performance in AFC competitions

• Asian Club Championship: 5 appearances

1987: Group Stage

1993: Qualifying – 1st round

1995: Runners-up to Thai Farmers Bank

1996: Group Stage

1999: First Round

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances

1990/91: Second Round

1993/94: Semi-Final

• AFC Champions League: 1 appearance

2012: Group Stage

Performance in UAFA competitions

• Gulf Club Champions Cup: 7 appearances

1986: Runners-up to Al-Hilal

2002: Group Stage

2006: Group Stage

2011: Quarter-Finals

• Ittihad Cup: 2

1990, 1997

Notable players

References

External links

• Official website