“The Deal of the Century” was the main discussion topic this week among many in the Middle East.
The peace plan conducted by Donald Trump’s administration in another try to end the never-ending conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has attracted global attention. Jerusalem, was again, a key factor in this plan.
While politics took over, a small football history was taking place, as Hilal Al-Quds, the West Bank Premier League champions won a second consecutive promotion to the AFC Cup - Asia’s second most important club tournament.
The Jerusalemites have beaten the Omani club - Sur - 2-0 at Faisal Husseini in Al-Ram, and gained a 0-0 draw in Muscat, which promised them the ticket to the group stage. There, they will face Al-Ahed from Lebanon, Al-Jaish from Syria and Manama from Bahrain. Expect the usual issue to pop up as the resolution for the Levant is far away, and the history of Palestinian teams in Lebanon is famous for its suspicious and problematic circumstances.
At the same time, Esteghlal Tehran and Shahr Khodrou, the Iranian teams that were competing in the AFC Champions League qualifications, played their ‘home’ games in the United Arab Emirates, against Kuwait SC and Riffa from Bahrain.
Despite a continuous political saga between the Iranians and the AFC, both teams managed to win their games easily and proceeded to the final play-off round.
This was where the magic happened. Esteghlal hammered Al-Rayyan 5-0 in Qatar, in what was the hosts’ biggest home defeat ever in a continental competition; Shahr, on the other hand, managed to get Al-Sailiya all the way to a penalty shootout, where they won, despite the Qataris fielding a powerful side including Mbark Boussoufa, Karim Ansarifad, Kara Mbodje and Nadir Belhadj. That’s a flying start to Stefano Cusin’s career in Mashhad.
Esteghlal will play in Group A with Al-Ahli Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Al-Shorta (Iraq) and Al-Wahda (UAE). Shahr Khodrou will play in Group B with Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan) and Shabab Al-Ahli (UAE).
As all three match days are away games from the Iranians, expect these two groups to be extremely fascinating in the later fixtures of this stage.
Them against the world, and they won. Shahr Khodrou’s players celebrate their qualification to the AFC Champions League group stage (Shahr Khodrou Facebook Page)
TRANSFERS DEADLINE DAY
Transfer deadline day has finished in the Middle East as some exciting deals took place involving clubs and players from across the region.
The Iraqi starlet Mohanad Ali, Meme, finally left the dusty reality of the Gulf and joined Portuguese side Portimonense. The latter is connected to Aspire fund and is part of the larger scale of Qatari investment in football, but the jewel of Baghdad is craving for playing time that will help fulfill his explosive potential in the old continent.
Al-Shorta, Meme’s ex-club before Al-Duhail, has been extremely active with three notable signings of foreign players, in preparation of the AFC Champions League.
Wilfried Bony and Anice Badri, two powerhouse strikers in Asian caliber has landed in Saudi Arabia and joined Ittihad Jeddah;
Marko Marin has signed for their city rivals, Al-Ahil;
Al-Ain signed the Kazakhi wonder-kid Baurzhyan Islamkhan;
And finally, two exciting deals for the summer has been concluded: Alireza Beiranvand, the famous Iranian goalkeeper, signed for Royal Antwerp in Belgium while Ever Banega will leave Andalucia to join Al-Shabab Riyadh. Both deals will take place in the summer.