Weekend Guide 9.4.2016

An African Champions League group stage spot, a glorious Yemenite derby from Israel, and the title battle of Botswana. Yallah, Let's go!

(All hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like this goalkeeper)

What? Stade Malien – ZESCO United (CAF Champions League)

When? Saturday, 20:00

Where? Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako

Why? Stade Malien was the African Champions League runner-ups in 1965 but never qualified for the top-8 since the introduction of the group stage. Their opponents, ZESCO United, participated in the 2009 group stage, the last Zambian team to so.

Key Players: Mamadou Coulibaly led Stade Malien to this stage with 3 goals and was part of runner-up national team squad in the African Nations Championship. In ZESCO United you can find Kondwani Mtonga that played also in the Indian Super League.

Fans Abroad: It's rare to find an African team with support from different continents, but ZESCO United has a fan club in Colombia. Sensacional!

Professional (like this goal)

What? Hapoel Marmorek – Maccabi Sha'arayim (Israeli Liga Alef)

When? Saturday, 20:00

Where? Haberfeld Stadium, Rishon LeZion

Why? The great derby of Rehovot city is one of the hottest football rivalries in Israel. Marmorek and Sha'arayim are two neighborhoods in Rehovot, who share the same origin. Both of them are populated by large Yemenite-Jewish communities. Maccabi Sha'arayim leads the table by 5 points and they are close to promotion for the first time since they were relegated from the second tier in 1993. Hapoel Marmorek is in the 4th place, trying to assure a playoff spot.

Key Players: Hapoel Marmorek’s main player is Sahar Shabtai, the team’s top scorer with 10 goals. Maccabi Sha'arayim has Gil Itzhak, who arrived in December and since then scored 8 goals in 15 matches.

The Oldies: Maccabi Sha'arayim might have one of the older squads in Israel, as in their last match half of the players were above 30 years old.

World Class (like this play)

What? Centre Chiefs – Township Rollers (Botswana Premier League)

When? Saturday, 20:00

Where? Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone

Why? Four games are left before the end of the season in Botswana and the title is on the stake for this match. Township Rollers are leading the table by 4 points ahead of Orapa United and their hosts for this match, Centre Chiefs. The Chiefs will try to close the gap on way to a 4th title in 5 years.

Key Players: Lemponye Tshireletso is the guy to watch in Centre Chiefs, as he is one of the best scorers in the league. From the other side, you can't run to the title without a great goalkeeper like Township Rollers' Kabelo Dambe, who’s also the Botswana national team goalkeeper.

Like Your Nickname: Botswana national team nickname is ‘Dipitse’, which means "The Zebras". In 2012 they launched a new kit with a black and white pattern.

Weekend Guide 1.4.2016

After the international break, the Weekend Guide is back on track. This week we’ll watch two of Japan’s best teams, Zimbabwe’s underdog champions, and a race for the title in Barbados.

(All the hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like these scenes)

What? Kawasaki Frontale – Kashima Antlers (Japanese J.1 League)

When? Saturday, 08:00

Where? Todoroki Athletics Stadium, Kawasaki

Why? The double-stage system of the Japanese league results in each team dreaming about a title. After four games, Kawasaki Frontale leads with 10 points and Kashima Antlers are in the 3rd place with 9 points.

Key Players: Kawasaki’s leading player is Kengo Nakamura, the veteran captain that plays for the team since 2003 and made 392 league appearances for the club. In Kashima Antlers you should look for Mu Kanazaki, who already scored three goals since the beginning of the season.

Race for the Record: Hiroshima Sanfrecce's Hisato Sato and Kawasaki Frontale's Yoshito Okubo are both trying to be the all-time league top scorers. Both scored 158 so far.

Professional (like this goal)

What? Chicken Inn FC – Dynamos (Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League)

When? Saturday, 14:00

Where? Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo

Why? The new season in Zimbabwe is here and the champions Chicken Inn wants to defend their title. Last season they won their first ever title, after finished 4 points above Dynamos, the 22-times Zimbabwean champions and their opponents for Saturday’s match.

Key Players: One of Chicken Inn leaders is Edmore Chirambadare, who scored 11 goals last season. Dynamo’s main player is Rodreck Mutuma that rejoins his youth team after a short period in South Africa.

No World Cup for You: Zimbabwe was the only team that was expelled from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. It was due to their failure to pay to their former coach, José Claudinei.

World Class (like this shot)

What? BDF – UWI Blackbirds (Barbados Premier League)

When? Sunday, 22:00

Where? Wildey Astro Turf, Bridgetown

Why? The race to the title in Barbados is getting closer to its end. BDF and UWI Blackbirds, alongside with Paradise FC, are in a three-way race and only one will win it. BDF are the league leaders and UWI Blackbirds are only 2 points behind.

Key Players: BDF have the league’s top scorer, Shaquille Stewart, who scored 11 goals this season and he is one of the leading players in Barbados. Keep your eyes also on Ramon Manning, the only representative of UWI in the current national team squad.

Make It Shorter: What do team acronyms stand for? BDF are Barbados Defence Forces, and UWI are University of West Indies. So the question is who will be the champions – the soldiers or the students?

El Hadji Diouf Joins Shabab Al-Khader from Palestine

Former Senegal National Team star, El Hadji Diouf, has decided to come out of retirement for the last two months of the season, and this morning he announced his new destination.

Diouf, who most recently played for Malaysian side Sabah FA, has declared that his decision was only because of the fact the offer came from an extremely exotic place - Shabab Al-Khader of the Palestinian League. In his exclusive interview with BabaGol, Diouf confessed: "It was my dream to join this specific mega-Palestinian side, to qualify for the AFC Champions League and to be featured in the emerging football blog - BabaGol. Especially on such a nice 1st of April morning". Guys wake up. Happy April Fools’ Day fellas.

Weekend Guide 18.3.2016

A visit to a thrilling African Champions League clash, the island of Macau will welcome us with a top match and finally, a chill-out match from Cuba with few cigars and new names in the local title race.

(All the hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like  these guys)

What? Al-Hilal Omdurman – Al Ahli Tripoli (CAF Champions League)

When? Sunday, 18:00

Where? Al-Hilal Stadium, Omdurman

Why? Al Ahli Tripoli is one step from making one of the biggest sensations in the African football. The Libyan champions won the first leg at a neutral ground 1:0, and now they will travel to Sudan for the second leg against Al-Hilal Omdurman. Al-Hilal are last season’s semifinalists, and finished as runner-ups twice in the history.

Key Players: Mohamed Ahmed Bashir, known as Bisha, is the leading player of Al-Hilal and the Sudanese league top scorer with 8 goals in 9 matches. In Al Ahli you should look at Ali Salama, the Libyan national team captain.

Touching History: In the 1984 African Cup Winners Cup, Al Ahli Tripoli qualified to the finals. Due to the complicated relations between Libya and Egypt, Al Ahli Tripoli refused to play against Al Ahly from Cairo, so they were disqualified and replaced by their semifinals opponents, Canon Yaoundé of Cameroon.

Professional (like this goal)

What? Benfica de Macau – Sporting Macau (Macau Primeira Divisão)

When? Saturday, 07:00

Where? Estádio Campo Desportivo, Taipa

Why? No, this is not the derby of Lisbon, but rather the match of the day in Macau. Benfica are the reigning champions in the past two seasons while they lead the league with 24 points in 8 matches. Sporting Macau will try to be the first team to defeat them, as they are in the 2nd place with 20 points.

Key Players: After playing in Portugal’s lower divisions, goalkeeper Rui Nibra seems to be Benfica’s most dominant player, thanks to his good performances. Sporting’s main man is local forward Miguel Botelho, one of the club’s great scorers in recent years.

Lock the Gates: Not only that Benfica haven't lost yet, they also didn't concede a single goal this season. They continue their insane run of 13 league matches without a goal conceded.

World Class (like this goal)

What? Guantánamo – La Habana (Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba)

When? Saturday, 21:30

Where? Estadio Rogelio Palacios, Guantánamo

Why? The lovely island of Cuba has an interesting domestic league and the two leaders are ready for a hot date. Guantánamo are in the 2nd place, two points behind La Habana. Both teams want to make another step towards a rare title. For Guantánamo it will be the debut title, while for La Habana it will be first since 1967.

Key Players: Alberto Gómez, or 'Beto', of Guantánamo is the guy to watch, as he was one of the leaders of the national team in the historic Caribbean Cup title in 2012. In La Habana you can't miss Jaime Colomé, a 36 year old veteran midfielder that represented Cuba in five Gold Cups and plays for the club since 2002.

Long Tradition: Cuba is one of the oldest football nations in the world. The league is playing since 1912 and this is the 101st edition of the competition. Cuba even played in the 1938 World Cup.

Weekend Guide 11.3.2016

It's the middle of March. In some leagues, you can hear the final whistle right across the corner. For others, this signals the kick-off whistle.

In this Weekend Guide you’ll see both – a top match from Albania, another interesting visit to the CAF Champions League and the first match of the Turkmen league.

(All the hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like this penalty)

What? Partizani – Skënderbeu (Albanian Superliga)

When? Monday, 19:00

Where? Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana

Why? Everyone can feel the tension as we are getting closer to the end of the season and there’s a match for the title. Skënderbeu, the Albanian champions since 2011, will travel as the league leaders to Tirana. There they will play against Partizani, who are in 2nd place with five points less.

Key Players: In Partizani, the main player will be Xhevahir Sukaj, who played in Iran in the past three years and scored 12 goals this season. From the other side, Skënderbeu will focus on Hamdi Salihi, who played in Austria, USA and China and now he´s the league’s top scorer with 21 goals.

Support of the Fans: Partizani's Arbnor Fejzullahu got his first call up to the national team in an interesting way. He was invited to a training camp for diaspora Albanian players after a recommendation by Jetmir Salihu, a member of the national team fan club.

Professional (like this goal)

What? APR – Young Africans (CAF Champions League)

When? Saturday, 14:30

Where? Amahoro Stadium, Kigali

Why? It always great to see two minor teams facing each other, knowing that one of them will progress to the next stage in a continental tournament. APR, the champions of Rwanda, will try to pass through the first stage for the first time since 2004. The Tanzanian champions, Young Africans, recall their history with two appearances in the Champions Cup quarter finals in 1969 and 1970.

Key Players: Watch for APR's Abdul Rwatubyaye, the main player of his club that scored decisive hat-trick in the previous round. In Young Africans you can find Nizar Khalfan, former Vancouver Whitecaps player with 43 international caps for Tanzania.

Transnational Legend: One of the biggest names in the history of Young African was born in Burundi, played for short time in Tanzania and was part of DR Congo national team. Yes, we're talking about Shabani Nonda.

World Class (like this goal)

What? Altyn Asyr – Balkan (Turkmenistan Yokari Liga)

When? Saturday, 11:00

Where? Ashgabat Stadium, Ashgabat

Why? It’s a new season in Turkmenistan and the biggest match-up of the league is here. Altyn Asyr, the champions of the two previous seasons will try to win their third title in a row. Balkan were the runner-ups, but they wish to be much closer than a 24 point gap like in the previous season.

Key Players: Ahmet Ataýew, Altyn Asyr midfielder and the national team captain, was last season league MVP, so he definitely will be a guy to watch for. Balkan's Ýagmyrmyrat Annamyradow is one of the veteran players in the league and was part of Balkan winning squad in the 2013 AFC President's Cup.

The Key to Success: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew, the Altyn Asyr manager, led Turkmenistan national team to their biggest achievement, finalists of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2010 and 2012.