Al-Wahda Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الوحدة الرياضي) is a Syrian multi-sports club based in Damascus.[1] The club is mostly known for its football and basketball teams.[2] The football team plays in Syria's top competition, the Syrian Premier League. Al-Wahda SC was founded in 1928 and its colours are orange and white. They play their home games at the Al-Jalaa Stadium. The club is nicknamed "The Damascene orange".
 | |||
| Full name | Al-Wahda Sports Club Damascus | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Damascene orange (Arabic: البرتقالة الدمشقية) | ||
| Founded | 1928 as Qasioun SC | ||
| Ground | Al-Jalaa Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 10,000 | ||
| Chairman |  Ghias al Dbbas | ||
| Manager | Nizar Mahrous | ||
| League | Syrian Premier League | ||
| 2023–24 | 10th | ||
| Website | http://www.alwahdasport.sy | ||
|
| |||
| Al-Wahda active sections | ||
|---|---|---|
 Football |
 Basketball | |
The club has one of Syria's most prominent football charts, as it has won the Syrian Premier League 2 times, the Syrian Cup 8 times and the Syrian Super Cup 3 times. Internationally, Al-Wahda biggest achievement is participation in the final of the 2004 AFC Cup.[citation needed]
Al-Wahda SC have competed in the AFC Champions League group stage as first Syrian club in history and have reached the knockout rounds of the AFC Cup four times, as well as reaching the round of 32 at the Arab Club Champions Cup twice.[3][4]
History
editFounded in 1928, Al Wahda is one of the oldest clubs in the Arab world. Previous names for the club include Al Ghouta, and Qasioun (named after Mount Qasioun which overlooks the city of Damascus).[5]
The club was officially opened in 1928 and hosted a series of sports, including football and weightlifting.[citation needed]
The "Golden Era"
editNenad Stavrić is a Serbian coach who joined Al-Wahda club in 2001. He started with two losses against Al-Horriya and Al-Karamah followed with draw with Al-Jaish, the team had to wait until the fifth week of the season to achieve their first win with the new coach. The team finished the league in the third place. In his second year the team had a big improvement In the level of performance especially with the new formation 4–4–2 which was the first time ever a Syrian team to use it, in the beginning the results was awful with the new formation especially the big defeat against the Saudi Arabia champion Al-Ittihad Jeddah seven to nothing in the Arabian club tournament, but after that the team keep improving to win the Syrian Cup in 2003 against Al-Ittihad Aleppo after a dramatic match 5–3. In the next season he made the dream true and Al-Wahda is the 2003–04 Syrian League champion for the first time in the club history, also the team reached the final of AFC Cup and lost against the other Syrian side Al-Jaish after losing the first game 2–3 and winning the second game 1–0. In 2004–05 the team was too close to win the title again but it lost it in the last few weeks with missing a key players along the season with major injury. The curse of injuries continued in the following season but even though the team was closer than the year before to clinch the title. The chairman of the club Khaled Hbobaty decided to replace him with Mansoor Haj Saied and the club entered the black tunnel for several years and remains so to this day.[citation needed]
Stadiums
editAl-Jalaa Stadium
edit
Al-Jalaa Stadium is located in Mazzeh municipality of Damascus, Syria.[6]
Abbasiyyin Stadium
edit
Al-Wahda formerly played their home games at their own ground, Abbasiyyin Stadium, but maintenance deficiencies prevented the club from using the stadium. As a consequence, Al-Jalaa Stadium replaced it as the official home ground.
Supporters and rivalries
editThe biggest rival of the club is Al-Jaish SC,[7] with whom they play the Damascus city derby.
Colours and kits
editThe club's home jersey is based on the orange color that, in addition to the Damascus sword monument located on Umayyad Square and Damascene Jasmine, the club has had in its emblem since its foundation. Away jerseys are white with orange edges.[8]
Shirt sponsor & kit manufacturer
edit| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2012–2016 | Kappa | Cham Wings Airlines |
| 2016–2017 | Lotto | |
| 2017–2019 | Uhlsport | None |
| 2019–2020 | Nike | |
| 2020–2022 | Adidas | Cham Wings Airlines |
| 2022– | Nike |
Honours
editDomestic
edit- Syrian Premier League: 2
- Winners: 2003–04, 2013–2014
- Syrian Cup: 8
- Syrian Super Cup: 3
- Winners: 1993, 2016, 2020
- Syrian FA Shield: 1
- Winners: 2024
Continental
editRegional
editNotes:
- In 2016, Al-Wahda received[9] an extraordinary Nine Values Cup, an award of the international children's social programme Football for Friendship.
Performance in AFC competitions
edit- AFC Champions League: 1 appearance
- 2005: Group Stage
- AFC Cup: 8 appearances
Records
editAccurate as of 28 September 2022
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Champions League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| AFC Cup | 49 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 66 | 66 |
| TOTAL | 55 | 17 | 13 | 25 | 71 | 82 |
| Match won | Match drawn | Match lost | Champions | Runners-up |
Performance in UAFA competitions
edit- Arab Club Champions Cup: 3 appearances
Records
editAccurate as of 28 September 2022
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arab Club Champions Cup | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| TOTAL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| Match won | Match drawn | Match lost | Champions | Runners-up |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Arab Champions League | Group stage |  Qadsia
|
1–2 | 1–2 | |
 Al-Ittihad
|
0–7 | 0–7 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Arab Champions League | Round of 32 |  Raja Casablanca
|
1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| 2006–07 | Arab Champions League | Round of 32 |  Club Africain
|
0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 |
Players
editFirst-team squad
edit- As of 30 May 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Personnel
editCurrent technical staff
editAdministration
editClub presidents
edit- Wahda presidents since 1974:
Former managers
edit
Ayman Hakeem (1993–1995)- Sameer Soukieh (1995–2001)
Nenad Stavrić (2001–06)
Mansour Al Haj Saied (2006)- Ayman Hakeem (2006–07)
Costică Ştefănescu (2007)- Muhammad Jomma (2007–08)
- Nizar Mahrous (2008)
- Assaf Khalifa (2009)
Faruk Kolović (2009)- Nizar Mahrous (2009–11)
- Ayman Hakeem (2012)
- Hussam Al Sayed (2012)
- Mohannad Al Fakir (2013)
- Rafat Muhammad (2013–2017, 2018, 2019)
- Eyad Abdulkareem (2019–2020)
- Ghassan Maatouk (2020–2021)
- Ayman Hakeem (2021)
- Maher Bahri (2021–2022)
Siniša Dobrašinović (2022)- Ammar Shamali (2022–2023)
- Nizar Mahrous (2024–present)
Notable players
edit
Player records
editLeague top scorer
edit- Al-Wahda SC players won the title of top scorer in the Syrian Premier League 7 times:
| No. | Season | Name | Nation | Goals | Notes |
| 1 | 1990–91 | Othman Bawarshi | Syria
|
11 | |
| 2 | 1992–93 | Assaf Khalifa | Syria
|
11 | With Mouhanad Boushi |
| 3 | 2010–11 | Ali Salah Hashim |  Iraq
|
9 | Season suspended |
| 4 | 2013–14 | Majed al-Haj | Syria
|
11 | |
| 5 | 2015–16 | Raja Rafe | Syria
|
22 | |
| 6 | 2016–17 | Osama Omari | Syria
|
17 | |
| 7 | 2017–18 | Basel Mustafa | Syria
|
15 |
Top scorers
edit- List of top scorers for Al Wahda club in the league and cup historically:
| No. | Name | Nation | Goals | Notes |
| 1 | Osama Omari | Syria
|
78 | |
| 2 | Maher Al-Sayed | Syria
|
76 | |
| 3 | Assaf Khalifa | Syria
|
59 | |
| 4 | Mahmoud Mahmalji | Syria
|
51 | |
| 5 | Raja Rafe | Syria
|
46 | |
| 6 | Nizar Mahrous | Syria
|
44 | |
| 7 | Majed al-Haj | Syria
|
38 | |
| =7 | Nabil Al-Shahma | Syria
|
38 | |
| 9 | Ismail Fatout | Syria
|
31 | |
| 10 | Maher Kharrat | Syria
|
30 |
Notes
edit- ^ Al-Jaish SC won on away goals rule.
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
- ^ The Al-Wahda v Shabab Al-Dhahiriya match on matchday 2 (9 March 2016) was not played as scheduled. It was awarded 3–0 to Al-Wahda by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 28 April 2016, as it found Shabab Al-Dhahiriya as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[10][11] The decision was reversed and awarded 3–0 to Shabab Al-Dhahiriya by the AFC Appeal Committee on 24 June 2016, as it found Al-Wahda as the relevant party for causing the cancellation of the match.[12][13]
- ^ The Shabab Al-Dhahiriya v Al-Wahda match was required by the AFC to be played at a neutral venue due to restriction of Syrians entering Palestine.[14] However, Shabab Al-Dhahiriya were unable to secure a neutral venue and the match was forfeited.[15]
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
- ^ Teams from Syria were not allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns.
References
edit- ^ "Al Wahda profile". goalzz.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- ^ "Al Wahda Damascus". asia-basket. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Arab Champions' League 2005/06". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Arab Champions' League 2006/07". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ History of Al Wahda Archived 2020-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kabboul, Tamarah (8 February 2019). "Discover old Beirut in these 15 amazing photos". www.the961.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Al-Wahda team qualifies to the final round of the Basketball League". Syrian Arab News Agency. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "Al-Wahda defeats al-Wathba 1-0, tops Syrian league". Syrian Arab News Agency. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Young football ambassadors present Nine Values Cup to the Samba Boys". euronews. 2019-04-03. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ "AFC Disciplinary Committee decision regarding Al Wahda v Al Dharia match". AFC. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "17th AFC Disciplinary Committee on 28 April 2016" (PDF). AFC. 28 April 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "AFC Appeal Committee decisions". AFC. 24 June 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "4th AFC Appeal Committee on 24 June 2016" (PDF). AFC. 24 June 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee decisions". AFC. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "AFC Cup 2016: Final standings in Groups C and D confirmed". AFC. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
External links
edit- Official website (in Arabic)