Al-Wahda SC Damascus
Al-Wahda Club of Damascus (Arabic: نادي الوحدة الدمشقي) is a Syrian sports club based in Damascus. It is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. It was founded in 1928. They play at Abbasiyyin Stadium. Nicknamed "The Damascene orange", the club is one of the pillars of sport in the Syrian capital, and in Syria in general.
History
Founded in 1928, Al Wahda is one of the oldest clubs in the Arabic world. Previous names for the club include Al Ghouta, and Qasioun (named after Mount Qasioun which overlooks the city of Damascus). Ahmed Ezzat Rifai is the original founder of this club. He met with a group of friends in Souq Saruja, Damascus to discuss setting up a new sports club, and they agreed to found the club and named it Qasioun. The club was officially opened in 1928 and hosted a series of sports, including football and weightlifting.
The "Golden Era"
Nenad Stavric 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 2003–2004 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 wining the second game 1–0 . In 2004–2005 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 year and still until this days.
Achievements
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- 2003-04
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- 1993, 2003
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- 1993
Performance in AFC competitions
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- 2005: Group Stage
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- 2004: Finalist
Performance in ACL Competitions
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- Arab Champions League 2005–06: First Round
- Arab Champions League 2006–07: First Round
Current squad
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Foreign players
Technical staff
- Nizar Mahrous – Team Manager
- Fwaz Mando – Assistant Coach
- Adnan Shoshara – Assistant Coach
Youth-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Position |
Player |
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MF |
Ahmad Kasem |
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MF |
Omar Kharbin |
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FW |
Anas Shalash |
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FW |
Ammar Bawab |
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Former managers
Famous players
External links
Official website: [1]
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Football in Syria
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| National teams |
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| League competitions |
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| Cup competitions |
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