Al Wahda FC

Al Wahda Football Club (Arabic: نادي الوحدة لكرة القدم, romanized: al-waḥda, lit. 'Union') is an Emirati professional football club based in Abu Dhabi, that competes in the UAE Pro League.[2] The club was founded in 1974 and plays its home games at the Al Nahyan Stadium. The club's colours are maroon, navy blue and white.

This article is about the Emirati football club. For other clubs, see Al-Wahda.
Al Wahda FC
نادي الوحـدة لكرة القدم
Full nameAl Wahda Football Club
FoundedJune 3, 1984 (1984-06-03)
GroundAl Nahyan Stadium
Capacity15,894[1]
OwnerDiab Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
ManagerGoran Tufegdžić
LeagueUAE Pro League
2022–23UAE Pro League, 3rd
WebsiteClub website

History

Foundation

The first team created in Abu Dhabi was Al-Ahli in 1966, followed respectively by Al-Ittihad in 1968, Al-Falah and Al-Wahda in 1969. In 1974, a decision was made by the Minister of youth and sport to create Abu Dhabi SC by merging Al-Ittihad and Al-Wahda on 13 March 1974, and to create Al-Emirates SC by merging Al-Ahli and Al-Falah on 3 June 1974. In 1984, Abu Dhabi SC and Al-Emirates SC merged to create Al-Wahda FC.

Modern era

In 1999, Al Wahda won their maiden UAE League title with 8 points ahead of their rivals Al Ain. In 2018, Al Wahda changed its official logo as part of a new club redesign.

Honours

Leagues

UAE Pro League: 4

UAE Division One: 2

  • Champions: 1976–77, 1984–85

Cups

UAE President's Cup: 2

UAE Federation Cup: 3

  • Champions: 1986, 1995, 2001

UAE League Cup: 3

  • Champions: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2023–24

UAE Super Cup: 4

Home stadium

The Al-Nahyan Stadium is the home of Al Wahda.[4] It has 15,000 seats and located only three kilometers from the downtown at the heart of Abu Dhabi City.

Performance in AFC competitions

Al Wahda has been qualifying for Asian competitions regularly since the 1998–99 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, they've been qualifying for the AFC Champions League regularly by winning the President's Cup or consistently finishing near the top in the league.

2004: Quarter-finals
2006: Group stage
2007: Semi-finals
2008: Group stage
2010: Group stage
2011: Group stage
2015: Play-offs
2017: Group stage
2018: Group stage
2019: Round of 16
2020: Withdrew
2021: Quarter-finals
1999–2000: First round
2001–02: Group stage (Top 8)
1998–99: First round
2000–01: First round

Current squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  UAE Mohamed Al-Shamsi
2 DF  UAE Khalid Butti
3 DF  UAE Lucas Pimenta
5 DF  UAE Alaeddine Zouhir
6 DF  UAE Mahmoud Khamees
7 MF  IRN Ahmad Nourollahi
8 MF  UAE Tahnoon Al-Zaabi
10 MF  UAE Ismail Matar (captain)
12 MF  UAE Abdulla Hamad
13 MF  UAE Manea Aydh
14 MF  UAE Abdelaziz Al-Balushi
15 MF  UZB Khojimat Erkinov
16 MF  UAE Abdulla Ahmed U21
18 MF  UAE Hamdan Adel
19 DF  POR Rúben Canedo
20 FW  UAE Mansoor Saeed U21
21 DF  UAE Abdullah Al-Karbi
22 FW  KGZ Avtandil Duishoev U21
24 DF  UAE Sultan Al-Zaabi (on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli)
25 MF  BRA Allan
No. Pos. Nation Player
26 MF  MAR Ahmed Jawar
27 FW  ARG Facundo Kruspzky
29 MF  UAE Suhail Al-Mansoori
30 MF  RUS Zelimkhan Bakayev (on loan from Zenit)
31 DF  UAE Abdurahman Saleh U21
35 GK  UAE Zayed Al-Hammadi
44 DF  UAE Fares Jumaa
46 FW  SEN Moussa Senghor U21
50 GK  UAE Rashed Ali
64 DF  UAE Rashed Issam U21
66 GK  UAE Hazaa Ammar
68 DF  UAE Mohamed Ali
70 FW  SYR Omar Khribin
75 FW  UAE Mubarak Salem U21
77 FW  UAE Awadh Al-Katheeri U21
78 DF  UAE Mansour Saleh U21
80 FW  YEM Salem Al-Somhi U21
83 FW  UAE Mohamed Al-Senaani U21
— DF  NGA Favour Inyeka Ogbu

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  BRA Gian (on loan to Ajman)

Managerial history

* Served as caretaker coach.

Name Nat. From To Ref.
Helmy Toulan 1979 1984
Heshmat Mohajerani 1984 1986
Slobodan Halilović 1991 1992
Mahmoud El-Gohary 1995 1996
Jo Bonfrère 1998 1999
Ruud Krol 1999 1999
Dimitri Davidovic 1999 2000
Rinus Israël 2000 2001
Jo Bonfrère 2001 2002
Cemşir Muratoğlu 2002 2003
Rolf Fringer 14 March 2003 30 June 2003
Rolland Courbis 1 July 2003 30 November 2003
Rinus Israël 1 December 2003 30 June 2004
Ahmad Abdel-Halim 2004 2005
Reiner Hollmann 1 July 2005 3 April 2006
Richard Tardy 2006 4 August 2006
Horst Köppel 5 August 2006 11 October 2006 [5]
Jo Bonfrère 13 December 2007 10 December 2008
Josef Hickersberger 10 December 2008 1 June 2010
László Bölöni 29 May 2010 2 September 2010 [6]
Tite 31 August 2010 19 October 2010
Josef Hickersberger 22 October 2010 30 June 2012
Branko Ivanković 20 May 2012 28 April 2013
Josef Hickersberger 28 April 2013 15 July 2013
Karel Jarolím 15 July 2013 9 November 2013
José Peseiro 11 November 2013 11 January 2015
Sami Al-Jaber 11 January 2015 19 May 2015
Javier Aguirre 18 June 2015 20 May 2017 [7]
Laurențiu Reghecampf 3 July 2017 25 November 2018
Henk ten Cate 7 December 2018 26 May 2019
Maurice Steijn 9 June 2019 17 October 2019
Manuel Jiménez 17 October 2019 18 July 2020 [8]
Mark Wotte 18 July 2020 8 September 2020
Vuk Rasovic 8 September 2020 12 March 2021 [9]
Henk ten Cate 13 March 2021 25 October 2021
Grégory Dufrennes 26 October 2021 3 June 2022
Carlos Carvalhal 1 July 2022 2 October 2022 [10]
Manuel Jiménez 5 October 2022 12 March 2023
Arno Buitenweg* 13 March 2023 17 June 2023
Pitso Mosimane 18 June 2023 10 November 2023 [11]
Arno Buitenweg* 10 November 2023 5 January 2024
Goran Tufegdžić 5 January 2024 Present

Pro-League record
Season Lvl. Tms. Pos. President's Cup League Cup
2008–09 1 12 4th Semi-Finals Runner-ups
2009–10 1 12 1st Semi-Finals Semi-Finals
2010–11 1 12 5th Runner-ups Semi-Finals
2011–12 1 12 6th Semi-Finals First Round
2012–13 1 14 7th Semi-Finals Semi-Finals
2013–14 1 14 2nd Quarter-Finals First Round
2014–15 1 14 4th Round of 16 First Round
2015–16 1 14 3rd Round of 16 Champions
2016–17 1 14 5th Champions First Round
2017–18 1 12 2nd Semi-Finals Champions
2018–19 1 14 3rd Round of 16 Runner-ups
2019–20a 1 14 5th Round of 16 Quarter-Finals
2020–21 1 14 7th Round of 16 First Round
2021–22 1 14 3rd Runner-ups Semi-Finals
2022–23 1 14 3rd Preliminary Round Quarter-Finals

Notes^ 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.

Key

  • Pos. = Position
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Lvl. = League

See also

References
  1. "نبذة عن منشآت نادي الوحدة الرياضي". Archived from the original on 2015-03-17. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  2. Al Wahda FC (UAE): club profile, squad, fixtures and achieves Archived 2021-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 April 2021
  3. "Al Ain FC 3 : 3 , 222: 4 PAl Wahda FC". globalsportsarchive.com. Global Sports Archive. 25 August 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. "Al Wahda – Clubs – UAE Pro League Committee". Al Wahda Club. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  5. "Köppel wechselt in die VAE". kicker (in German). 5 August 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  6. Bölöni appointed as head coach of Al-Wahda Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Cerezo, Hugo (18 June 2015). "Javier Aguirre ficha por el Al Wahda". Marca (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  8. Jose, James (17 October 2019). "Al Jazira, Al Wahda appoint new managers". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. "Al Wahda set to name Vuk Rasovic as new coach ahead of Asian Champions League resumption". thenational. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  10. "Carlos Carvalhal leaves Al Wahda". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  11. Mahlatse Mphahlele. "Pitso Mosimane joins UAE side Al Wahda". timeslive. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.