Al-Ettifaq FC
| File:Ettifaq FC logo.gif | ||||
| Full name | Ettifaq Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Faris Ad-Dahna (The Knight of Ad-Dahna) The Commandos Itti Al-Sharqiya (Itti of the Eastern Province, as a pose to Ittihad FC) | |||
| Founded | 1945 | |||
| Ground | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Dammam, Saudi Arabia | |||
| Capacity | 26,000 | |||
| Chairman | Khalid Al Dabal | |||
| Manager | Juan Carlos Garrido | |||
| League | Saudi Professional League | |||
| 2015–16 | Saudi First Division, 1st (promoted) | |||
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Ettifaq Football Club (Template:Lang-ar) also known as Al-Ettifaq is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Dammam. 'Ittifaq' is Arabic for cooperation. Al Ettifaq was established after the merging of three clubs in the City of Dammam at the year 1944. Al Ettifaq is the first Saudi team to win an international title – the 1984 Arab Club Champions Cup. Al Ettifaq is also the first team to win the Saudi Premier League without any defeat. Al Ettifaq is also the first side from Saudi Arabia to win the Gulf Champions Cup. Al Ettifaq have a total of 13 different titles to their name.
Achievements
- Saudi Premier League: 2
- Champions: 1983, 1987
- Crown Prince Cup: 1
- Champions: 1965
- Runner-up (4): 1963, 2001, 2008, 2012
- King's Cup: 2
- Champions: 1968, 1985
- Runner-up (4): 1965, 1966, 1983, 1988
- Saudi Federation cup: 3
- Champions: 1991, 2003, 2004
- Runner-up (4): 1987, 1995, 1996, 2005
- Arab Champions League: 2
- Champions: 1984, 1988
- Gulf Club Champions Cup: 3
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Club Championship: 1 appearance
- Qualifying Round: Al Ettifaq qualified to the Asian Club Championship after winning the GCC Champions League, ending top of the group that consisted of Kazma (Kuwait), Al Sharjah (UAE), Fanja (Oman), and West Riffa (Bahrain).
- Semi-final (Group Stage): Al Ettifaq finished second in their group after losing their penultimate game against the eventual champions, Qatari side Al-Sadd (2–1) in a highly controversial game. Apart from the two clubs, the group contained April 25 SC (North Korea), Mohammedan SC (Bangladesh), and Pahang (Malaysia).[1]
- AFC Champions League: 2 appearances
- Group Stage – Round of 32: Al Ettifaq was arguably one of the best performers in the group stage after finishing top of the group with 12 points. They won 4 games, lost 2, and scored 15 goals in 6 games, recording the third best attacking stats in the continent in that round. Al Ettifaq were placed in Group D along FC Bunyodkor (led by Brazilian ace Rivaldo), Sepahan Isfahan, and Al Shabab (UAE).
- Round of 16: Al Ettifaq were knocked from the Round of 16 against Pakhtakor (UZB). After leading 1–0 at halftime, they conceded two late goals that ended their hopes in qualifying to the quarter-final.[2]
- The draw was held on 6 December 2011 in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.[3]
- Al Ettifaq were placed in the second round of the qualifying stages, playing against the winner of the two Iranian sides: Esteghlal Tehran FC and Zob Ahan Isfahan FC.
- Al-Ettifaq lost the one-off game played on 18 February 2012 in Iran against Esteghlal Tehran FC and eventually went directly to the group stages of the 2012 AFC Cup.
- AFC Cup: 1 appearance
- After failing to qualify to the group stage of the 2012 AFC Champions League, Al-Ettifaq qualified automatically to the 2012 AFC Cup, and were drawn in Group C with Kuwait SC of Kuwait, Al Ahed of Lebanon, and VB Sports Club of the Maldives.
- Al Ettifaq started the competition as favorites and a strong candidate to win the competition, winning 5–1 in their first group game against Kuwait SC in Kuwait. The second game was frustrating to the Saudis as they drew in their own stadium 0–0 with Al Ahed. They defeated the underdogs of the group VB Sports Club by 6–3 in the Maldives and 2–0 in the reverse fixture. Al Ettifaq sealed their promotion with a 2–2 draw against Kuwait SC before finishing the group with a 3–1 victory in Lebanon against Al Ahed.
- Al Ettifaq finished off their season with a hard-fought 1–0 victory against Omani side Al-Suwaiq SC in the Round of 16 to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Players
As of Saudi Premier League:
Out on loan
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Managerial history
Note: The table is currently being updated.
| 1944–69 | ||
| 19??–69 |  Mohammed Hassan Kheiri
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| 1969–76 | ||
| 1976–78 |  Khalil Al-Zayani
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| 1979–80 | ||
| 1980–84 | Khalil Al-Zayani
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Coincided with the most successful period of the club (4 titles). |
| 1984–86 | ||
| 1986–90 | Khalil Al-Zayani
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Won 3 titles. |
| 1990–91 |  Procópio Cardoso
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| 1991–93 | ||
| July 1, 1993 – June 30, 1995 |  Wojciech Łazarek
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| 1994–96 | Khalil Al-Zayani
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| 1996–97 | ||
| 1997 | João Francisco
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| 1997–99 | ||
| 1999–00 | Khalil Al-Zayani
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| 2003–04 |  Jan Versleijen
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| Jan 1, 2004 – May 30, 2004 |  Jorge Habegger
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| 2005–06 | Ednaldo Patricio
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| 2006–07 |  Ammar Al-Suwayeh
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2006 Gulf Club Champions Cup (Winner). |
| July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008 |  Toni Oliveira
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2007 Gulf Club Champions Cup (Runner-up). |
| Jan 8, 2009 – June 8, 2009 |  Ioan Andone
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Achieved club's best performance in the AFC Champions League (Round of 16). |
| Oct 23, 2009 – March 23, 2011 | Ion Marin
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| March 23, 2011 – June 30, 2011 | Youssef Zouaoui
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| July 22, 2011 – April 30, 2012 |  Branko Ivanković
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| 2012 | Ammar Al-Suwayeh
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| July 1, 2012 – Sept 25, 2012 |  Alain Geiger
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| Sept 26, 2012 – June 13, 2013 | Maciej Skorża
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| July 1, 2013 – Oct 1, 2013 |  Theo Bücker
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| Sept 30, 2013 – Oct 26, 2013 | Eusebiu Tudor
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| Oct 26, 2013 – Feb 13, 2014 |  Goran Tufegdžić
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| Feb 13, 2014–July, 2014 | Ioan Andone
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| July 2014 – Feb 17, 2015 |  Beñat San José
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| (2015) | Gheorghe Mulțescu
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| (2015–16) | Reinhard Stumpf
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| (2016) | Djamel Belkacem
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2015–16 Saudi First Division |
| (2016–) | Eelco Schattorie
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References
- ^ Asian Club Championship 1989 – Schedule & Results. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ AFC Champions League 2009 – Schedule & Results, Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ AFC Champions League 2012 – Draw, Retrieved 9 December 2011.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Al-Ettifaq.
