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Al Wasl Sports Club
نادي الوصل الرياضي‎
Full name Al Wasl Sports Club
Nickname(s) Al Fuhud (The cheetahs/panthers)
Al Imbrator (The emperor)
Founded 1960; 64 years ago (1960) (as Zamalek)
Ground Zabeel Stadium
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ground Capacity 8,439
Owner Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Chairman Ahmad Bin Shafar
Manager Miloš Milojević
League UAE Pro League
2022–23 UAE Pro League, 4th
Al Wasl UAE
Al-Wasl Players in 2018

Al Wasl Football Club (Arabic: نادي الوصل لكرة القدم) is an Emirati professional football club based in Dubai, that competes in the United Arab Emirates Football League. It is a part of the multi-sports club Al Wasl SC. The club is located in Zabeel, where it plays in Zabeel stadium. Al-Wasl is amongst the most successful teams in the UAE and Dubai, winning 7 league titles since its establishment. The club is also the host of the largest fanbase in the whole UAE.

History

Early years

Al Wasl was founded on 1960 as Zamalek Club when a group of young men gathered in Bakhit Salem's house in Zabeel to establish the club to practice their sporting hobbies. Members had to rent a small house, each paying 10 AED to support the club's budget. In 1962, the club moved to different house owned by Madia bint Sultan, and elected Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to be their club president. Around 1966 Zamalek would beat Al Shabab in a Canada dry championship which was their first achievement. In 1974 Al Orouba agreed to merge with Zamalek to form Al Wasl Club.

Club of the Century

Al Wasl Club was ranked in 2009 by IFFHS (International Federation of Football for History and Statistics) as the Club of the Century (1901-2000) in UAE because of the club performance in international competitions.

The Original Clubs

Al-Zamalek

The idea of starting a football club in Zabeel first emerged in 1958, as a result of discussions and meetings by various youths living in the area. The times were very difficult, as there were no grass pitches or fields to play on, as football was still not a popular pastime, so as a result, they relied on pitches made of sand, and in 1960, Al-Zamalek club was founded in Zabeel. Al-Zamalek proved to be a key contender in the city of Dubai, they were considered one of the stronger teams and regularly played in local tournaments. Their first taste of glory came around 1966 where they defeated Al-Shabab Club in the finals of the Canada Dry Challenge Cup.

Al-Shou’la

In 1968, Al-Shou’la in Al Fahidi merged with Al-Zamalek.

Al-Orouba

Al-Orouba Club was founded in the early 1950s in the Jumeirah area of Dubai, it was a key contender in Dubai along with Al-Zamalek. Their team colour was either blue or green

The Merges and the formations of Al-Wasl

In 1974 it would also Merge with Al-Zamalek, and a new board of directors was made from the existing bodies of each club, now joined together. A new name was chosen for the team which was Al-Wasl, which was the old name for the City of Dubai. A new logo was created for the team which essentially was a combination of the two existing club crests of Al-Orouba and Al-Zamalek, and finally, the colour yellow was chosen for the team.

In 1973, A short period before the Orouba-Zamalek Merger, the first generation of footballers began to retire and/or begin their studies abroad or locally, this was a key factor in the merging of Al-Orouba and Al-Zamalek.

The reason which caused many early clubs in Dubai had merged with one another was due to the clubs using the same sand pitches, and due to the moving of players from club to club freely, without official transfer negotiations as those were not done in the area at the time.

Al-Wasl Fans

Al-Wasl Fanbase

Al-Wasl is known for its dedicated and loyal fans. Widely considered to be the best Fan and supporter base in the United Arab Emirates, and the Arabian Gulf simultaneously. Despite Al-Wasl's absence from championships for 17 years, Al-Wasl's Stands are always mostly full, whether their team is playing its games home or away. A Majority of Dubai's local population supports Al-Wasl, with Shabab Al-Ahli and Al-Nasr coming close behind.

Ultras Junoon

Al-Wasl fans have the achievement of founding the very first Ultras Group in the Arabian Gulf, which was named Ultras Junoon, Junoon meaning craziness/madness in Arabic, a description of the excitement and passion found in Al-Wasl's Stands. Ultras Junoon are also considered to be the most creative fans group in the Arabian Gulf, as their Tifos are made with nothing short of Creativity and Hard work, and frequently make headlines not only in the UAE, but also in the Middle East football scene and even all the way to Japan and Italy. Some of their most popular works include their Iconic Death Note series of tifos displayed against Bur Dubai Derby Rivals Al Nasr Home and Away, Their symbolic Peaky Blinders (TV series) Tifo displayed against Sharjah FC and even 3D fighter Jet soaring in front of the Flag of the UAE to commemorate the UAE Army's efforts.

Ultras Junoon have their very own Clothing line, which are popular amongst match attendees who make sure to back their club and supporters group. Every season they release a new shirt for each respective season.

Rivalries

Al Wasl's main competitors would be Al Nasr who they compete with in the Bur Dubai Derby and Al Ain who they challenge in the 'UAE Classico'.

Current squad

As of UAE Pro-League:

No. Position Player
1 United Arab Emirates GK Khaled Al-Senani
2 Colombia DF Daniel Pedrozo U21
3 United Arab Emirates DF Yousif Al-Mheiri
4 Morocco DF Soufiane Bouftini
5 United Arab Emirates MF Ali Salmeen
6 Mali MF Siaka Sidibe U21
7 United Arab Emirates FW Ali Saleh
8 Switzerland FW Haris Seferovic
9 United Arab Emirates FW Caio Canedo
10 United Arab Emirates MF Fábio Lima
11 United Arab Emirates MF Omar Abdulrahman
12 United Arab Emirates DF Abdulrahman Saleh
13 United Arab Emirates DF Faris Khalil
14 Brazil DF Rodrigo Oliveira
18 Syria MF Malek Janeer U21
20 Argentina MF Gerónimo Poblete
21 United Arab Emirates MF Hassan Ibrahim Saqer
23 United Arab Emirates DF Ali Abdulla Ali
No. Position Player
25 Colombia DF Alexis Pérez
31 Argentina MF Nicolás Giménez
32 United Arab Emirates GK Mohamed Qayoudhi
33 Algeria FW Oussama Amar U21
44 United Arab Emirates DF Salem Al-Azizi
53 United Arab Emirates DF Omar Haikal U21
55 United Arab Emirates GK Abdullah Al-Moqademi
59 United Arab Emirates FW Atiq Esam U21
70 Brazil FW Luizão U21
77 United Arab Emirates DF Hazza Salem
78 United Arab Emirates MF Rabee Hassan U21
85 Serbia DF Aleksandar Vasiljević
87 Brazil MF Gabrielzinho
88 United Arab Emirates MF Abdulla Al-Shamsi U21
89 United Arab Emirates FW Mohammed Al-Mehairi U21
90 Ivory Coast FW Adama Diallo
Ivory Coast MF Jean N'Guessan

Unregistered players

No. Position Player
38 Argentina DF Julián Glavocic
58 Argentina DF Luis Schlishting
No. Position Player
Brazil MF Gabrielzinho
United Arab Emirates FW Waleed Al-Hammadi

Out on loan

No. Position Player
17 United Arab Emirates GK Suhail Abdulla (on loan to Emirates)
40 Ghana DF George Dwubeng (on loan to Al-Hamriyah)
No. Position Player
60 United Arab Emirates MF Ghanem Ahmad (on loan to Hatta)
United Arab Emirates GK Ibrahim Essa (on loan to Al Bataeh)

Honours

Domestic competitions

Winner: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2006–07
  • UAE President's Cup: 2
Winner: 1987, 2007
  • UAE Federation Cup: 1
Winner: 1992–93
  • The IFFHS named Al Wasl as the UAE's Club of the 20th Century.

Regional competitions

  • Gulf Club Champions Cup
Winner (1) : 2009–10
Runners-up (2): 2005, 2012
  • Arab Club Champions Cup
Semi-finals: 1998
Quarter-finals: 2018–19

Performance in AFC competitions

2008: Group stage
2018: Group stage
2019: Group stage
  • Asian Club Championship: 4 appearances
1986: Qualifying Stage
1989–90: Qualifying Stage
1992–93: Third Place
1994–95: Quarter finals

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Managers Serbia Miloš Milojević
Assistant managers United Arab Emirates Yaqoob Iman Yameen
United Arab Emirates Saeed Anwar
United Arab Emirates Alaa Tareeq

Managerial history

* Served as caretaker coach.

Name Nat. From To Ref.
Bakhit Salem Trucial States 1960 1970
Ismail Al-Jarman United Arab Emirates 1971 1971
Zaki Osman Egypt 1972 1973
Valinhos Brazil 1980 1981
Joel Santana Brazil 1981 1986
Hassan Shehata Egypt 1986 1988
Antônio Lopes Brazil 1988 1989
Gílson Nunes Brazil 1989 1990
Dimitri Davidovic Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1991 1992
Arthur Bernardes Brazil 1996 1998
Alain Laurier France 1998 December 1998
Paulo Campos Brazil January 1999 May 1999
Henryk Kasperczak Poland September 1999 February 2000
Alain Laurier* France March 2000 May 2000
Josef Hickersberger Austria June 2000 June 2001
Johan Boskamp Netherlands July 2001 2002
Martín Lasarte Uruguay 2002 2002
Khalifa Al Shamsi* United Arab Emirates 2002 March 2003
Arthur Bernardes Brazil March 2003 May 2004
Vinko Begović Croatia 2004 2005
Zé Mário Brazil 2006 2007
Miroslav Beránek Czech Republic 2007 2008
Alexandre Guimarães Costa Rica July 2009 May 2010
Khalifa Al Shamsi United Arab Emirates June 2010 June 2011
Sérgio Farias Brazil August 2010 April 2011
Diego Maradona Argentina May 2011 July 2012
Bruno Metsu France July 2012 October 2012
Guy Lacombe France November 2012 February 2013
Eid Baroot United Arab Emirates February 2013 May 2013
Laurent Banide France June 2013 October 2013
Héctor Cúper Argentina November 2013 March 2014
Jorginho* Brazil March 2014 October 2014
Gabriel Calderón Argentina October 2014 May 2016
Rodolfo Arruabarrena Argentina July 2016 June 2018
Gustavo Quinteros Bolivia July 2018 October 2018
Hassan Al Abdouli* United Arab Emirates October 2018 December 2018
Laurențiu Reghecampf Romania December 2018 October 2020
Salem Rabie* United Arab Emirates October 2020 December 2020
Odair Hellmann Brazil December 2020 June 2022
Juan Antonio Pizzi Spain July 2022 May 2023
Miloš Milojević Serbia June 2023 present

Pro-League record

Season Lvl. Tms. Pos. President's Cup League Cup
2008–09 1 12 7th Round of 16 First Round
2009–10 1 12 5th Round of 16 First Round
2010–11 1 12 6th Semi-Finals Semi-Finals
2011–12 1 12 8th Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals
2012–13 1 14 9th Round of 16 First Round
2013–14 1 14 12th Quarter-Finals First Round
2014–15 1 14 6th Round of 16 First Round
2015–16 1 14 6th Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals
2016–17 1 14 2nd Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals
2017–18 1 12 3rd Runner-ups Runner-ups
2018–19 1 14 9th Semi-Finals Quarter-Finals
2019–20 1 14 8th Quarter-Finals Quarter-Finals
2020–21 1 14 9th Quarter-Finals Semi-Finals
2021–22 1 14 6th Semi-Finals Quarter-Finals
2022–23 1 14 4th Semi-Finals First Round

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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Al-Wasl Football Club para niños

  • List of football clubs in the United Arab Emirates
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