July 9th, 2024: This Week in Palestinian Football

Wessam Abou Ali Keeps scoring, Zeidan back with Malmö, Bani Owda and Sandouqa on the move, South Korea turn to Hong Myung-Bo

The transfer window is well upon us and with that rumors are flying left and right. There will be new clubs for the likes of Rami Hamadi, Ataa Jaber, Musab Al-Battat, Tamer Seyam, Yaser Hamed (who voided his contract with Zamalek), and many more. Here is a synopsis of who has signed with a new club since the window opened last week

Mohammed Rashid stays in Indonesia. The 29 year old midfielder has signed with his third Indonesian club leaving Bali United to join Persebaya. He marked his arrival to the club by scoring in a 2-0 friendly win the day after his signing was announced.

Hilal Al-Quds starlet has moved across the River Jordan to sign for Al-Jazira. The 21 year old was the star of the U20 side that reached the semifinals of the Arab Cup two years ago and is expected to play a big role for the Olympic Team in the next cycle.

Anas Bani Owda has worked his way into the senior team after five years of impressing at youth level for Palestine. That form with club and country earned him a move to Al-Ahli Amman after the WBPL’s suspension. The Jenin native did not look out of place and will now become the first Palestinian to play in the Algerian league- a two year contract with CS Constantine awaits pending visa approval for the player.

Rumors are also connecting midfielder Ameed Sawafta, who signed for Al-Salt in midseason, to a move to Jordanian giants Al-Wehdat.

Moustafa Zeidan is back with Malmö after an unsuccessful loan spell with Hatta in the UAE. The midfielder did not make the squad for this weekend’s match against Halmstad and it remains to be seen if he can work his way back into the squad. A loan spell at an Allsvenskan club could be in the interest of both parties.

How long will Wessam Abou Ali remain at Al-Ahly?

Al-Ahly fans can hardly believe their eyes. For the longest time to be Al-Ahly’s striker was to be cursed. No player at the number nine position had put together multiple prolific scoring seasons since Emad Meteb in the mid oughties. Walid Azaro had an amazing debut season but production faded over the next two seasons. Mohammed Sherif became the only player in the last decade to score 20 goals in an Egyptian League season in 2020 but was gone two years later.

Al-Ahly bet big on Wessam Abou Ali’s ability to score goals and they have been rewarded spectacularly. Eight goals goals and four assists in 11 league appearances (eight starts) represents a tremendous output.

Abou Ali also scored in the African Champions League semifinal against TP Mazembe. It is not just goals and assist for Abou Ali- the team plays better when he is in the lineup and his SofaScore rating of 7.41 is no accident.

With Al-Ahly making up games the former Danish youth international could overhaul Fitson Mayele (13 goals) as top scorer of the league. Abou Ali has seven games to play while Mayele only has three. The two will battle not only for the title of top scorer but also the league title itself.

U19 Team acquits itself well at WAFF Championships

Four points from three games was not enough to secure one of the top two spots in a group containing Syria, Bahrain, and UAE for the U19 team who contested the WAFF Championships last week in Saudi Arabia. That said, there was a gradual improvement with the side losing their first game, drawing the second, and winning the third.

Failure to advance is mostly down to a lack of fitness on the part of the local players but it was a local player- Aysam Draghmeh who won the most plaudits. Highlights for all the games are available below:

Syria 4-2 Palestine

Palestine 1-1 Bahrain

UAE 0-1 Palestine

Hong Myung-Bo to face Palestine in his first game as Korea Manager

Palestine has known for the last two weeks that a trip to Seoul will be the first of ten matches in Round Three. Who would be leading the Taeguk Warriors remained a giant mystery. Last year, Korea announced that former Germany and USA Manager Jürgen Klinsmann would take the helm. The former striker lasted less than 12 months in the role brutally exposed as a fraud by the likes of Jordan and Malaysia at the Asian Cup.

Korea turned to two different interim managers to see out the rest of Round 2 in World Cup qualifying. There were several names that were teased in the last five months but they all fell by the wayside. With sources inside the KFA saying there had been an insistence to make sure the next manager would be Korean.

Park Joo-Ho, a former national team player and current memeber of the technical committee spoke openly about the chaotic nature of the selection process.

There was nearly a dozen foreign managers in the frame from Herve Renard, Jesse Marsch, Senol Gunes, David Wagner, and Jesus Casas were some of the names on the shortlist but very little effort was made to vet and interview them.

Hong Myung-Bo played at four World Cups between 1990 and 2002. He made an appearance at a fifth World Cup as Korea’s manager in 2014. That stint ended with Hong and his teem being pelted with sweets upon their return to South Korea having failed to win a game in Brazil.

Hong won only 5 of his 19 games and did not lead the side in World Cup qualifiers but his success at Ulsan HD (back-to-back winners of the K-League in the last two seasons) has convinced the brass at the KFA to give him a chance. The former Korea captain turned down the role on more than one occassion but a manic persistence led to a change of heart.

It is a decision that has upset Ulsan’s supporters who put out a strong condemnation of the decision. "The KFA disregarded demands from us and other Korean football fans," the supporters club said in a statement. "They were unable to come up with a solution and ended up filling their hole with a K League head coach, the worst possible solution. We strongly condemn this decision, which has once again dealt a massive blow to football fans. 
 
"Such a catastrophic choice by the KFA will lead to failure. And even if this turns out successfully, the KFA must not forget that it came at the expense of Ulsan and the other K League clubs, not because the KFA did well."

Palestine closing in on new players for the national team