Monika Staab ready to lead the Saudi women’s football team into a bright new era

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The Saudi Arabian women's national football team have landed in the Maldives ahead of their first ever international match. (SAFF)
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The Saudi Arabian women's national football team have landed in the Maldives ahead of their first ever international match. (SAFF)
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Updated 18 February 2022
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Monika Staab ready to lead the Saudi women’s football team into a bright new era

  • The German coach was appointed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation last year and will now take charge of the Kingdom’s first-ever international match

LONDON: Saudi Arabia can qualify for a sixth World Cup next month and in 2023 go to China in an attempt to win a fourth Asian Cup. The Green Falcons have a long and successful history and could end the year with games against the likes of Brazil, Argentina or France.

The journey of the country’s new women’s team, however, starts against Seychelles on Sunday in their first-ever international game. The second comes against Maldives four days later, and a competitive debut may not be far away once FIFA certification is achieved. 

The opposition may not be the most glamorous, but these are historic fixtures. Perhaps when the female Falcons appear at future World Cups and Asian Cups — the plan is to qualify within the next decade — they will look back on these games as hugely significant, even if the results may not live so long in the memory. 

Monika Staab is a respected women’s coach who led FFC Frankfurt to the 2002 UEFA Women’s Champions League title. Now 63, the former midfielder was appointed to take control of Saudi Arabia last August. Despite a resume that includes spells in Qatar and Bahrain, this job and games are a new experience for the coach as well as the players, and she had a message for them on Friday.

“Enjoy every single minute, every second that you will experience in that historic moment,” Staab said. “Be proud of being part of the squad of 25. Try your best and give everything for Saudi Arabia. It is an honor for you to be there. Take this opportunity, as this is one of the most historic moments in women’s football in Saudi Arabia.”

It is moments like these that led to Staab accepting the job.

“In November last year, my phone rang, and I saw that it was a 966 country code and had no idea who it was,” Staab said. “I thought to myself: ‘Come on, what have you got to lose?’ And then the person said: ‘This is the Saudi Arabian Football Association. We’d like to bring you over for our first C-license coaching course for women.’ I thought: ‘Sorry, what? Saudi Arabia?’ I thought that nothing could ever surprise me, and then this came along. They asked if I could give the coaching course in December, and I said: ‘Count me in.’”

The international games are not happening in isolation. Saudi Arabia’s first Department of Women’s Football Development was set up in 2019 and in that year, as well as 2020, there were domestic competitions set up. In November last year, the new Regional Football League kicked off, which involved 16 teams split across three regions: Central, Western and Eastern, with six teams based in the first two and four in the east. 

The 16-team tournament has made a big difference. As well as giving the players somewhere to train, play and develop, it gave Staab a great chance to look at the talent on offer before holding a training camp earlier this month. “The establishment of the first official Saudi league through the regional league and then the Kingdom's championship had a major role in the selection process,” Staab said. “We want to be fully prepared when we take part in our first official competition.

“We started searching for players last September as we are looking to start the national team’s journey and compete in official and international competitions,” said Staab.  “Through this camp, we want to find the consistency we are looking for before playing against Seychelles and Maldives.”

The coach has been impressed with what she has seen. One of those players was Seba Rabea Tawfiq, a star of the Jeddah Eagles who reached the semifinals in the first regional league season. “I hope that women’s football will move forward in Saudi Arabia in general and that women will be able to play football abroad, just like the men’s teams,” she said. “If God wishes, we will make progress as female players and represent our home country like women elsewhere. Then, football will become ordinary for girls as it is for boys.”

And it may become ordinary for the women, like the men, to take on the best in Asia and the world in the big tournaments. Lamia Bahian, head of women’s football at the SAFF, had a message for girls who play football or aspire to: “Dream big, play with passion and put your heart on the field and into training,” she said. “There will be a lot of challenges along the way, but football is one of the greatest things that will ever happen to a girl or to a woman. Growing up playing football, I believe, added so much to me, personality-wise, character-wise, on-field, off-field. So, just go out there and take the ball.” 


Al-Khaleej stun Al-Hilal with comeback win

Updated 23 November 2024
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Al-Khaleej stun Al-Hilal with comeback win

  • Defeat was first for reigning champions in the league in 46 games since May 2023

RIYADH: Al-Hilal lost 3-2 at Al-Khaleej on Saturday, a result made even more stunning as the all-conquering champions had been winning 2-0.

It is a defeat, a first in the league in 46 games since May 2023, that not only blows the title race wide open but shows that the champions are not invincible.

Al-Ittihad will go two points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League if they beat Al-Fateh on Sunday. It also means that Al-Nassr stay five points behind and are not out of the running.

The Blues had the better of the play from the beginning and few were surprised when Marcos Leonardo put the leaders ahead after just 12 minutes.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic won the ball on the edge of the area as Khaleej tried to play out from the back and there was Leonardo to stroke a low shot home.

Eight minutes before the break, Aleksandar Mitrovic struck with his 12th goal in the SPL this season. Salem Al-Dawsari, such a big miss for Saudi Arabia in recent World Cup qualifiers, curled over a corner and there was the Serbian striker to head home.

It seemed to be all over but then the hosts were handed a lifeline on the stroke of half time. Kalidou Koulibaly made a clumsy challenge in the area and while Yassine Bounou saved the penalty from Konstantinos Fortounis, Abdullah Al-Salem reacted the quickest to shoot the rebound home.

Al-Salem stunned Al-Hilal soon after the restart with a stunning goal. The hosts made uncharacteristic defensive mistakes and Khalid Narey fed the ball  to the 31 year-old who chipped Bounou delightfully from the right side of the area.

With five minutes remaining, Fabio Martins side footed home from another Narey assist to provoke wild celebrations as Al-Khaleej move into sixth. Al-Hilal stay top but maybe not for much longer.

 


Spurs thrash Man City 4-0 to end 52-match unbeaten home run

Updated 23 November 2024
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Spurs thrash Man City 4-0 to end 52-match unbeaten home run

  • James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in the wounds of his former club and Brennan Johnson completed the rout
  • City’s first defeat on home soil from open play since the eve of the 2022 World Cup leaves them still five points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool

MANCHESTER: Manchester City crashed to a stunning fifth consecutive defeat as Tottenham won 4-0 at the Etihad to end the English champions’ 52-game unbeaten home run on Saturday.
James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in the wounds of his former club and Brennan Johnson completed the rout.
City’s first defeat on home soil from open play since the eve of the 2022 World Cup leaves them still five points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, who play their game in hand at bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday.
A great day for Tottenham eases the pressure on Ange Postecoglou as they climb into the top six.
City boss Pep Guardiola has committed himself to turning around the poorest run of his managerial career after extending his contract till 2027 this week.
But hopes his new deal could revitalize a City side, that have won an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles, proved short-lived.
Rodri paraded his Ballon d’Or trophy to the home fans before kick-off as his name was lit up across the Etihad pitch by firelight in an ostentatious show of support for the Spanish midfielder.
The 28-year-old is not expected to play again this season after suffering knee ligament damage in September and his absence has been at the heart of City’s demise.
Guardiola’s men did start strongly as Guglielmo Vicario denied Erling Haaland and the Norwegian had another shot deflected wide.
But the momentum of the match completely swung on Tottenham’s first serious attack after 13 minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski’s teasing cross picked out Maddison who applied a cool first-time finish.
Maddison had found himself frozen out of Postecoglou’s starting line-up in recent weeks and was keen to prove a point to his manager.
Son Heung-min’s inventive pass freed the England international inside the box and he dinked the ball over the advancing Ederson to double Spurs’ lead.
Inconsistency has been the scourge of Tottenham’s season so far.
A 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich before the international break saw Postecoglou’s men slip to 10th in the table.
But they have now twice won comprehensively in Manchester after a 3-0 win over United at Old Trafford.
Dominic Solanke was denied by a fine Ederson save with the chance to make it 3-0 before half-time.
Spurs, though, were not to be denied seven minutes into the second period.
The excellent Kulusevski crossed for Solanke and he patiently laid the ball back for Porro to blast home from close range.
Haaland clipped the bar from an almost impossible angle as City labored to find a response.
Instead, they were hit with one final sucker punch as Timo Werner eased past Kyle Walker and crossed for Johnson to tap home at the far post.
The one glimmer of hope for City may be the return of Kevin De Bruyne after a two-month injury absence as a late substitute.
However, Guardiola has to find solutions fast if his side’s title defense is to be maintained into the new year.
A daunting trip to face Liverpool at Anfield is next up in the Premier League, where City have not won in front of a crowd since 2003.


Odegaard inspires Arsenal to reignite title hopes

Updated 23 November 2024
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Odegaard inspires Arsenal to reignite title hopes

  • Victory at the Emirates lifts them to 22 points, level with third-placed Chelsea
  • Captain Odegaard was making his first appearance at the Emirates since late August and showed what a huge miss he was for Arsenal

LONDON: Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal team “flows in a different way” when Martin Odegaard is playing after the Gunners crushed Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday to end their winless run.
Stunning strikes from Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey and a first Premier League goal for teenager Ethan Nwaneri gave Arsenal a first victory in five league games, reigniting their title challenge.
Arsenal, Premier League runners-up for the past two seasons, started the campaign strongly but their form dipped and they kicked off on Saturday nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
Victory at the Emirates lifts them to 22 points, level with third-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal took the lead in the 15th minute when Saka exchanged passes with Odegaard on the edge of the area before lashing a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.
Captain Odegaard was making his first appearance at the Emirates since late August and showed what a huge miss he was for Arsenal during his two-month injury absence.
Time and again the Norwegian found space in the penalty area with his quick feet and he teed up Gabriel Jesus, who curled narrowly wide, before linking up with Saka again.
Partey doubled Arsenal’s lead early in the second half after collecting Saka’s pass 20 yards out and taking a touch, before curling his shot away from the dive of Matz Sels and inside the far post.
Seventeen-year-old Nwaneri tucked away Raheem Sterling’s cutback to wrap up an emphatic win in the 86th minute.
“I think we started really well,” Arteta told the BBC. “The sense I was getting in the last 48 hours after the international break, the boys coming together and were all at it.”
Speaking about Odegaard, who returned to action at Inter Milan earlier this month, he said: “It’s not a coincidence. The team flows in a different way when he is playing.”
And he also had warm words for Nwaneri.
“He is the second-youngest (Premier League goalscorer) in our history,” Arteta said. “That’s a story in itself.
“He’s brave. You see the reaction of fans and they were singing ‘He’s one of our own’. I think we have to put brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn’t get dry. Hopefully we can build a beautiful thing with him.”


Riyadh retains Chestertons polo title in Dubai

Updated 23 November 2024
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Riyadh retains Chestertons polo title in Dubai

  • Saudi team secures 6-5 victory over Egyptian opponents in final match

DUBAI: The Riyadh polo team have successfully defended their title as Chestertons MENA Polo in the Park champions for a second year after defeating their Cairo rivals in Dubai on Saturday.
The Saudi team secured a 6-5 victory over their Egyptian opponents in the final match, which was held at Dubai’s Desert Palm Polo Club.
Amr Zidan, chairman of the Saudi Polo Federation, awarded the championship trophy to Khalid Al-Omran, the Riyadh team captain.
Representing Riyadh alongside Al-Omran were Rayan Al-Ajaji, and professional players Santos Iriarte (Argentina) and Guillermo Li (Peru).
The tournament featured four teams: Riyadh, Cairo, London, and Dubai.
It was the second Chestersons Polo in the Park event to be held in the Middle East after having been held in London for over a decade.


Andy Murray to coach Novak Djokovic

Updated 23 November 2024
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Andy Murray to coach Novak Djokovic

  • “I’m thrilled to have one of my biggest rivals on the same side of the net with me, this time as my coach,” Djokovic said
  • Murray said: “I am very excited about this and look forward to being on the same side of the net for a change”

BELGRADE: Novak Djokovic announced on Saturday that his retired long-time rival Andy Murray is joining the 24-time Grand Slam-winning player’s coaching team, starting at the Australian Open in January.
“I’m thrilled to have one of my biggest rivals on the same side of the net with me, this time as my coach. I look forward to starting the season with Andy and having him by my side in Melbourne, where we’ve shared many exceptional moments throughout our careers,” Djokovic said in a statement.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion who retired from competitive tennis in August, said: “I am very excited about this and look forward to being on the same side of the net for a change.
“I’m also grateful for the opportunity to help him achieve his goals for the upcoming year.”

Djokovic posted a video on X of him and Murray during the Scotsman’s playing career, jokingly titled: “He never liked retirement anyway.”
The 37-year-old Serb has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, defeating Murray in four finals.
Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam in 2024 and has slipped to seventh in the world, although he did land the Olympic singles title in Paris.