Al-Wahda FC (Abu Dhabi)

Football club infobox
clubname = Al-Wahda


fullname = Al Wahda Sports Cultural Club
founded = 1974
ground = Al-Nahyan Stadium
Abu Dhabi
UAE
capacity = 12,000
chairman = flagicon|UAE Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
vice chairman = flagicon|UAE Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan
manager = flagicon|Egypt Ahmed Abdulhaleem
league = UAE League
season = 07/08
position = UAE League,
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leftarm1=800000|body1=800000|rightarm1=800000|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=800000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=8B0000|socks2=ffffFF

Al-Wahda ( _ar. نادي الوحدة الرياضي و الثقافي) is a football club based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They won the UAE League in 2004-2005.

International footballers who have played or signed for the team include Nigerian Oluwasegun Abiodun, Zambian Kalusha Bwalya (in 1998), as well as Iranian Javad Nekounam and Egyptian Hany Ramzy who signed for them in 2005.

Al Wahda wear the following colors: maroon, grey and white.

History

Al Wahda is one of the UAE's famous club, founded when the Emirates Club merged with Abu Dhabi in 1984. Al Wahda remains proud of the history that formed it's roots, the club's chairman was (and still is) Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the head of the executive board for the club being led by Shaikh Tahnoon bin Saeed Al Nahyan. After shaky beginnings, the club began to fill its trophy cabinet in the 1990s with Al Wahda winning the Federation Cup winners in 1995, league champions in 1998-1999 and President Cup winners in 2000. The 1999 season rests in the annals: Hussain Ali was voted the league's best goalkeeper, Fahad Massaood was voted player of the year and Al Bouri Lah finished the season as the league's top goalscorer. During the 1990s Al Wahda boasts many internationals in their ranks, Yasir Salim, Abdul Raheem Jumaa and Abdul Salam among them, but also relied on a well-organised scouting system with a tradition of unearthing young talent. Since 1993, it has organised an annual international U-17 tournament for sides from Europe and South America now called the Zayed Cup (formerly called "Al Wahda Cup").

Al Wahda has a large following in the UAE, and are always considered as one of the favourites in major competitions within the UAE. Al Wahda also had stints with regards to major Asian competition, and reached the last 4 of the Asian Champions League, but lost after away and home matches to Sapehan(Iran)(season 2007-2008).Al Wahda also won the League title in 2004/2005 season.

Al Wahda's most famous players are Ismaeel Matar,abdulRahim Juma, Haider Alo Ali And Basheer Saeed. Al Wahda includes some talented young players such as Moh'd al shehi, Eisa Ahmed, yaser Abdulla.Hamdan Al Kamaly and Saeed Al Kithiry.

Al Wahda Mall

The mall stands in an area of convert|1500000|sqft|m2, houses 152 brands , a convert|200000|sqft|m2 Lulu Hypermarket ,the biggest in the city and 9 levels of covered parking . It opened to the public on the 31st of May and now has 87 brands open and more to be opening soon. The major brands who are open include Mamas and Papas, Gap, Banana Republic, Cool Cat, Oil and Vinegar, Springfield, Tommy Hilfiger, Axiom Telecom, Lapin House, La Senza, Mothercare, Starbucks, Dome Café, Café De La Paix, Adidas, The Body Shop, Shellys, & Magrudys to name a few. Another major attraction is the world class cafes and the fabulous food court, providing a wide variety of cuisines.

Eon, ID Design & Better Life, Costa, The Noodle House, Fuddruckers, Rivoli Arcade, Wanasa Land along with the Lulu Hypermarket will open soon, giving the customers a much more from which to choose.

Spacious walk ways, bright and lively interiors and a unique sun roof are making Al Wahda a favourite shopping spot with the public.

Honours

*UAE League: 3
**Champion : 1999, 2001, 2005

*UAE Ruler Cup: 1
**Champion : 2000

*UAE Super Cup: 1
**Champion : 2002

*Al Etihad "Union" Cup: 3
**Champion : 1985, 1998, 2001

Performance in AFC Competitions

* AFC Champions League: 4 appearances::2004: Quarter-Finals::2006: Group Stage::2007: Semi-Finals::2008: Group Stage
* Asian Club Championship: 2 appearances::2000: First Round::2002: Group Stage
* Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1 appearance::1998/99: First Round::2000/01: First Round

Al Nahyan stadium

The Al Nahyan stadium is the home of Al Wahda, and although Al-Nahyan Stadium is perhaps less impressive in terms of infrastructure (12,000 seats) it still boasts a fervent atmosphere on match days and has the added advantage of being only three kilometres from the city centre.

2008/2009 Squad

Famous Players

* Younis Mahmoud
* Oluwasegun Abiodun
* Kalusha Bwalya
* Abdulraheem Jumaa
* Ismail Matar
* Fahad Masood
* Javad Nekounam
* Hany Ramzy
* Nadir Lamyaghri
* Fawzi Ruwaisi
* Slavisa Mitrovic
* Alecsandro
* Gario Castillo
* Paulo Sergio
* Mohammad Conti
* Pori Lah
* Phil Masinga

Past managers

* Horst Koppel
* Cemşir Muratoğlu
* Jo Bonfrere

External links

* [http://alwahda-mall.com/ AlWahda Mall]