Al-Wahda (Damascus)
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| Full name | Al-Wahda Sports Club (Damascus) |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Damascene orange |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Ground |
Abbasiyyin Stadium Damascus, Syria |
| Capacity | 30,000 |
| Chairman | Ahmad Qoutrash |
| Manager | Rafat Muhammad |
| League | Syrian Premier League |
| 2015–16 | 1st (Group B) 2nd (Championship play-off) |
Al-Wahda Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الوحدة الرياضي) is a Syrian multi-sports club based in Damascus. It is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. Al-Wahda were founded in 1928. They play their home games at the Abbasiyyin Stadium. The club is nicknamed "The Damascene orange".
Founded in 1928, Al Wahda is one of the oldest clubs in the Arabic world. Previous names for the club include Al Ghouta, and Qasioun (named after Mount Qasioun which overlooks the city of Damascus). Ahmed Ezzat Rifai is the original founder of this club. He met with a group of friends in Souq Saruja, Damascus to discuss setting up a new sports club, and they agreed to found the club and named it Qasioun. The club was officially opened in 1928 and hosted a series of sports, including football and weightlifting.
Nenad Stavrić is a Serbian coach who joined Al-Wahda club in 2001. He started with two losses against Al-Horriya and Al-Karamah followed with draw with Al-Jaish, the team had to wait until the fifth week of the season to achieve their first win with the new coach. The team finished the league in the third place. In his second year the team had a big improvement In the level of performance especially with the new formation 4–4–2 which was the first time ever a Syrian team to use it, in the beginning the results was awful with the new formation especially the big defeat against the Saudi Arabia champion Al-Ittihad Jeddah seven to nothing in the Arabian club tournament, but after that the team keep improving to win the Syrian Cup in 2003 against Al-Ittihad Aleppo after a dramatic match 5–3. In the next season he made the dream true and Al-Wahda is the 2003–04 Syrian League champion for the first time in the club history, also the team reached the final of AFC Cup and lost against the other Syrian side Al-Jaish after losing the first game 2–3 and winning the second game 1–0. In 2004–05 the team was too close to win the title again but it lost it in the last few weeks with missing a key players along the season with major injury. The curse of injuries continued in the following season but even though the team was closer than the year before to clinch the title. The chairman of the club Khaled Hbobaty decided to replace him with Mansoor Haj Saied and the club entered the black tunnel for several years and still until this days.
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