The Facts

Game: Jordanian Super Cup (Kass al-Ko’ouss)
Date: Friday August 29th (tomorrow)
Where: Amman International Stadium

Time: 7 pm Amman local time
TV: ART (exclusive)

Confession

I grew up a Faisali fan.

As I started understanding football at around 1989-1990, I thought Faisali offered the more entertaining version of football.
I just enjoyed watching the Faisali players, and the impeccable style of Madhar Assa’id.

- I was a big fan of Khaled Awad’s comb over.
- I was a big fan of Ziad abu Shanab’s fluorescent-yellow striped shoes.
- I was a big fan of Abu Abed’s crosses from the right side (he was never as good when he played center midfield but from the right side he was Beckham before Beckham).
- I was a big fan of the Awad brothers – Sobhi and the number 17 midfielder, the aptly named bruiser – Musa.
- I was even a big fan of their cousin Adnan, a fan of Ahmad Khalil, Firas al-Khalayleh and even a tall lanky dude called Ali Zo’bi.

To me there was no comparison between Jihad abdel Mine’m (a fat slob), and Jeriess Tadross – the best Jordanian striker ever. There was no comparison between Sobhi Sleiman’s long-range strikes and Hisham Abdel Minem’s one-of-every-twenty-is-between-the-three-bars blind shots (I swear one time he took a shot from a few yards outside the box, and it went out of bounds from the side… not a corner kick… a throw in). Milad Abbassi, Aneess Shafiq and Raed Ahmad were all better keepers than the clumsy Nasser Ghandoor and his fresh Salem cap (although I doubt he knew it was a cigarettes brand). Ibraheem Sa’dyyeh’s below the knee shorts never appealed to me.

I was never able to watch a Faisali and Wihdat game at the stadium (until recently… last October), but I went to Faisali games against the likes of Sahab and Manshyyeh (round one of the 1993 cup – final score 3-0). Every night at 8.30, I checked “Akhbar al Mala’eb” on the radio for the Faisali match score.

A Traitor

Despite being ridiculed by my friends and cousins, and sometimes even being called a traitor, I stayed true to my football-based devotion. I have to admit though, it was a commitment that was becoming harder and harder to keep once I enrolled in the University of Jordan in 1996. I realised that the question Faisalawi or Wihdati had nothing to do with the quality of football. As I went on 15-minute rants dissecting the teams to the alleged football fans who just asked me about my team affiliation, I came to realise that most of them barely follow the teams and hardly know any players names beyond the main stars. Actually most of them admitted they find Jordanian football unwatchable.

(Pictures by Jehad Najjar)

Tufahtain: fall from grace

Somewhere in 1997-1998 after the Faisali lost the Super Cup game for the second year in a row, I headed to my favourite retreat, then “Khan Morjan” in Sweifyyeh. I can’t say I was devastated, but definitely not happy. An hour later Jerriess Tadross and Mohannad Mahadeen (probably two of my biggest heroes at the time) showed up and sat with the coffee shop owner (now semi-famous singer Ziad Saleh). They said something about officiating and the referee. I can’t exactly remember if they carried cigarette packs (I vaguely remember Viceroy packs) but I am sure they ordered Arageel. Either way, football started to matter a little less since then. Not a lot less…but nevertheless, less.

Time to say good-bye to both teams

Football and all of sports are “games”. With all due respect to Faisali and Wihdat’s history, they both do not mean anything. Their matches are officially the country’s largest (and one may argue the only) arena for cultivating and exchanging hate sentiments based on origin. And hence there is no need for them to exist anymore. The team can be dissolved and the players could be spread around the league – as could the assets, buildings and other stuff. With all apologies to anyone who ever invested time and effort in those franchises, but at this point they are doing more harm than good.

Last year the final game of the season between the two teams was held without a crowd; it was not a result of a previous incident, it was not a result of a league-issued punishment on one of the teams, it was solely a decision made out of fear! With all those precautions a fight still took place. When players are not fighting with alleged-photographers, fights are breaking out between team presidents in the VIP section. When the players’ sisters are not being cussed out, Ehud Barack is being cheered in the stands… A football game should not put a whole country on alert.

Jordanian football is insignificant. Jordanian football fans cannot watch Jordanian football on TV because ART has exclusive rights. Jordanian clubs are holding their players’ passports because they are fleeing to play in other countries. Players are holding out refusing to practice if they are not compensated. The football league wants to install a professional system but does not have the funds. I challenge anyone to name nine players on any Jordanian club, including Faisali and Wihdat, let alone recognise the face of them.

So please, go away…Other than “al-Fi’a almondassah” no one cares.

Actually I kind of do!

(Pictures by Jehad Najjar, from the October 25th, 2007. Second leg of the Asian Cup Semi final.
Compared to the other games, this one was rather peaceful and the Sports City circle was blocked by riot police only for a couple of hours. Of course some of the incidents included:
1. Raafat Ali was ejected after celebrating a goal with an obscene gesture
2. Amer Shafi’ and Siraj al-Tal got in a fight after the game, followed by Shafi’ getting banned from the national team
3. A fight broke out in the VIP section
4. Chants that hurt the national unity (which cannot really be called an incident))

Did you enjoy this? Be awesome and share: