New league win by Shanghai Shenhua

Shanghai Shenhua earned its 3rd consecutive league win, beating Shandong Luneng by 1 goal to 0. With this score, corresponding to the 5th match-day of the Chinese Super League, the Shanghai team is placed 5th in the standings with 10 points, only 2 behind the leader, Hangzhou Lucheng.

Atlético sign the Strategic Partnership with Raja Club Athletic of Casablanca

Club Atlético de Madrid signed the International Collaborative Strategic Alliance with Raja Club Athletic of Casablanca in an act that took place before the two inaugural games at the New Stadium in Tangiers, where Ittihad Riadha will play their home games, were played.

The President, Enrique Cerezo, and the Managing Director, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, led the ‘rojiblanco’ delegation. Morocco was represented by the Prime Minister, Abbas el Fassi, The Minister of Youth and Sport, Moncef Belkhayat, the ‘Wali’ (President of the Community) of Tangiers, Mohamed Hassad, the Mayor of Tangiers, Fouad Omari, and the President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Alí Fassi Fihri. Additionally, there was diplomatic representation for Spain, with the Spanish General Consul in Morocco, José María de Carvajal, in attendance. On behalf of the team from Casablanca were the President of Raja Club Athletic, Mahmed Aouzal, and the President of the Raja Club Athletic Football Section Committee, Abdessalem Hannat, amongst other executives.

Enrique Cerezo took the microphone to toast to the Partnership that had just been signed with the current leader of the Moroccan League, Raja. “Good afternoon and thank you very much for attending this event in which we have signed our strategic partnership with Raja Athletic Club. To begin, I’d like to thank the Minister of Youth and Sports for acting as our host and having opened the doors to Tangiers to us in order to present our agreement with Raja Casablanca, inviting us to participate in a historic day for this city, on which we are going to present their New Stadium. Destiny has also led us to taking part in this special event on an important day for us, as today Club Atlético de Madrid turns 108 years-old, which makes this April 26 and even more meaningful date for both organizations and which will undoubtedly constitute a beautiful bond for the future.”

The President highlighted that “our deal with Raja Casablanca is the first link between Atlético de Madrid and an African team, so Raja has the honor of being the first representative from this continent in our International Alliance. We know that we have linked up with a team with a great history and trophy case, and also the most successful one internationally, as they were the first African club to play in the FIFA Club World Cup in Brazil in 2000.”

Enrique Cerezo emphasized an important bond between Atlético de Madrid and Raja: their supporters. “But if there’s one aspect that has to be highlighted, apart from athletic success, is the certainty that we’ve become bonded with a Club that shares one of our main values and assets: the fans. Raja is a club which is recognized for its social masses and the great passion with which all of their fans follow the team, putting their faith in their team’s colors on display. Our supporters, unique and unconditional, are our main source of pride, and we know that Raja shares this sentiment with us.”

One of the goals of the ‘rojiblanco’ club is to continue to increase its fan base around the world. “Morocco is also a country that follows the Spanish League closely, so we hope that through this agreement we can broaden our fan base in our neighboring country, and that the number of ‘rojiblanco’ supporters in this land grows and grows. Starting today, there are now 5 teams which form part of our International Alliance and we will work together with the goal of strengthening the bond that joins us and turning it into a strategic tool to become stronger and more competitive, taking advantage of all the synergies derived from this union, to grow in the athletic, economic and cultural spheres.

"Through these agreements, we’ve shown that football is a unique tool to bring cultures closer together and to tighten bonds between towns and people, and that Atlético de Madrid is ready and willing to undertake all actions necessary to lead us there through sport. As I’ve said on other occasions, the nice thing about his partnership is that now we don’t just play in one league, but in all of the leagues of our allied teams. For this reason, today Atlético de Madrid doesn’t just play in the Spanish League, but in the Chinese, Thai, Arab Emirates and now Moroccan Leagues, and we therefore hope that Raja, who is the current leader, can be proclaimed champion very soon,” he finished.

Afterwards, a promotional video put together by Club Atlético de Madrid, reviewing its 108 years of history in images and reflecting the current states of the organization, as well as the strategic partnerships that it has signed with clubs in China, Thailand, the Arab Emirates and now Morocco, was shown.

The President of Raja Club Athletic, Mahmed Aouzal, was in charge of corroborating the words of the ‘rojiblanco’ President. “We’re going to present this Strategic Partnership with Atlético de Madrid, a singular agreement which is the first one that involves a Moroccan team and a foreign team. This deal is framed within a collaborative strategy put together by Atlético de Madrid with several teams around the world. 12 teams from the five continents are going to sign up and it will be a collaboration not only in an athletic sense but also regarding cultural, commercial and sponsorship matter. The first fruit of this agreement is the presence of Club Atlético de Madrid at this inauguration of the New Stadium in Tangiers."

Mahmed Aouzal continued by commenting that “this deal has been blessed by the Moroccan Football Federation and the Minister of Youth and Sports. On behalf of all the Raja supporters, we thank you. Furthermore, I’d like to take advantage of the opportunity to congratulate Club Atlético de Madrid on their 108 year anniversary, right on the date on which we sign this agreement.”

Immediately following this, a promotional video made by Raja Club Athletic of Casablanca was shown, in which the attendees could see the first squad training, images of their games and how the fans form a crucial part of the organization.

The Strategic Collaborative Agreement has a series of bilateral agreements in a system of permanent collaboration based on several aspects: strengthening the image of both clubs, both in Spain and in Morocco and Africa ; holding of friendly matches and tours in Spain and Morocco; joint recruitment of sponsoring companies; periodic exchange program of players to fuel the formation of young footballers; periodic exchange of coaches between Madrid and Casablanca; organization of clinics, possibility of Atlético de Madrid exercising a preferential right to acquire players from Raja Club Athletic; and possibility of operating Atlético de Madrid’s merchandising in Africa, amongst other aspects.

Al Ain ties another league match

Al Ain tied 1-1 at home against Bani Yas, currently ranked 2nd in the table. Mustafa Kareem scored for Bani Yas in the 81th minute, and when everything seemed like the visitors would take home the 3 points, Ismail Ahmed managed to tie for Al Ain in the 93th minute. With this suffering tie, being played on match-day 17, Al Ain maintains the 10th position on the standings with 15 points, with only 5 match-days left on the league.

Second consecutive league victoria for Shanghai Shenhua

Shanghai Shenhua beat Henan Jianye by 1 goal to 2 in the 4th match-day of the Chinese Super League. Salmerón scored the 1st one for Shenhua in the 26th minute with a penalty goal. Angulo scored the second in the 56th. Leandro Netto scored for the locals to convert a penalty on the 72th minute. With this victory, Shanghai Shenhua is placed 7th in the table with 7 points, only 2 points behind the leader, Hangzhou Lucheng.

Raja Casablanca wins yet again in the Botola League

6 are the games that Raja Casablanca has played without a defeat. This time the victory was against Wydad Fez by 0 goals to 3. With this victory, won on the 26th match-day of the league championship, the Moroccan team remains leader of the standings with 51 points, 5 more than its nearest rival, Maghreb Fés.

Muangthong United ties in Sri Racha

Muangthong United could not get pass 0-0 at the home of Sriracha FC, ranked last in the Thai Premier League. With this tie, the Bangkok team loses 1 position in the standings, placing 5th with 18 points, 8 behind the leader, Buriram PEA.

Shanghai Shenhua still without a win in the ACL

Shanghai Shenhua lost at home by 2 goals to 3 against Sydney FC in the 4th match-day of the Asian Champions League. The Chinese team was never behind on the scoreboard, scoring the 1st goal at minute 9, to later being tied in the 45th minute. In the second part, they re-advance in the 53th minute, but Sydney FC came back to tie at 59th. And near the very end, in the 90th minute, Sydney took the victory with a goal by Bridge that shock the local crowd, as they saw how a vital point in this competition drifted away.

Al Ain's first win in the 2011 Asian Champions League

The UAE team achieved its first victory in the Asian continental competition by winning by 1 goal to 0 against Hangzhou Greentown Lucheng from China. Omar Abdulrahman scored the only goal 60 minutes into the match. This result, corresponding to the 4th match-day of the group stage, does not prevent Al Ain to remain at the bottom of Group F with 4 points, but just 3 points behind the leader, Nagoya Grampus from Japan.

Raja Casablanca back to winning ways and places as the new leader

Raja Casablanca won by 2 goals to 1 against FAR Rabat in the 25th match-day of the Botola League. With this result, and in the absence of only 5 match-days, the Moroccan capital team is placed 1st in the league with 48 points, 3 ahead from the 2nd placed, Maghreb Fes.

The United Muangthong gets its 3 rd consecutive league victory

Muangthong United won by 2 goals to 0 against Samut Songkhram in the 9th match-day of the 2011 Thai Premier League. This is their 4th victory in a row (3 in league). With this score, the team goes up 2 positions in the table, placing 4th with 17 points, 6 behind the current leader, Buriram PEA.

Shanghai Shenhua's first win in 2011 CSL

Shanghai Shenhua won its first league match so far this season. The Shanghai team, who played at home, won by 2 goals to 0 against Shenzhen Ruby in the 3rd match-day of the 2011 Chinese Super League. With this result, Shanghai Shenhua is placed 6th in the standings with 4 points, 5 behind the leader, Hangzhou Lucheng.

Al Ain loses at Nagoya Grampus' home

Al Ain loses on its visit to Japan in the postponed match of the Asian Champions League. Nagoya Grampus took the 3 points in a game in which the locals went into the half time with a 2-0 in favor, and ended up winning by 4 goals to 0. With this result, the UAE team remains last in Group F of the Asian Champions League with 1 point.

Shanghai Shenhua adds its first loss of the season

Shanghai Shenhua lost 1 goal to 0 at the home of Liaoning Hongyun in the 2nd match-day of the CSL 2011. Zhao Junzhe scored the only goal of the game by converting a penalty in the 26th minute of the first half. With this result, Shanghai Shenhua is placed 11th in the standings with 1 point, 5 behind the current leader, Hangzhou Lucheng.

Draw in the Casablanca derby

Raja Casablanca tied at Wydad Casablanca's stadium in the Moroccan capital derby. With this result, Raja loses the lead in favor of Khouribga, falling just 1 point behind with 42.

Another win by 3 goals by Muangthong United

Muangthong United repeated result, 0-3, but this time as a visitor and against Siam Navy. Muangthong United went into halftime leading 0-1, and then in the second half they ended up scoring two more goals. With this victory, Muangthong United scales up to 6th place, 6 points behind the current leader, Buriram PEA.

Shanghai Shenhua draws at home against Sydney FC

Shanghai Shenhua is having a difficult time getting out of the bottom of Group H of the Asian Champions League. The Chinese team tied the game against Sydney FC 1-1, being such the 3rd match-day of the ACL's group stage. With this draw, the Chinese team still has not won a game on this competition, accumulating two draws and one defeat.

Muangthong United climbs 4 positions in the rankings after securing another victory

Muangthong United won by 3 goals to 0 against TTM Phichit in the 7th match-day of the Thai Premier League. This result catapult the team to 6th place with 11 points, 6 behind the leader, Buriram PEA.