Kalba FC
{{Short description|Emirati professional football club}}
{{One source|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Kalba
نادي كلباء
| image =
| upright = 0.7
| alt = Logo
| fullname = Kalba Football Club
| nickname = The Tigers
| founded = {{Start date and age|1945}} as Ittihad Kalba
{{Start date and age|2024}} as Kalba
| ground = Ittihad Kalba Stadium
| capacity = 7,701
| owner =Zayed sulaiman alsharari alzaabi
| chairman = Zayed sulaiman alsharari alzaabi
| manager = Vuk Rašović
| mgrtitle = Head coach
| league = UAE Pro League
| season = 2023–24
| position = UAE Pro-League, 10th
| current = 2023–24 UAE Pro League
| website = {{URL|https://www.ittihadkalbafc.ae/}}
| pattern_la1 = _yellowborder
| pattern_b1 = _castanhal1415h
| pattern_ra1 = _yellowborder
| leftarm1 = 000000
| body1 = FFFF00
| rightarm1 = 000000
| shorts1 = FFFF00
| socks1 = FFFF00
| pattern_la2 = _yellowborder
| pattern_b2 =
| pattern_ra2 = _yellowborder
| leftarm2 = DC143C
| body2 = DC143C
| rightarm2 = DC143C
| shorts2 = DC143C
| socks2 = 111111
}}
Kalba Football Club (Arabic: نادي كلباء الرياضي الثقافي), more colloquially abbreviated as Al-Ittihad, is a professional football club founded in 1972 and based in the city of Kalba, in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The team competes in the UAE Pro League, the top tier of Emirati football.
History
Kalba Football Club was established in 1972 through the merger of three clubs: Al Shabab, Al Rooba, and Al Riyadiya.
Kalba has won a record breaking 7 Division 1 titles with their last one being in the 2013-14 season.
From 2009 to 2018 the team spent these years jumping up and down between divisions; since the 2018-19 season they have managed to consistently compete in the top tier, and in the 2020-21 season they reached the UAE League Cup Semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Al-Nasr Dubai on penalties after a draw on aggregate.
League record
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |
bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season ! Position ! Number of teams ! Tier |
2008–09
|5th |16 |2 | rowspan="2" |Round of 16 | rowspan="2" |— |
2009–10
| bgcolor="#ACE1AF" |1st |8 |2 |
2010–11
| bgcolor="#FFCCCC" |11th |12 |1 |Preliminary Round |First Round |
2011–12
| bgcolor="#ACE1AF" |1st |8 |2 |Quarter-Finals |— |
2012–13
| bgcolor="#FFCCCC" |14th |14 |1 |Round of 16 |First Round |
2013–14
| bgcolor="#ACE1AF" |1st |13 |2 |Preliminary Round |— |
2014–15
| bgcolor="#FFCCCC" |14th |14 |1 | rowspan="5" |Round of 16 |First Round |
2015–16
| bgcolor="#ACE1AF" |2nd |9 |2 |— |
2016–17
| bgcolor="#FFCCCC" |13th |14 |1 |First Round |
2017–18
| bgcolor="#ACE1AF" |2nd |12 |2 |— |
2018–19
| rowspan="2" |11th | rowspan="7" |14 | rowspan="7" |1 | rowspan="2" |First Round |
2019–20{{ref|a|a|Corona}}
|Quarter-Finals |
2020–21
|8th |Round of 16 |Semi-Finals |
2021–22
|11th |Quarter-Finals | rowspan="2" |First Round |
2022–23
|8th |Round of 16 |
2023–24
|11th |
2024–25
|th |
Notes{{note|a}} 2019–20 UAE football season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates.
Current squad
As of UAE Pro-League:
{{fs start|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
{{Fs player |no=1|nat=UAE|name=Eisa Hooti |pos=GK}}
{{Fs player |no=2|nat=UAE|name=Farid Abdulla {{small|U23}}|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=3|nat=UAE|name=Mohammed Sabeel|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=4|nat=BRA|name=Michel Dreifke |pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=5|nat=UAE|name=Abdalla Faisal {{small|U23}}|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=6|nat=ALB|name=Rejan Alivoda {{small|U23}}|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=7|nat=UAE|name=Habib Al Fardan|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=8|nat=BRA|name=Caio Eduardo |pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=9|nat=UAE|name=Fahad Barout|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=10|nat=IRN|name=Mehdi Ghayedi |pos=MF|other={{small|on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli}}}}
{{Fs player |no=11|nat=ITA|name=Daniel Bessa |pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=12|nat=UAE|name=Salem Rashid|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=15|nat=UAE|name=Abdulaziz Al-Hamhami |pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=16|nat=SLO|name=Miha Blažič |pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=17|nat=UAE|name=Saif Yousif {{small|U23}}|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player |no=18|nat=YEM|name=Khaled Al-Asbahi |pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=19|nat=UAE|name=Ahmed Al-Naqbi|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=20|nat=UAE|name=Abdulaziz Al-Kaabi |pos=DF}}
{{fs mid|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
{{Fs player |no=22|nat=UAE|name=Mohamed Ali |pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=23|nat=UAE|name=Waleed Rashid {{small|U23}}|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=24|nat=UAE|name=Khalid Al-Darmaki|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=25|nat=UAE|name=Abdusalam Mohammed|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=27|nat=UAE|name=Yaser Al-Blooshi {{small|U23}}|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=33|nat=UAE|name=Sultan Al-Mantheri|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player |no=37|nat=CIV|name=Kouadjo Koffi {{small|U23}}|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=39|nat=BRA|name=Gustavo {{small|U23}}|pos=MF|other={{small|on loan from Shabab Al-Ahli}}}}
{{Fs player |no=42|nat=PLE|name=Ahmed Abunamous |pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=44|nat=IRN|name=Saman Ghoddos |pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=55|nat=UAE|name=Hamad Al-Mansoori|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player |no=70|nat=IRN|name=Shahriyar Moghanlou |pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=77|nat=BRA|name=Leandro Spadacio |pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=80|nat=SER|name=Nemanja Jović {{small|U23}}|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player |no=88|nat=UAE|name=Saif Obaid {{small|U23}}|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player |no=95|nat=UAE|name=Ali Salmeen |pos=MF|other={{small|on loan from Al Wasl}}}}
{{Fs player |no=97|nat=MAR|name=Anas Radi |pos=DF}}
{{Fs player |no=99|nat=GHA|name=Cornelius Agbenyegah {{small|U23}}|pos=FW}}
{{fs end|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
=Unregistered players=
{{fs start|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
{{Fs player |no=14|nat=SVK|name=Filip Kiss |pos=MF}}
{{fs end|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
=Out on loan=
{{fs start|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
{{Fs player |no=34|nat=UAE|name=Khalid Al Zari|pos=DF|other={{small|on loan to Dubai United}}}}
{{fs mid|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
{{Fs player |no=|nat=UAE|name=Jamal Abdalla|pos=GK|other={{small|on loan to Al Urooba}}}}
{{fs end|nonumber=|bg=000000|color=FFFF00|border=FFFF00}}
Honors
- UAE Division One
- Champions (7): 1979–80, 1988–89, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14
Club staff
class="wikitable" |
style="color:Yellow; background: Black; border:2px solid Yellow;"|Position
! style="color:Yellow; background: Black; border:2px solid Yellow;"|Name |
---|
Head coach
|{{flagicon|SRB}} Vuk Rašović |
rowspan="3" |Assistant coach
|{{flagicon|ITA}} Gabriele Pin |
{{flagicon|UAE}} Saeed Fawaz |
{{flagicon|UAE}} Musa Abdulbassit |
Youth Coach
|{{flagicon|CRO}} Ervin Boban |
Fitness Coach
|{{flagicon|UAE}} Mounir Marzooq |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Kalba FC squad}}
{{Arabian Gulf League teamlist}}
Category:Association football clubs established in 1972
Category:Organisations based in the Emirate of Sharjah
Category:Sport in the Emirate of Sharjah
{{UnitedArabEmirates-footyclub-stub}}