Summary
Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo (Arabic: الاتحاد أهلي حلب) is a major professional basketball club. It is a part of the Al-Ittihad Sports Club, which is based in Aleppo, Syria.[2] Al-Ittihad is the second most titled basketball club with 17 Syrian League titles and 10 Syrian Cups one of the most successful basketball clubs in Syria.[3] Al-Ahli was founded in 1951, two years after the founding of the multi-sport club and the football team.[4]
| Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo Sports Club | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Nickname | The Red Castle Halab Al-Ahli | |||
| Leagues | Syrian Basketball League | |||
| Founded | 1951 | |||
| History | Al-Ahli Aleppo 1951–1972 Al-Ittihad Aleppo 1972–2022 Al-Ittihad Ahli Aleppo 2022– | |||
| Arena | Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena | |||
| Capacity | 7,964 | |||
| Location | Aleppo, Syria | |||
| Team colors | Red and White | |||
| Main sponsor | Katarji Group, Syriatel | |||
| President | Rasen Martini | |||
| Head coach | Ghassan Sarkis[1] | |||
| 2021–22 position | Syrian League, 1st of 12 | |||
| Championships | (1) Arab Club Basketball Championship (18) Syrian Basketball League (21) Syrian Basketball Cup (1) Syrian Basketball Super Cup | |||
| Website | Official page | |||
| ||||
| Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC active sections | ||
|---|---|---|
 Football |
 Basketball |
Women’s Basketball |
History edit
The club, which was founded in 1951, is one of the most famous and popular basketball clubs in Syria.[5] The club changed its name in 1972, its previous one, Al Ahli, being used as a club nickname.[5]
The club's Great Era began in 1978 with the victory of the Syrian Cup and the defeat of Al Jalaa SC in the SBL final of the following 1979 season. In the league finals, Al-Ittihad defeated Al Jalaa in Aleppo twice 90-72 and 59-50, then achieved a third victory in the decisive match that took place in Damascus for exceptional circumstances 66-58.[3] This season is also remarkable that they claimed the Republic Cup by defeating Al Jalaa 76-71.[3]
Al Ittihad has twice been invited to take part in the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague). The first participation was in the 1979-80 season, during which the club, led by coach Munther Shalaby, faced in Group E the KK Partizan, BC Partizani Tirana and Budapest Honvéd SE.[6] The club was supposed to take part in the 1981–82 FIBA European Champions Cup as well, but after its beginning they withdrew from the competition.[7]
During the 1980s, Al-Ittihad was the Syrian League's hegemon as they won every domestic competition. The club's first major success on the international stage was third place at the 1991 Arab Basketball Championships.[3] In the following season, the club won both home titles, advanced to the finals of the Arab Championship and defeated EO La Goulette Kram.[3] The Great Era of domestic domination ended in the 1994 season with a loss in the SBL final with the Al-Wahda.[8]
In the 2000 season, they won their last long title in the Syrian Cup, the penultimate title in the SBL and advanced to the WABA Champions Cup.[9] In the 2001 season, however, they finished third behind Al-Wahda and Orthodox BC.[10]
In the 2006 season, they won their last domestic SBL title, finishing ahead of Al Jalaa SC, Al-Jaish and Al Wahda in the Final Four.[11] In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, they participated in the WABA Cup, but without significant success.[12][13]
After the outbreak of the conflict in Syria and the Battle of Aleppo, the club's operations were limited and its survival uncertain. Fortunately, the sports club managed to survive and the first big success under coach Bassel al Hamwi was the Syrian Cup victory in the 2020 season.[14]
In the 2022 season, Al-Ittihad won the Syrian Super Cup when they defeated Al-Wahda 60:52 in the final of the competition.[15]
In 2022, the Syrian General Sports Federation approved the club's name change to Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC, inspired by the club's original name Halab Al-Ahli Club; following pleads by the fans to restore the club's original name.[16]
Home arena edit
- Al-Assad Sports Arena: 1978–2021
- Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena: 2021–present
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Al-Assad Sports Arena interior during a match -
A panorama of Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena
For many years, Ittihad has used the Al-Assad Sports Arena, with a seating capacity of 3,500, to host its home games. Currently, Ittihad uses the 7,964 seat Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena for its home games.[17]
Club rivalries edit
Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC plays the Aleppo city derby "El Clásico" with its main rival Al-Jalaa SC.[18] also the most watched match in Syria is the "Syrian El Clàsico" between Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC and their biggest rival Al-Wahda SC Damascus
Other urban rivals of the club are Al-Hurriya SC, Al-Yarmouk SC (Homenetmen) and Ouroube SC.[19][20]
Honours edit
Domestic edit
- Syrian Basketball League
- Winners (18): 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2022
- Syrian Basketball Cup
- Winners (10):
- Syrian Basketball Super Cup
- Winners (1): 2021
International edit
- WABA Champions Cup
- Arab Club Basketball Championship
- Winners (1): 1992
- Third place (1): 1991
- EuroLeague
- Quarter-finals: 1979
- Dubai International Tournament
- Third place (1): 2005
International record edit
| Seasons | Achievement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EuroLeague | ||
| 1979–80 | Quarter-final group stage | 4th place in a group with KK Partizan, BC Partizani Tirana and Honvéd |
| 1981–82 | Quarter-final group stage | in a group with Spartak Levski, CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos, withdrew before the competition |
| WABA Champions Cup | ||
| 2001 | Third place | eliminated by Al-Wahda and Orthodox BC |
| 2007 | Sixth place | eliminated in quarter-finals by Saba Battery |
| 2008 | Sixth place | eliminated in quarter-finals by Petrochimi |
| Arab Club Basketball Championship | ||
| 1991 | Third place | third place in Alexandria |
| 1992 | Champions | defeated EO La Goulette Kram in the final in Aleppo |
| 2022 | Round of 16 | 4th place in a group with Kuwait, Al Ittihad Alexandria and Al Ahly Benghazi |
Sponsorship edit
- As of 2022:
| Official Shirt Sponsor | Katarji |
| Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer | Nike |
| Official Broadcaster | SYRTV |
Current roster edit
Squad for the 2021–2022 Syrian Basketball League season:[21]
| Al-Ittihad roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Transfers edit
Transfers for the 2021-22 season:[21]
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Notable players edit
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
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To appear in this section a player must have either:
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Head coaches edit
| Nat. | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
 |
Munther Shalaby | 1978–? |
 |
Bassel Hamwi[22] | 2005–2010 |
 |
Sharif Azmi[23] | 2010 |
| |
Bassel Hamwi | 2010–2020 |
 |
Vinko Bakić | 2020–2021 |
| |
Dejan Tomić | 2021–2022 |
  |
Fuad Abou Chakra | 2022–2023 |
| |
Ghassan Sarkis | 2023–present |
Season by season edit
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Syrian Cup | Syrian Super Cup | Asian competitions | Pos. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 1 | SBL | QF | QF | –
|
– | –
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| 2011–12 | 1 | SBL | 2nd | QF | –
|
– | –
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| 2012–13 | 1 | SBL | No Championship | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | 1 | SBL | 2nd | – | –
|
– | –
| |||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | SBL | 2nd | – | –
|
– | –
| |||||
| 2015–16 | 1 | SBL | 3rd | Runners-up | –
|
– | –
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| 2016–17 | 1 | SBL | –
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–
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– | –
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| 2017–18 | 1 | SBL | – | –
|
– | –
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| 2018–19 | 1 | SBL | 3rd | 2nd round | –
|
– | –
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| 2019–20 | 1 | SBL | –
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Champions | No Championship | |||||||
| 2020–21 | 1 | SBL | 3rd | QF | No Championship | |||||||
| 2021–22 | 1 | SBL | 1st | Runners-up | 1st | – | –
| |||||
All-time records edit
- Most Syrian Basketball Cup champions (21 championships)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Staff". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "الاتحاد - Al-Ittihad". Kooora. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Al-Ittihad, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ "Al-Ittihad SC". goalzz.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Syria foundation dates". RSSF. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Al-Ittihad Aleppo basketball team". asia-basket. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
- ^ "European Champions Cup 1981-82". linguasport.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Al Wahda SC History". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
- ^ ABC Champions Cup 2000
- ^ "WABA Champions Cup - Roll of Honor" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-22.
- ^ "Syrian Basketball League 2005-2006". goalzz.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "West Asia Basketball Club Championship 2007". Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "West Asia Basketball Club Championship 2008". goalzz.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Syrian Basketball Cup 2019-2020". goalzz.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Syrian Basketball Super Cup". goalzz.com. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Al-Ittihad Aleppo changed name to Al-Ittihad Ahli Halab after 51 years". Enab Baladi. 15 March 2022.
- ^ أكبر ملعب كرة سلة في سوريا [The largest basketball Arena in Syria] (Motion picture). Syria: Safartas. December 18, 2021.
- ^ "Division 1, Round 7: Al-Jalaa is defeated by Al-Ittihad in a derby game". asia-basket.com. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Herman, Martyn (28 January 2017). "Football returns to Aleppo as first local derby for five years takes place". Daily Record. Scotland.
- ^ "Derby returns to Aleppo after five-year absence". Reuters. 28 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Al Ittihad, Current roster season 2021-2022". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Staff". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Sharif Azmi". goalzz.com. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
External links edit
- basketball.asia, Al-Ittihad
- Unofficial Fan Site and Forum (in Arabic)
- Men Basketball European Champions Cup 1982