Ettifaq FC or Al-Ettifaq Club (Template:Lang-ar) is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Dammam. 'Ittifaq' is Arabic for cooperation. Al Ettifaq was established after the merging of three clubs in the City of Dammam at the year 1944. Al Ettifaq is the first Saudi team to win an international title - the 1984 Arab Club Champions Cup. Al Ettifaq is also the first team to win the Saudi Premier League without any defeat. Al Ettifaq is also the first side from Saudi Arabia to win the Gulf Champions Cup. Al Ettifaq have a total of 13 different titles to their name.
Semi-final (Group Stage): Al Ettifaq finished second in their group after losing their penultimate game against the eventual champions, Qatari side Al-Sadd (2-1) in a highly controversial game. Apart from the two clubs, the group contained April 25 SC (North Korea), Mohammedan SC (Bangladesh), and Pahang (Malaysia).[1]
Group Stage - Round of 32: Al Ettifaq was arguably one of the best performers in the group stage after finishing top of the group with 12 points. They won 4 games, lost 2, and scored 15 goals in 6 games, recording the third best attacking stats in the continent in that round. Al Ettifaq were placed in Group D along FC Bunyodkor (led by Brazilian ace Rivaldo), Sepahan Isfahan, and Al Shabab (UAE).
Round of 16: Al Ettifaq were knocked from the Round of 16 against Pakhtakor (UZB). After leading 1-0 at halftime, they conceded two late goals that ended their hopes in qualifying to the quarter-final.[2]
The draw was held in 6 December 2011 in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.[3]
Al Ettifaq were placed in the second round of the qualifying stages, playing against the winner of the two Iranian sides: Esteghlal Tehran FC and Zob Ahan Isfahan FC.
Al-Ettifaq lost the one-off game played on 18 February 2012 in Iran against Esteghlal Tehran FC and eventually went directly to the group stages of the 2012 AFC Cup.
Al Ettifaq started the competition as favorites and a strong candidate to win the competition, winning 5-1 in their first group game against Kuwait SC in Kuwait. The second game was frustrating to the Saudis as they drew in their own stadium 0-0 with Al Ahed. They defeated the underdogs of the group VB Sports Club by 6-3 in the Maldives and 2-0 in the reverse fixture. Al Ettifaq sealed their promotion with a 2-2 draw against Kuwait SC before finishing the group with a 3-1 victory in Lebanon against Al Ahed.
Al Ettifaq finished off their season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Omani side Al-Suwaiq SC in the Round of 16 to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Current squad
The following is the preliminary squad before the beginning of the 2013/2014 Saudi Professional League:[citation needed]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Ioan Andone
