The 1981–82 Arab Club Champions Cup was the first edition of the Arab Club Champions Cup. The tournament featured three teams, after the withdrawal of South Yemeni club Al-Tilal, Saudi club Al-Nassr and Somali club Horseed.

Iraqi club Al-Shorta were crowned champions after a playoff victory against Lebanese side Al-Nejmeh. Al-Ahli of Jordan were the other team to take part.

Teams

Participants
Team Qualifying method
Iraq Al-Shorta 1979–80 Iraqi National League champions
Jordan Al-Ahli 1979 Jordan League champions
Lebanon Al-Nejmeh 1974–75 Lebanese Premier League champions (most recent Lebanese championship)
Withdrawals
Team Qualifying method
South Yemen Al-Tilal 1979–80 South Yemeni League champions
Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 1979–80 Saudi Premier League champions
Somalia Horseed 1979–80 Somali First Division champions

Semi-finals

The six teams were originally drawn into two groups, with one group consisting of Al-Nejmeh, Al-Ahli and Al-Tilal, and the other group consisting of Al-Shorta, Horseed and Al-Nassr.[1] However, Al-Nassr withdrew from the tournament due to several of their players being unavailable on international duty, and Al-Tilal also withdrew from the competition.

A two-legged semi-final was therefore set up between Al-Nejmeh and Al-Ahli, with both matches being held at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan due to the Lebanese Civil War[2] Horseed were scheduled to travel to Baghdad on 2 February to play Al-Shorta in the other semi-final, but Horseed withdrew from the tournament and Al-Shorta qualified directly for the final.[3]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Nejmeh Lebanon 2–1 Jordan Al-Ahli 2–1 0–0
Al-Shorta Iraq (w/o) 1 Somalia Horseed — —
1 Horseed withdrew from the tournament.
Al-Nejmeh Lebanon2–1Jordan Al-Ahli
Al-Khatib 8'
Chatila 37'		 Salamah 24'
Al-Ahli Jordan0–0Lebanon Al-Nejmeh

Final

Both legs of the final were held at Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, Iraq due to the Lebanese Civil War.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Shorta Iraq 4–2 Lebanon Al-Nejmeh 2–0 2–2

First leg

After Al-Nejmeh's kits and boots did not arrive in Baghdad in time for the first leg, Al-Shorta provided kits and boots to the Al-Nejmeh team to wear for the match. Al-Nejmeh wore red shirts with white shorts and black boots (except for the player Mohammed Hatoum who wore white boots), while Al-Shorta wore green shirts with white shorts and green socks.[6]

Al-Shorta took the lead in the 40th minute; Mahmoud Hussein Mahmoud beat an Al-Nejmeh player on the right wing and sent in a cross which his brother Ali Hussein Mahmoud met with a header, sending the ball over Al-Nejmeh goalkeeper Zain Hashim and into the net.[7] Ali Hussein Mahmoud scored his second goal in the 83rd minute, as he was sent through on goal and netted with a left-footed shot towards the near post from inside the penalty area.[8] The Kuwaiti referee also awarded Al-Shorta a penalty in the match, but it was missed by Ali Hussein Mahmoud, and the match ended 2–0.[9]

Al-Shorta Iraq2–0Lebanon Al-Nejmeh
Mahmoud 40', 83'

Second leg

Al-Nejmeh wore orange shirts, black shorts and orange socks for the second leg, and the Lebanese side took the lead in the first half through Jamal Al-Khatib who got onto the end of a corner delivered by Al-Nejmeh's captain and struck the ball past goalkeeper Raad Hammoudi.[10] Al-Shorta equalised in the first half when Riyadh Nouri bundled the ball over the line after an Al-Nejmeh defender had made a goal-line block. Al-Nejmeh took the lead again in the second half when Hassan Chatila scored with a shot from outside the penalty area, but Al-Shorta brought the game back level and restored their two-goal aggregate advantage when Tariq Abdul-Amir crossed the ball into the box for Salih Radhi to finish.[11]

Al-Nejmeh player Jamal Al-Khatib suffered a dislocated hip during the match, which ended 2–2, therefore making Al-Shorta 4–2 winners on aggregate.[12] Al-Shorta manager Douglas Aziz was presented with the trophy after the game.[13]

Al-Nejmeh Lebanon2–2Iraq Al-Shorta
Al-Khatib
Chatila 		Nouri
Radhi

Winner

1981–82 Arab Club Champions Cup
Winners
Iraq
Al-Shorta
1st Title

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Team Goals
1 Iraq Ali Hussein Mahmoud Iraq Al-Shorta 2
Qatar Jamal Al-Khatib Lebanon Al-Nejmeh
Lebanon Hassan Chatila Lebanon Al-Nejmeh
4 Jordan Shaker Salamah Jordan Al-Ahli 1
Iraq Riyadh Nouri Iraq Al-Shorta
Iraq Salih Radhi Iraq Al-Shorta

References

  1. ^ Riyah, Ali (26 July 2023). "للعـراق فـضـلُ الريـادة.. وتفـرّدُ الإنـجـاز!" (in Arabic).
  2. ^ "الأهلي ..أول سفير أردني لبطولات الأندية الآسيوية" (in Arabic). Al-Ahli Amman Club. 2 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  3. ^ "الــزيـارة الـتي لــم تـتـم" (in Arabic). Mondial AR. 19 August 2019.
  4. ^ Gamal, Khaled (14 August 2018). "الخطيب سجل أول هدف في بطولة الأندية العربية عام 1981". Facebook (in Arabic).
  5. ^ "نعود بالذاكرة الى زمن كرة القدم الجميل بلقاء مع اللاعب علي ابراهيم" (in Arabic). LFC Sports. 29 November 2020.
  6. ^ "لحظاتٌ لا تُنسى في مسيرة "حسن شاتيلا" الناجحة" (in Arabic). Ahwal Media. 16 October 2020.
  7. ^ "رئيس تاريخي وفريق تاريخي" (in Arabic). رابطة جمهور نادي النجمة فرع البربير. 24 July 2020.
  8. ^ "البطولة الاولى للاندية العربية بكرة القدم" (in Arabic). Mondial AR. 20 July 2017.
  9. ^ "في مثل هذا اليوم 5 شباط من عام 1982 لعب نادي الشرطة اولى مباراة في نهائيات بطولة الاندية العربية الاولى امام نادي النجمة اللبناني" (in Arabic). Old Iraqi Football Days. 5 February 2018.
  10. ^ "جمال الخطيب لـ "أحوال": ياسر عرفات أرغمني على البقاء مع "النجمة"" (in Arabic). Ahwal Media. 25 April 2021.
  11. ^ "في مثل هذا اليوم 7 شباط من عام 1982 لعب نادي الشرطة تاني مباراة في نهائيات بطولة الاندية العربية الاولى امام نادي النجمة اللبناني" (in Arabic). Old Iraqi Football Days. 7 February 2018.
  12. ^ "الغزال الأسمر جمال الخطيب" (in Arabic). Kooora. 20 July 2008.
  13. ^ "اراء وتعقيبات حول فوز نادي الشرطة العراقي ببطولة الاندية العربية ابطال الدوري بكرة القدم" (in Arabic). Al-Jumhouriya Newspaper. 10 February 1982.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Arab_Club_Champions_Cup
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