MENA Sports Wrap: Egypt's Al-Ahly buck Saudi Pro League spending trend with Modeste signing

As European clubs take a breath after the Saudi Pro League transfer window closed, big spending in football remains a hot topic, with questions being raised after disappointing performances in international friendlies. Dortmund's Anthony Modeste also joined the ranks of players heading to the Middle East, and finally Tunisia's Ons Jabeur became the latest top ten tennis player to be defeated this year by Russia's Anastasia Potapova.

Modeste signs for the Egyptian football legends Al-Ahly

Borussia Dortmund forward Anthony Modeste has signed for Egyptian side Al-Ahly, bucking the trend of European players heading to Saudi Arabia on big money deals.

Modeste was picked up Dortmund as a possible replacement for Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who has scored a staggering 62 goals in 67 games for the Bundesliga side.

The Frenchman only managed to find the net twice in his 19 games at Dortmund with his team letting the player go in May after a disappointing season at the club.

Cairo side Al-Ahly, one of the best-supported sides in the Arab world and current champions of Africa, snapped up the Frenchman this week on a one-year deal with an option of extending his contract by another season.

Modeste posted a picture of himself wearing the famed red jersey of the Cairo side on Tuesday, expressing his excitement at playing in the Egyptian Premier League.

"I am blessed and grateful, excited and motivated to honor our alliance and wear with strength and courage the club of the century’s jersey @alalhy," he said.

"Proud to discover with humility and respect your culture which I am sure will enrich me sportingly, humanly and spiritually."

I am blessed and grateful, excited and motivated to honor our alliance and wear with strenght and courage the club of the century’s jersey @alalhy

Proud to discover with humility and respect your culture which I am sure will enrich me sportingly, humanly and spiritually. pic.twitter.com/qbeC7uhk7p

— Anthony Modeste (@amodeste27) September 12, 2023

Egypt's domestic league was widely regarded as the most competitive in the Arab world before the 2012 Port Said Stadium Massacre - resulting in the deaths of 72 Al-Ahly fans - saw the Egyptian Premier League cancelled for the remainder of the season and fans banned from grounds after years later.

This void in competitive Arab football has since been filled by Saudi Arabia, with millions spent to attract some of the biggest names in the game, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, over the past nine months.

One of the challenges Modeste will relish is the FIFA Club World Cup in December, when Al-Ahly could face Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad or potentially Manchester City, if they make it to the final.

That would be some fairy tale end to the 35-year-old's career and a boost for Al-Ahly, the one-time flag bearers of Arab football before disaster befell Egypt and then Morocco, later Saudi Arabia, dominated the scene.

Arab friendlies kindle questions over big spending in domestic leagues

A number of Arab teams played a series of international friendlies across the world on Tuesday, yielding mixed results.

Friendly games are a usual fixture before qualifications for major competitions begin, such as the upcoming AFC Asia and African Cup of Nations, due to take place early next year, respectively.

Syria on Tuesday stunned their Chinese counterparts with a 1-0 win, with midfielder Thaer Krouma scoring the only goal of the match in the 59th minute.China, ranked 14 places higher than Syria, expected to win the match. Fans even booed the national players, but applauded the Syrian team for their victory.

The China coach, Serbian Aleksandar Jankovic, blamed "bad luck" on the team’s poor performance in Chengdu, calling the loss "frustrating."

China’s loss comes as Beijing spent the latter half of the previous decade investing millions of dollars in the Super League by signing foreign players such as Didier Drogba and Carlos Tevez, in a bid to make China a top Asian footballer power in the coming years.

But Chinese football has since been plagued by a number of financial scandals exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw many investors back away from their teams. Moreover, lacklustre performances by the national team and a lack of homegrown talent have also seen the country’s football ambitions dwindle.

متعععععع عينك بهدف عالمي بالزاوية تسعين 😰😰 pic.twitter.com/iCHUUFvDFw

— كورة سوريا (@Syriasfootball) September 12, 2023

Another football-ambitious country, Saudi Arabia, suffered a 1-0 home defeat to South Korea in its recent friendly.

Much like China, the Gulf country has invested millions into its football league in a bid render it among the best in the world. The move is said to be part of Vision 2030 – an initiative geared at diversifying the Saudi economy and becoming less reliant on oil.

The country has shocked the world by signing multiple African, European and South American stars for ludicrous amounts of money over the past year. But high-profile foreign players and millions of invested dollars doesn’t necessarily equate to a consistently good national team.

The Green Falcons have surprised football fans with sporadic victories on the world stage – chiefly against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. But the Saudi team, despite being ranked 54th, have also lost six out of seven games since the start of year.

Tuesday’s friendlies also saw victories from Algeria, Morocco, Iran, the UAE and Tunisia, with draws from Bahrain and Qatar, and losses from Egypt and Jordan.

Further friendlies are slated for October, which could give an insight into Arab teams’ performances in upcoming regional tournaments.

Ons Jabeur crashes out of San Diego Open in round of 16

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur crashed out of the Cymbiotika San Diego Open after losing to Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday.

Seventh-ranked Jabeur lost to the 27th ranked Potapova 6-4, 7-6 (4).

While it was a painful defeat for Jabeur at the hands of a lower-seeded player, it was the fourth time this year that Potapova beat a top 10 player.

“I think it was my patience, just to stay focused as much as I could because Ons is very tough to play,” the 22-year-old Russian said. “She’s truly one of the best in the world. With her style, it’s very uncomfortable for myself, but I’m really happy and proud to get this win.”

Jaber struggled to find her feet in the game, landing only 39 of 85 first-serves, with nine double-faults.

Potapova’s win saw her advance to the quarter-final, where she lost to US player Sofia Kenin.