Wihdat back in latest Club World Ranking

By Aline Bannayan, Jordan Times, Amman

Nov. 4--AMMAN -- Wihdat is back in the International Federation of Football History and Statistic (IFFHS) latest ranking issued on Tuesday for October.

The Jordanian league champs last week received the Mohammad Ben Rashid Sporting Achievement Award for Teams. The club had a remarkable season last year which saw it capture all four local titles for the first time in Jordan's football history. However, as the new season got under way, it won the Cup Winner's Cup but was eliminated early from the Jordan Football Association Shield.

The 2009/10 Professional League has concluded its fifth round, and is halted to allow the national team to regroup ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Wihdat, 302nd in the latest IFFHS ranking, has been inconsistent in the league. The team lost important matches which lead to a change in the coaching staff and assignment of a new Tunisian coach.

Faisali and Shabab Urdun, both in the rankings last year, remained out of the top ranked teams in the world. Faisali, a 30-time league record holder, failed to win any titles last year, and has not won the Jordanian league title since the 2003/04 season. Officials hope their team will return to its impressive form when it led Asian clubs ranking following its Asian Football Confederation Cup titles in 2005 and 2006.

Similarly, Shabab Urdun won the AFC Cup in 2006/07 which enabled it to jump to third place among Asian clubs in November 2007.

The IFHHS list is now led by England's Manchester United followed by Spain's FC Barcelona, Ukraine's FC Shakhtykor Donetsk, England's Chelsea FC, Germany's Hamburg, Argentina's Club Estudiantes de la Plata, Germany's SV Werder Bremen, England's Arsenal, Brazil's Cruzeiro EC Belo Horizonte and Italy's AS Roma.

The top 10 Arab teams are Saudi Arabia's Ittihad Club Jeddah (83), Sudan's Hilal Omdurman (103), Algeria's ES Setif (106), Saudi Arabia's Hilal (120), Syria's Karama Homs (129), Egypt's Ahli (131) and Sawahel Alexandria (132), Sudan's Marrikh Umdurman (135), Tunisia's Etoile Sportive du Sahel (149) and Kuwait Club (163).

The top 10 Asian teams are Japan's Gamba Osaka (58th), South Korea's FC Pohang Steelers (70), Ittihad Club Jeddah (83), Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor Tashkent (93) and Pakhtakor Tashkent (95), Saudi Arabia's Hilal (120), Syria's Karama Homs (129), Japan's Nagoya Grampus Eight (156), Japan's Kawasaki Frontale (169) and Hong Kong's South China (177).

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