League Cup kicks off today… “Early Derby” between Khorfakkan and Sharjah

Today, the curtain is raised on the new football season with the start of the first leg of the preliminary round of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup (Professional League Cup), as the teams look forward to achieving a strong start in the competition, which has become a major goal for all clubs, after it was viewed as a refresher tournament, noting that Al Wasl and Al Wahda are exempt from this round as the league champion and title holder respectively.

Al Wahda was crowned champion of the latest edition of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup, after defeating Al Ain 1-0 in the final that took place at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the capital, Abu Dhabi, last May.

The match between Khorfakkan and its guest Sharjah, which kicks off at 08:45 at Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Stadium, tops the list of matches, as it is classified as a derby match between the sons of the “Smiling Emirate”. Each team has its own motivations. While the home team wants to achieve their first victory against the “King”, the latter seeks to maintain its record free of defeats, as three previous matches brought together the two parties, two of which ended in favor of Sharjah, while one match ended in a draw.

In another match, Al Shamkha Stadium will be the stage for the confrontation between Bani Yas and its guest Dibba Al Hisn, who was recently promoted to the Professional League, at 06:05 pm. The confrontation is a real test of the ability of both parties to show what they can offer this season, given the many contracts they have concluded.

In another match, Al-Arabi, who returned to the professional league, will host Al-Nasr at Dibba Stadium at 06:05, and they have no choice but to win to achieve a strong start. On the other hand, “Al-Ameed” hopes to appear in a different way to avoid the scenario of the past two seasons, in which the team was far from the title podium.

The match will mark the first official appearance of the legend Ali Mabkhout in the jersey of his new team, Al Nasr, who is preparing to write a new history after his career with his former team, Al Jazira. All eyes will be on the player who is the all-time top scorer in the Professional League. The round will be completed tomorrow with three matches, as Al Jazira hosts Al Bataeh at 06:06, and at the same time, the match between Ittihad Kalba and Al Ain will be held, while the evening match at 08:45 will bring together Shabab Al Ahli and Ajman.

History of the League Cup.. Al Jazira is the top scorer and Tigali is the top scorer

The League Cup is full of unforgettable historical numbers and confrontations. Over the years, from the 2008-2009 edition until the edition that starts today, 706 matches have been played, witnessing 525 wins, 181 draws, and the participating teams have scored a combined 2114 goals.

According to the statistics published on the official website of the Professional League, Al Jazira dominates the list of the teams that have scored the most goals with 210 goals, followed by Shabab Al Ahli in second place with 195 goals, Al Wahda in third place with 195 goals as well, Al Ain in fourth place with 190, Al Wasl in fifth place with 179, Al Nasr in sixth place with 154, and Sharjah in seventh place with 139.

In terms of individual numbers, Sebastian Tagliabué leads the list of historical scorers in the League Cup with 37 goals, followed by Fabio Lima with 33 goals, and third place goes to Makhete Diop with 30 goals, while Ricardo Oliveira scored 27 goals, and with 22 goals, Henrique Luvanor put his name on the list.