Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo (men's basketball)

Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo () is a major professional basketball club. It is a part of the Al-Ittihad Sports Club, which is based in Aleppo, Syria. Al-Ittihad is the second most titled basketball club with 17 Syrian League titles and 10 Syrian Cups one of the most successful basketball clubs in Syria. ''Al-Ahli'' was founded in 1951, two years after the founding of the multi-sport club and the football team.

History

The club, which was founded in 1951, is one of the most famous and popular basketball clubs in Syria. The club changed its name in 1972, its previous one, Al Ahli, being used as a club nickname.

The club's Great Era began in 1978 with the victory of the Syrian Cup and the defeat of Al Jalaa SC in the SBL final of the following 1979 season. In the league finals, Al-Ittihad defeated Al Jalaa in Aleppo twice 90-72 and 59-50, then achieved a third victory in the decisive match that took place in Damascus for exceptional circumstances 66-58. This season is also remarkable that they claimed the Republic Cup by defeating Al Jalaa 76-71.

Al Ittihad has twice been invited to take part in the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague). The first participation was in the 1979-80 season, during which the club, led by coach Munther Shalaby, faced in Group E the KK Partizan, BC Partizani Tirana and Budapest Honvéd SE. The club was supposed to take part in the 1981–82 FIBA European Champions Cup as well, but after its beginning they withdrew from the competition.

During the 1980s, Al-Ittihad was the Syrian League's hegemon as they won every domestic competition. The club's first major success on the international stage was third place at the 1991 Arab Basketball Championships. In the following season, the club won both home titles, advanced to the finals of the Arab Championship and defeated EO La Goulette Kram. The Great Era of domestic domination ended in the 1994 season with a loss in the SBL final with the Al-Wahda.

In the 2000 season, they won their last long title in the Syrian Cup, the penultimate title in the SBL and advanced to the WABA Champions Cup. In the 2001 season, however, they finished third behind Al-Wahda and Orthodox BC.

In the 2006 season, they won their last domestic SBL title, finishing ahead of Al Jalaa SC, Al-Jaish and Al Wahda in the Final Four. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, they participated in the WABA Cup, but without significant success.

After the outbreak of the conflict in Syria and the Battle of Aleppo, the club's operations were limited and its survival uncertain. Fortunately, the sports club managed to survive and the first big success under coach Bassel al Hamwi was the Syrian Cup victory in the 2020 season.

In the 2022 season, Al-Ittihad won the Syrian Super Cup when they defeated Al-Wahda 60:52 in the final of the competition.

In 2022, the Syrian General Sports Federation approved the club's name change to Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC, inspired by the club's original name Halab Al-Ahli Club; following pleads by the fans to restore the club's original name.

Home arena

* Al-Assad Sports Arena: 1978–2021
* Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena: 2021–present

Image:Al-Assad Arena (30.12.2017).jpg, Al-Assad Sports Arena interior during a match
Image:Hamadania arena.jpg, A panorama of Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena

For many years, Ittihad has used the Al-Assad Sports Arena, with a seating capacity of 3,500, to host its home games. Currently, Ittihad uses the 7,964 seat Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena for its home games.

Club rivalries

Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC plays the Aleppo city derby "El Clásico" with its main rival Al-Jalaa SC. also the most watched matches in Syria is the "Syrian El Clàsico" between Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC and their biggest rival Al-Wahda SC Damascus

Other urban rivals of the club are Al-Hurriya SC, Al-Yarmouk SC (Homenetmen) and Ouroube SC.

Honours

Domestic

* Syrian Basketball League
**Winners (18): 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2022
*Syrian Basketball Cup
**Winners (10):
* Syrian Basketball Super Cup
**Winners (1): 2021

International

* WABA Champions Cup
**Third place (1): 2001
**Sixth place (2): 2007 - 2008
* Arab Club Basketball Championship
**Winners (1): 1992
**Third place (1): 1991
* EuroLeague
**Quarter-finals: 1979
*Dubai International Tournament
**Third place (1): 2005

International record

Sponsorship

*As of 2022:

Current roster

Squad for the 2021–2022 Syrian Basketball League season:

Transfers

''Transfers for the 2021-22 season:''

Joining
* Antwan Scott from Al Hilal SC
* Mohamed Harat from Al Fateh SC
* Wael Jlilaty from Duba SC
* Ishaq Oubid from Jalaa SC
* Abdulwahab Al-Hamwi from Al-Karamah
* Michael Madanly from Jalaa SC

Leaving
* Wissam Yaqqub to Jalaa SC
* Nazem Kassas to Wahda SC

Notable players

;
* Fadi El Khatib
;
* Micheal Madanly

Head coaches

Season by season

All-time records

*Most Syrian Basketball Cup champions (21 championships)

See also

* Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo
* Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo (women's basketball)

References

External links

basketball.asia, Al-IttihadUnofficial Fan Site and Forum
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Ittihad
Sport in Aleppo
Basketball teams established in 1951
1951 establishments in Syria