2012–13 Al-Shorta SC season
# 2012–13 Al-Shorta SC season

In the 2012–13 season, Al Shorta won both the 2012–13 Iraqi Elite League and the Baghdad Cup.

Al Shorta won the Iraqi Premier League (known as the Iraqi Elite League at the time) on the last day of an historic season, thrashing Al Talaba 3–0 to ensure that they clinched the title for the first time since the 1997–98 season and finished two points ahead of second-placed Arbil, losing just two games in the entire season. Al Shorta also triumphed in the Baghdad Cup, with a 1–0 win over rivals Al Zawraa. Hussein Karim scored the winning goal in the match.

The season witnessed Al Shorta sign their first ever foreign players. Cameroonian defender Innocent Awoa was the first to join, and he became a key player for Al Shorta, scoring a goal on the opening day of the season. Sékou Tidiane Souaré, an Ivorian defender, joined the club soon after Innocent Awoa's arrival, however he left the club without playing a single game due to homesickness. Cameroon international striker Jean Michel N'Lend signed a contract with the club at the start of the season and he bagged six goals during his spell at the club, including an historic hat-trick against rivals Al Quwa Al Jawiya. He became the first ever non-Iraqi to score a hat-trick in an Iraqi Premier League match and he left the club in May 2013. Nigerian striker Minusu Buba joined the club on loan a few games into the season and became a star striker, scoring eight goals including a goal in the final match of the season (the 3–0 victory over Al Talaba). Defender Paul Koulibaly, a Burkina Faso regular, joined in the winter transfer window and he provided solidity and experience to the league's second-best defence (only Baghdad FC conceded fewer goals than Al Shorta in the season).

Many of these signings were orchestrated by Al Shorta's Iraqi manager Thair Jassam, who joined the club at the very beginning of the season. He led the team to a league and cup double, cementing his place as a legend for the club.

Al Shorta's league top scorer was Iraqi forward Amjad Kalaf for the third season in a row; this time he netted nine goals.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | IRQ | Ali Husain (vice-captain) |
| 2 | DF | IRQ | Ali Abd Ali |
| 3 | DF | IRQ | Dhirgham Ismail |
| 4 | DF | IRQ | Zeid Khalaf |
| 5 | MF | IRQ | Hussein Abdul-Wahed |
| 6 | DF | IRQ | Kassim Zidan |
| 7 | FW | IRQ | Sherko Karim |
| 8 | MF | IRQ | Mohammed Faisel |
| 10 | FW | IRQ | Muslim Mubarak |
| 11 | FW | IRQ | Hussein Karim |
| 12 | GK | IRQ | Mohammed Gassid |
| 13 | FW | NGA | Minusu Buba (on loan from El Gouna FC) |
| 14 | FW | IRQ | Amjad Kalaf (4th captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | IRQ | Nashat Akram (captain) |
| 17 | FW | IRQ | Muhaimen Salim |
| 19 | MF | IRQ | Ahmad Ayad |
| 20 | DF | IRQ | Fareed Majeed (3rd captain) |
| 22 | DF | CMR | Innocent Awoa |
| 23 | GK | IRQ | Mohammed Hameed |
| 24 | MF | IRQ | Mahdi Kamel |
| 25 | DF | IRQ | Waleed Salem |
| 30 | MF | IRQ | Ali Rahim |
| 32 | DF | IRQ | Ali Mohammed Alialah |
| 33 | DF | BFA | Paul Koulibaly |
| 35 | MF | IRQ | Ahmad Fadhel |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| — | MF | IRQ | Husain Abdullah (at Al Talaba until the end of the 2012–13 season) |
| — | MF | IRQ | Haider Salim (at Zakho FC until the end of the 2012–13 season) |
| — | MF | IRQ | Ali Hussein Fandi (at Sulaymaniya FC until the end of the 2012–13 season) |

### Departed during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 6 | DF | CIV | Sékou Tidiane Souaré |
| 15 | MF | IRQ | Abbas Rehema |
| 21 | FW | CMR | Jean Michel N'Lend |

## Kit

| Home | Home alt. | Away |
| - | - | - |

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| August 2012 | FW | Hussein Karim | Dohuk FC | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Abbas Rehema | Al Talaba | – |
| August 2012 | GK | Mohammed Gassid | Al Talaba | – |
| August 2012 | FW | Muslim Mubarak | Arbil FC | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Hussein Abdul-Wahed | Arbil FC | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Ahmad Ayad | Arbil FC | – |
| September 2012 | DF | Innocent Awoa | El Gouna FC | – |
| September 2012 | MF | Mohammed Faisel | Al Talaba | – |
| September 2012 | DF | Sékou Tidiane Souaré | Free agent | – |
| September 2012 | FW | Jean Michel N'Lend | Free agent | – |
| November 2012 | DF | Waleed Salem | Arbil FC | – |
| December 2012 | FW | Minusu Buba | El Gouna FC | Loan |
| February 2013 | MF | Nashat Akram | Al Nasr SC | – |
| February 2013 | DF | Kassim Zidan | Karbala FC | – |
| March 2013 | DF | Paul Koulibaly | FC Dinamo București | – |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| August 2012 | FW | Ali Oudah | Al Najaf | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Jabir Shakir | Al Najaf | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Sanad Raad Saleem | | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Muntadher Abdulkareem | | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Muhammed Eskander | | – |
| August 2012 | FW | Emad Mohsin | | – |
| August 2012 | DF | Abbas Rahif | Al Kahraba | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Kadhum Dheiaa | Al-Hedood | – |
| August 2012 | MF | Ali Yousif | Karbala FC | – |
| August 2012 | FW | Hussam Ibrahim | Baghdad FC | – |
| September 2012 | DF | Safwan Abdul-Ghani | Zakho FC | – |
| September 2012 | MF | Emad Ghali | Al Talaba | – |
| September 2012 | MF | Ali Khudhair | Al Talaba | – |
| September 2012 | MF | Nadim Karim | Al Quwa Al Jawiya | – |
| September 2012 | FW | Mousa Hashem | Baghdad FC | – |
| September 2012 | MF | Emad Khalaf | Al Quwa Al Jawiya | – |
| September 2012 | DF | Waleed Bahar | Al Quwa Al Jawiya | – |
| October 2012 | DF | Sékou Tidiane Souaré | | – |
| December 2012 | DF | Mustafa Maan | | – |
| December 2012 | MF | Ali Essam | | – |
| February 2013 | GK | Muhanned Jabbar | Al Naft | – |
| February 2013 | MF | Haider Salim | Zakho FC | Loan |
| February 2013 | MF | Abbas Rehema | Al Talaba | – |
| February 2013 | MF | Ali Hussein Fandi | Sulaymaniya FC | Loan |
| February 2013 | MF | Husain Abdullah | Al Talaba | Loan |
| May 2013 | FW | Jean Michel N'Lend | | – |

## Iraqi Elite League

### Matches

**Score overview**

Win  Draw  Loss

| Opposition | Home score | Away score |
| - | - | - |
| Arbil FC | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Baghdad FC | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Duhok FC | 4–3 | 1–1 |
| Al Kahraba | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Karbala FC | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Kirkuk FC | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al Masafi | 5–0 | 3–2 |
| Al Minaa | 4–1 | 1–2 |
| Al Naft | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Naft Al Junoob | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Najaf FC | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Al Quwa Al Jawiya | 4–1 | 0–4 |
| Al Sinaa | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Sulaymaniya FC | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Al Talaba | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Zakho FC | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Al Zawraa | 1–1 | 2–1 |

Note: Al Shorta goals listed first.

**Classification**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Al-Shorta (C) | 34 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 72 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League preliminary round 1 |
| 2 | Erbil | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 68 | 34 | +34 | 70 | Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage |
| 3 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 69 | |
| 4 | Al-Zawraa | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 65 | |
| 5 | Duhok | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 58 | |

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Source: Soccerway

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | D | D | D | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W |
| Position | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## Player statistics

### Iraqi Elite League

| Position | Squad Number | Name | Goals | Assists |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | 14 | Amjad Kalaf | 9 | 10 |
| FW | 13 | Minusu Buba | 8 | 2 |
| FW | 10 | Muslim Mubarak | 7 | 3 |
| FW | 11 | Hussein Karim | 7 | 1 |
| MF | 15 | Nashat Akram | 6 | 2 |
| FW | 21 | Jean Michel N'Lend | 6 | 1 |
| DF | 3 | Dhirgham Ismail | 5 | 4 |
| MF | 8 | Mohammed Faisel | 3 | 4 |
| MF | 24 | Mahdi Kamel | 2 | 2 |
| FW | 17 | Muhaimen Salim | 2 | 0 |
| MF | 35 | Ahmad Fadhel | 1 | 6 |
| MF | 5 | Hussein Abdul-Wahed | 1 | 3 |
| MF | 19 | Ahmad Ayad | 1 | 3 |
| DF | 25 | Waleed Salem | 1 | 2 |
| DF | 22 | Innocent Awoa | 1 | 1 |
| DF | 20 | Fareed Majeed | 1 | 0 |
| MF | 30 | Ali Rahim | 1 | 0 |

### Baghdad Cup

| Position | Nation | Squad Number | Name | Goals | Assists |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| FW | | 11 | Hussein Karim | 1 | 0 |
