LONDON: Al-Ahli’s new signings José Manuel Jurado and Alexis Ruano have both thanked the fans for making them feel so welcome after they touched down in Jeddah to begin their careers in the Saudi Pro League.
Jurado, the former Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid playmaker, and ex-Valencia and Sevilla defender Ruano arrived in the Kingdom on Saturday after signing two-year contracts last week.
They will meet their new teammates this week and begin pre-season training under new coach Pablo Guede as the squad prepares for the opening league game of the season against Al-Batin on Aug. 30.
Al-Ahli finished runners-up to Al-Hilal by a point last season and have made four new signings and re-signed three existing players as they seek to go one better this time round.
Jurado is the headline summer signing. He won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid, played at Real Madrid and Espanyol and has Premier League experience with Watford. This is his third stint abroad, having played in England and Russia.
“I’m at home, finally in Jeddah,” tweeted Jurado, 32. “Thanks to @ALAHLI_FCEN for the excellent welcome received.”
The signing of Ruano is more low key than that of Jurado, but the capture of the defender could be just as important. He is set to form a new-look partnership with Motaz Hawsawi at the heart of the Al-Ahli defense and he will bring with him 12 years of La Liga experience, a league where your mettle and skill as a defender is really tested.
“Thank you @ALAHLI_FCEN and thank you all for your support messages,” he tweeted.
Nouh Al-Mousa and Egypt international Abdallah El-Said have also signed for the club while Omar Al-Somah, Mohamed Al-Fateel and Hawsawi have signed new contracts.
New Al-Ahli signings from La Liga land in Saudi Arabia
New Al-Ahli signings from La Liga land in Saudi Arabia
- José Manuel Jurado and Alexis Ruano arrive in Jeddah after signing two-year contracts
- They will spearhead Al-Ahli's title challenge with Al-Hilal
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
