It's a great opportunity for Al-Ittihad and Al-Shabab to cap their season's efforts by winning the prestigious Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Football Cup when they lock horns in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will patronize the final match. Ittihad, which is out of the reckoning in Asian Champions League and lost the Premier League title to Al-Hilal after leading the championship till the last hurdle, seems to have gelled better under new coach Calderon. Ittihad settled a score with Hilal by avenging its Premier League loss by dominating its rival in the two-legged semifinals for a 6-2 aggregate win. But Argentinian coach Calderon and his wards will have a tough time to halt the charging Al-Shabab. After losing the first leg semifinals 4-2 away to Al-Hazm its players gave something for their fans to cheer by mauling Al-Hazm (5-0) in the second leg in Riyadh and storm into the final. If Shabab and Ittihad should maintain their momentum, no doubt a battle royal is in the cards Wednesday. Shabab qualified for the final after topping its group which included Al-Hazm of Al-Rass, Al-Ahli of Jeddah and Al-Nasr of Riyadh. On the other hand, Ittihad came out winner from among Ittifaq of Dammam, Al-Hilal of Riyadh and Al-Wehdah of Makkah. Calderon now needs to have the Shabab strikers Nasser Al-Shamrani and Faisal Al-Sultan under close watch. At the same time he can take advantage of the absence of two important injured rival players - Zaid Al-Muallad and Martinez. Shabab coach Enzo Hector must also have done his home work well to handle Ittihad strikers Al-Hassane Keita and Magno Alves. Barcelona vs. Ittihad May 26 FC Barcelona will travel to Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah to face local side Al-Ittihad in a friendly on May 26, the Spanish club said Tuesday. The match will be held at the city's 27,000-seat Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, which Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia's oldest football club, shares with local rival Al-Ahly, it said. It will be the Catalan club's first visit to the country. __
