The positive results achieved by Al Arabi in the last few rounds in this season’s QNB Stars League made a huge difference in their campaign and part of the credit must go to their loyal fans.

The Dream Team were at one stage staring at relegation. However, they overcame all that and guaranteed their berth in next season’s competition. They are currently seventh with 24 points.

Al Arabi are arguably the No.1 team in Qatar as far as fan support is concerned. No wonder, fans played a significant role in the team’s revival in the latter half of the season.

Al Arabi’s loyal supporters turned up in large numbers when the team was down following a series of negative results. They stood by the side in difficult times by loudly cheering the players on during matches and that positively impacted many of their results.

A closer look at Al Arabi’s league campaign this season will reveal that they were ninth at the end of first phase with only nine points from two wins and three draws. They had endured six defeats.

However, all that changed in the second phase. They started off strongly by holding then fourth-placed Al Sailiya and then lost to marauding side Al Duhail only by a solitary goal. They now have six victories and as many draws to be placed seventh on 24 points.

Al Arabi registered their fourth successive win when they defeated formidable Al Gharafa 3-1 in Week 21. Their other preceding victories were against Al Kharaitiyat, Al Markhiya and Al Rayyan in that order.

Al Arabi were one of the teams that signed a large number of players at the beginning of the season, the most prominent Qatari names being mercurial Khalfan Ibrahim, goalkeeper Mohannad Naim and Jasser Yahya.

Their professional players were Tunisian defender Ammar Jemal, Iraqi Saad Natiq, Brazilian Diego Jardel and Syrian striker Mardik Mardikian. None of them excelled with the exception of Khalfan who regained great deal of his usual performance.

During the winter transfer window, Al Arabi replaced two of their professional players. Al Markhiya’s Kwame Karikari came in for Mardikian and Croat Ivan Fuchster took the place of Ammar.

Tunisian Qais Al Yaakoubi, who coached the team in the first seven rounds, was replaced by Croat Luka Bonacic and the latter succeeded in lifting the morale of the players. He also adopted a defensive approach wherein they did not concede too many goals.

Bonacic managed to get the best out of striker Karikari, while Fuchster led the charge in the defence, with Jardel and Khalfan orchestrating the midfield play.