2009–10 Libyan Premier League

Libyan Premier League
Season2009 –10
ChampionsIttihad
16th league title
RelegatedNajma (12th)
Tahaddy (13th)
Ahly Tripoli (14th)
Champions LeagueIttihad
Confederation CupNasr (as cup winners)
Top goalscorerRasheed al Deasy (Shat) (15)
Biggest home winAhly Benghazi 5–0 Tersanah (29 December 2009)
Biggest away winTahaddy 0–4 Nasr (18 November 2009)
Shat 0–4 Khaleej Sirte (7 April 2010)
Ittihad 1–5 Tersanah (26 May 2010)
Highest scoringNajma 4–3 Olomby (8 April 2010)
Najma 2–5 Ahly Benghazi (27 April 2010)
Longest winning runAhly Benghazi (8 matches)
Longest unbeaten runIttihad (20 matches)
Longest losing runTahaddy (7 matches)

The 2009–10 Libyan Premier League (known as the Libyana Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the 43rd edition of the competition since its establishment in 1963. A total of 14 clubs contested the league, with Ittihad Tripoli the defending champions.[1][2]

This has been reduced from the system of 16 teams that had been in place since the 2007–08 season. The season was scheduled to begin on 1 October 2009,[3][4] but was later postponed until 8 October 2009.[5] The season was scheduled to finish on 14 May 2010. However, this was later delayed to 1 June due to CAF fixtures and national team commitments.

The fixture list was released on 4 September 2009.[6]

The league paused for its mid-season break on 13 January 2010 and continued on 28 January 2010.

There was another break after Round 16 (19 February – 22 March), due to the national team's fixtures, and CAF competition. Next season, the league will be reduced again and this time to 12 teams.

Summary

Ittihad secured their 16th top flight title with three games to spare after a 2–0 home win over Najma on 18 May 2010. This was their sixth league title in succession and their eighth in the last nine seasons.[7]

Ahly Tripoli were expelled from the league and had their record for the second half of the season expunged on 17 May 2010. Having failed to show for two successive matches in protest at unfair treatment spanning a number of years from the Libyan Football Federation, which was sparked by their 1–2 home defeat to bitter rivals Ittihad, they vowed not to compete in competitions run by the LFF. As a result, they were relegated to the Libyan Second Division, meaning each side would now play only 25 games. Tahaddy became the second side to be relegated on 22 May, after Shat, Olomby, Sweahly and Najma all won their respective matches on that day. Due to their inferior head-to-head record, even a victory against Shat on the final day would not have seen them avoid the drop. Their relegation was confirmed after their 3–1 win over Hilal was awarded 2–0 to Hilal after it was discovered Tahaddy had played a suspended player.

In one of the tightest relegation battles in recent history, Sweahly, Olomby, Shat and Najma all started the final round of fixtures within two points of each other, and all facing the danger of the drop. Sweahly hosted Ittihad, Shat were at home to already relegated Tahaddy, Najma travelled to Tersanah, who had secured their safety the previous week, and Olomby faced Nasr at Zaawia Stadium. Olomby went behind early on to Salem al Rewani's spot kick, before equalising on 31 minutes through Aymen Rhifi and Najma took the lead on the half-hour through Chakib Lachkhem's penalty. Sweahly went in front against a much weakened Ittihad side through ex-Ittihad defender Keba Paul Koulibaly's penalty on 43 minutes. At the break, it was Olomby who would be relegated. Shat scored two goals in the first two minutes of the second period against Tahaddy, and added a further two goals for a comfortable 4–0 victory. Najma held on against a lacklustre Tersanah side, meaning they needed Nasr to hold Olomby to face a relegation playoff. Sweahly faced a scare when Saami al Ghoula equalised on 72 minutes, but Tunisian forward Jemail Khemir put them back in front three minutes later, ensuring their survival. With time running out, Rhifi netted on 82 minutes to send the Second Division champions down. Olomby now face a two-legged playoff against Wahda for a place in next season's Premier League.

Teams

As the league reduced in size from 16 to 14 teams, four teams were relegated from last season's competition. These four teams were Aman al Aam, Wefaq Sabratha, Jazeera and Wahda Tripoli. Newly promoted Aman al Aam lasted just one season, though a spirited fightback towards the end of the season meant that their fate was sealed only on the final day, when Hilal got the point they needed to survive. Wefaq Sabratha, another of the newly promoted clubs, were relegated despite a decent start to season. However, a 15-game winless run left them languishing in the relegation zone, and they failed to recover. Jazeera ended their two-year stint in the top flight with a poor showing, losing 20 of their 30 games, and despite a decent run of form towards the back end of the season, it was too little too late. Wahda were rooted to the bottom of the table for the whole season, and did not win a game until a 2–1 away victory at Al Shat in mid-May. Their return of 11 points from 30 games one of the worst in Libyan history.

Only two clubs were promoted from the Libyan Second Division; Najma finished as champions (see Libyan Second Division 2008-09 - Championship Stage), while Tahaddy secured their return to the top flight after a one-year absence.

Stadia & Locations

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2009–10 Libyan Premier League
Team Location Sha'biyah Stadium Capacity[8]
Ahly Benghazi Benghazi Martyrs of February Stadium 10,550
Ahly Tripoli Tripoli 11 June Stadium 65,000
Akhdar Bayda Jabal al Akhdar Green Document Stadium 10,000
Hilal Benghazi Benghazi Martyrs of February Stadium 10,550
Ittihad Tripoli Tripoli 11 June Stadium 65,000
Khaleej Sirte Sirte Sirte 2 March Stadium 2,000
Madina Tripoli Tripoli 11 June Stadium 65,000
Najma Benghazi Benghazi Martyrs of February Stadium 10,550
Al-Nasr Benghazi Benghazi Martyrs of February Stadium 10,550
Olomby Zawiya Zawiya Zaawia Stadium 6,000
Al-Shat Tripoli Tripoli GMR Stadium 20,000
Sweahly Misrata Misrata 9 July Stadium 10,000
Tahaddy Benghazi Benghazi Martyrs of February Stadium 10,550
Tersanah Tripoli Tripoli GMR Stadium 20,000

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Ittihad (C) 25 15 6 4 45 27 +18 51 2011 CAF Champions League
2 Ahly Benghazi 25 14 4 7 39 27 +12 45[a]
3 Khaleej Sirte 25 13 5 7 47 31 +16 44
4 Madina 25 8 13 4 31 27 +4 37
5 Akhdar 25 9 8 8 29 30 −1 35
6 Nasr 25 10 4 11 38 30 +8 34 2011 CAF Confederation Cup[b]
7 Hilal 25 9 6 10 29 33 −4 33
8 Tersanah 25 8 6 11 33 36 −3 30[c]
9 Sweahly 25 8 6 11 27 37 −10 30[c]
10 Shat 25 8 5 12 25 36 −11 29[d]
11 Olomby (O) 25 7 8 10 33 36 −3 29[d] Relegation Playoff
12 Najma (R) 25 8 4 13 23 31 −8 28 Relegation to 2010–11 Libyan Second Division
13 Tahaddy (R) 25 4 5 16 21 49 −28 17
14 Ahly Tripoli (R) 13 6 4 3 20 10 +10 22[e]
Updated to match(es) played on 1 June 2010. Source: LFF (in Arabic)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Ahly Benghazi deducted one point[9]
  2. ^ As cup winners
  3. ^ a b TER 2–1 SWE; SWE 2–1 TER
  4. ^ a b SHT 1–0 OLY; OLY 1–1 SHT
  5. ^ Ahly Tripoli deducted three points for failing to turn up for their match with Hilal on 28 April.[10] The LFF then relegated them to the Libyan Second Division on 17 May, after they failed to show for three consecutive matches. Their record for the second half of the season has been expunged.[11]

Positions by round

NB: Note: The classification was made after the weekend of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings. These postponed matches are:

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
Ahly Benghazi89141391011986422223434443332
Ahly Tripoli11754235632533332222235141414
Akhdar4345323247776676888788645
Hilal1311119786324257767677877777
Ittihad1221111111111111111111111
Khaleej Sirte101381213118875344444343322223
Madina810107664553665555566666564
Najma1114131189101112121212121212121213121010991212
Nasr1112442468899898755554456
Olomby13111114141414141413131313131314141414141312121111
Shat6678121312121011111089899910121211111010
Sweahly443355779109810101010111191111131099
Tahaddy38910111213131314141414141413131213131414131313
Tersanah65661079101191011111111111010119910888
Updated to match(es) played on 2009-06-01. Source: LFF (in Arabic)

Results

Home \ Away AHLB AHLT AKH HIL ITT KHA MAD NAJ NSR OLY SHT SWE THD TER
Ahly Benghazi 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–2[a] 0–2 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 5–0
Ahly Tripoli 0–1 3–0 3–0 2–0 3–0 3–2
Akhdar 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–2 2–3 2–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–2
Hilal 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–2 3–2 2–2 2–0[b] 1–2
Ittihad 3–1 2–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 3–3 2–0 3–0 3–2 0–1 3–1 3–0 1–5
Khaleej Sirte 1–1 2–2 1–0 4–0 2–3 2–2 1–0 2–1 3–2 4–1 2–2 2–3 2–0
Madina 0–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 2–1 1–0 2–0[c] 1–1 2–1
Najma 2–5 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 4–3 0–1 3–0 1–2 2–2
Nasr 3–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 3–1 4–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–3 0–1
Olomby 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 3–1
Shat 0–2 2–1 1–3 1–2 0–4 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–0 3–3 4–0 1–1
Sweahly 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–3 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 2–1
Tahaddy 1–2 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 1–3 0–1 0–4 1–3 0–1 1–2 2–2
Tersanah 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 2–0
Updated to match(es) played on 2010-06-01. Source: LFF (in Arabic)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ Match abandoned after Ahmed Zuway's 75th-minute goal due to crowd trouble with the score at 2–1 to Ittihad, LFF awarded match 2–0 to Ittihad.[9]
  2. ^ LFF awarded match 2–0 to Hilal after it was discovered Tahaddy had played a suspended player. Match had originally finished 1–3 to Tahaddy.
  3. ^ Match awarded 2–0 to Madina by LFF after it was discovered Sweahly had played a suspended player (Keba Paul Koulibaly). Match had originally finished 1–1[12]

Relegation playoff

The second-placed team in the Libyan Second Division Promotion Stage, Wahda, faced a two-legged play-off match against the 11th placed team in the Premier League, Olomby for a place in the Premier League next season. The draw was made on 2 June. The matches took place on 5 and 9 June, with Olomby winning 3–1 on aggregate and retaining their place in the top flight for next season.

Wahda0 – 1Olomby
Rhifi 31'
Olomby2 – 1Wahda
Qarearah 45+1'
Rhifi 76'		 Aktouba 44'

Olomby won 3–1 on aggregate

Season statistics

Top Scorers

Updated 28 April 2010

Rank Scorer Club Goals[13]
1 Senegal Sheikh Sedao Khaleej Sirte 11
Libya Ahmed Krawa'a Tersanah
3 Ivory Coast Stefan de Paul Madina 10
Morocco Rasheed al Deasy Shat
5 Libya Ahmed Zuway Ittihad 9
6 Libya Achour Majeed Khaleej Sirte 8
7 Nigeria Ndubuisi Eze Nasr 7
Libya Samir al Wahaj Ahly Benghazi
Libya Mohammad al Maghrabi Ahly Tripoli

Overall

Home

Away

Clean Sheets

  • Most clean sheets − Ittihad (10)
  • Fewest clean sheets − Tahaddy (3)

Scoring

Discipline

Continental Competitions

2009 North African Cup Winners Cup

Morocco FAR Rabat - Ahly Benghazi W (0–0, 0–1) 1–0 on aggregate

Ahly Benghazi L - CS Sfaxien (a) Tunisia (1–1, 0–0 ) 1–1 on aggregate

2009 North African Cup of Champions

Tunisia ES Tunis - Ittihad Tripoli L (2–1, 2–2) 4–3 on aggregate

2010 CAF Champions League

2010 CAF Confederation Cup

See also

References

NB: Registration required for access to archived articles at kooora.com

  1. ^ "الإتحاد البطل والأهلي بنغازي الوصيف والهلال ينجح في تأكيد بقاءه في الدوري الليبي". Osama al Jaziri. kooora.com. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Al-Ittihad Are 2008/09 Libyan Champions; Defeat for Al-Ahli Tripoli Makes it Much Easier". Tripoli Post. 20 June 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  3. ^ "Decision no. 51 for 2009 - date of commencement of season 2009-10" (PDF) (in Arabic). Libyan Football Federation. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
  4. ^ الإتحاد الليبي لكرة القدم يحدد موعد إنطلاق مسابقات الموسم الرياضي 2009 \ 2010. Osama al Jaziri (in Arabic). kooora.com. 4 July 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  5. ^ Full fixture list for the 2009-10 season (in Arabic) kooora.com
  6. ^ al Jaziri, Osama (5 September 2009). قرعة دوري الدرجة الاولى الليبي لكرة القدم 2009 2010 : مواجهات ساخنة في أفتتاحية المسابقة (in Arabic). kooora.com. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Ittihad claim sixth Libyan title on the trot". Confederation of African Football. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  8. ^ Stadium information at goalzz.com
  9. ^ a b "اللجنة العامة للمسابقات تبث في مباراة الاهلي ب و الاتحاد". LFF. 27 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
  10. ^ الأهلي طرابلس يغيب عن مباراته الثانية على التوالي في دوري الدرجة الأولى الليبي (in Arabic)
  11. ^ Ahly T. punishment - kooora.com (in Arabic)
  12. ^ LFF Decision 141 for Week 18 - kooora.com (in Arabic)
  13. ^ "احصائيات الموسم الاهداف - List of Scorers" (in Arabic). LFF. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Libyan Football C'ship: Newly Promoted Tahaddi Start 2009/10 Season With Away Win". Tripoli Post. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  15. ^ Salem, Othman (1 November 2009). "الدوري الليبي: الأهلي طرابلس بتسعة لاعبين يهزم السويحلي, وديربي بنغازي ينتهي أحمراً". kooora.com. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  16. ^ "Ittihad Only Team With 100% Record". Tripoli Post. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  17. ^ Taufik, Bara (14 December 2009). "Libyan Football League - Day 9: Tripoli Teams in Top Matches; Hilal Become Ittihad's Nearest Challengers". Tripoli Post. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  18. ^ Taufik, Bara (30 December 2009). "Ahli Benghazi Beat Tersanah for Fourth Win on the Trot". Tripoli Post. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  19. ^ a b Taufik, Bara (9 April 2010). "Ahli Tripoli Gain Two Points on Leaders". Tripoli Post. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  20. ^ a b Taufik, Bara (28 April 2010). "Libyan Football League: Comfortable Wins for Khaleej, Ahli Benghazi". Tripoli Post. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  21. ^ Taufik, Bara (8 April 2010). "Hilal Dent Ittihad's Home Record". Tripoli Post. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  22. ^ Salem, Othman (14 January 2010). "الدوري الليبي: في جولة التعادلات والبطاقات, الإتحاد ينهي مرحلة الذهاب في الصدارة". kooora.com. Retrieved 16 January 2010.