2012–13 Al-Shorta SC season

Amjad Kalaf (9) Amjad Kalaf (9)

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

Al Shorta won the Iraqi Elite League 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.

Iraqi Elite League

Main article: 2012–13 Iraqi Elite League

Matches

Amjad Kalaf Muslim Mubarak
Ali Husain Mohammed Abdul-Zahra Mustafa Kareem Amjad Kalaf
Muslim Mubarak Hussein Abdul-Wahed Jean Michel N'Lend Hussein Karim
Ahmad Ayad
Ali Rahim Jean Michel N'Lend Jean Michel N'Lend Amjad Kalaf
Minusu Buba Nashat Akram ,
Hussein Abdul-Wahed Dhirgham Ismail
Waleed Salem Hammadi Ahmad
Humam Tariq
Ayad Sadir Muslim Mubarak
Hussein Karim Hussein Karim
Minusu Buba
Dhirgham Ismail Muslim Mubarak Muslim Mubarak
Muhaimen Salim Nassir Tallaa Mohammed Faisel Nashat Akram
Hussein Karim Maitham Hamza Amjad Kalaf
Mahdi Kamel
Mohammed Faisel Alaa Abdul-Zahra Mahdi Kamel Luay Salah Minusu Buba
Dhirgham Ismail

Score overview

Opposition	Home score	Away score	Double
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

Results summary

Results by round

Top goalscorers

Iraqi Elite League

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

Baghdad Cup

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