Ethiopian Football: St. George FC finds itself in unfamiliar territory

Saint George FC (Photo: St. George Website)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Defending champions St. George FC finds itself in unfamiliar territory, where it currently languishes at the bottom of the Ethiopian League Table.

After 3 matches of the new Ethiopian Premier League season, St. George is ranked 15th, just one clear of last placed team Hawassa City.

The team is backed by Ethiopia’s richest man, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, to the tune of several million Birr a year. It hired Italian Giuseppe Dossena, a member of the 1982 World Cup winning Azzurri squad, at the beginning of the year and it also brought in professional players from abroad, including a goalkeeper from Serbia.

But despite all these efforts, the team’s results have so far been abysmal. Following a 1-1 draw with Sebeta City at home, it lost its next two matches to Lideta Nyala and Adama City, by an identical score of 2-1.

Football insiders in Addis have pointed out players’ injuries as the main reason for the team’s trouble, and that they are optimistic that it will eventually rebound from the slump that it currently is.

Corrected Results

Week 3

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Yirgalem: Hawassa City – Mugher Cement 2-2

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Sebeta: Sebeta City – Lideta Nyala 1-0

Adama: Adama City – St. George 2-1

Fincha: Fincha Sugar – Dedebit FC  1-1

Dire Dawa: Dire Dawa City – Ethiopian Banks  0-1

Addis Ababa: Defence Force – Sidama Coffee 1-0

Addis Ababa: EEPCO – Harar Brewery 1-0

Adigrat: Trans Ethiopia – Ethiopian Coffee 1-1