2007–08 Libyan Premier League

Libyan Premier League 2007/2008 was the 40th edition of the Libyan Premier League, the highest division of Libyan football, organised by the Libyan Football Federation.

Libyan Premier League
Season2007–08
ChampionsAl Ittihad
14th Libyan Premier League title
RelegatedAl Tahaddy
Al Urouba
Nojom Ajdabiya
CAF Champions League 2009Al Ittihad
Al Ahly Tripoli
CAF Confederation Cup 2009Khaleej Sirte (via Libyan Cup)
Al Ahly Benghazi
Top goalscorer Abdelhameed Zidane (21)
Biggest home winAl Ahly Tripoli 10-2 Al Suqoor
(2007-12-07)
Biggest away winAl Wahda 1–5 Al Ittihad (2007-10-11)
Al Suqoor 0-4 Al Ittihad (2008-07-19)
Highest scoringAl Ahly Tripoli 10-2 Al Suqoor
(2007-12-07)

Season summary

In a more closely contested league contest than in recent seasons, Al Ittihad took until week 28 to secure their 14th league title. Al Ahly Tripoli challenged their close rivals all the way in the title race, but just four points from their last three games, including a humiliating 1-0 defeat to eventually relegated Al Tahaddy, ended their title hopes and their 29-game unbeaten record, which had lasted all year. Al Ittihad also went through the league season unbeaten. After just one defeat in the 2006-07 season, this shows signs that the Big Two are pulling even further away, proved by the 20-point gap between 2nd placed Al Ahly Tripoli and 3rd placed Al Ahly Benghazi.

2007-08 was a very successful season for Khaleej Sirte. The club won two trophies (its first major honours since the three Sirte clubs merged to form Khaleej Sirte). The club won the Libyan Confederation Cup, a newly created trophy similar to England's League Cup, before later lifting the Libyan Cup, beating Al Madina in a tense final 1-0.

At the bottom, Al Suqoor and Nojom Ajdabiya both had very poor seasons, with just 9 wins between the two sides. Al Suqoor suffered one of the worst defeats in Libyan history, as they were crushed 10-2 by A Ahli Tripoli. Al Urouba did put up a decent fight, winning 4 of their last 7 matches, nearly half of the number of wins they had obtained in their previous 23 matches. In the end, they paid the price for losing to relegation rivals.

The Relegation/Promotion Play Off place was an interesting battle. Three teams were on 33 points, and it was head-to-head record that sent Al Tahaddy to their eventual relegation.

In general, the league was pretty close, with just 10 points separating 5th placed Khaleej Sirte from 14th placed (and relegated) Al Urouba.

The competition

There are 16 clubs in the League. During the course of the season each clubs plays others two times, for a total of 30 games. At the end of season, the bottom three sides are automatically relegated to the Libyan Second Division, and the fourth bottom side goes into the Relegation Play-Off.

The winner of the LPL qualifies for the CAF Champions League, and the top two sides qualify for the Arab Champions League, while the Libyan Cup winner qualifies for the CAF Confederation Cup

Clubs
Club City Stadium
Ahly Benghazi Benghazi 28 March Stadium
Ahly Tripoli Tripoli 11 June Stadium
Akhdar Bayda Green Document Stadium
Jazeera Zuwara Zuwara Stadium
Nojom Ajdabiya Ajdabiya 10 March Stadium
Ittihad Tripoli 11 June Stadium
Madina Tripoli 11 June Stadium
Nasr Benghazi 28 March Stadium
Olomby Zawiya Zaawia Stadium
Al Shat Tripoli Ali Alsgozy Stadium
Suqoor Tobruk 2 March Stadium
Tahaddy Benghazi 28 March Stadium
Khaleej Sirte Sirte 2 March Stadium
Wahda Tripoli GMR Stadium
Urouba Ajaylat Ajaylat Stadium
Tersanah Tripoli GMR Stadium

Statistics
  • First Match: Al Ahly Tripoli vs. Nojom Ajdabiya - September 20, 2007
  • First Referee: Naaji al Khabaat - Al Ahly Tripoli vs. Nojom Ajdabiya - September 20, 2007
  • First Goal Scored: Ali Hussein Rehema for Al Ahly Tripoli against Nojom Ajdabiya - September 20, 2007
  • Last Goal Scored: Reyad Ellafi for Al Ittihad against Nojom Ajdabiya - July 22, 2008
  • First Sending Off: Aqila Bousedrah for Nojom Ajdabiya against Al Ahly Tripoli - September 20, 2007
  • Total Number of Goals Scored: 618 (480 matches played - average 1.2875 goals per game)
  • Most Goals Scored by One Team: 77 goals - Al Ahly Tripoli
  • Fewest Goals Conceded by One Team: 16 goals - Al Ittihad
  • Most Goals Conceded by One Team: 69 goals - Al Suqoor
  • Biggest Scoreline: Al Ahly Tripoli 10 - 2 Al Suqoor - December 12, 2007
  • Most Wins: 26 - Al Ittihad
  • Most Draws: 13 - Al Madina
  • Most Defeats: 23 - Nojom Ajdabiya

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Ittihad (C) 30 26 4 0 68 16 +52 82 2009 CAF Champions League
2 Ahly Tripoli 30 23 6 1 77 28 +49 75 2009 CAF Champions League
3 Ahly Benghazi 30 15 10 5 44 20 +24 55 CAF Confederation Cup 2009[lower-alpha 1]
4 Akhdar 30 15 8 7 48 33 +15 50[lower-alpha 2]
5 Khaleej Sirte 30 11 8 11 34 35 −1 41[lower-alpha 3] CAF Confederation Cup 2009[lower-alpha 1]
6 Nasr 30 11 9 10 39 29 +10 41[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]
7 Madina 30 9 13 8 29 28 +1 40
8 Olomby 30 9 12 9 36 34 +2 39
9 Shat 30 11 3 16 34 47 −13 36
10 Jazeera 30 9 8 13 27 37 −10 35
11 Tersanah 30 8 9 13 32 40 −8 33[lower-alpha 5]
12 Wahda 30 9 6 15 38 48 −10 33[lower-alpha 5]
13 Tahaddy (R) 30 8 9 13 37 42 −5 33[lower-alpha 5] Qualification for Promotion/Relegation Playoffs
14 Urouba (R) 30 9 4 17 29 47 −18 31 Relegation to Libyan Second Division
15 Suqoor (R) 30 6 3 21 23 69 −46 20[lower-alpha 6]
16 Nojom Ajdabiya (R) 30 3 4 23 25 67 −42 13
Updated to match(es) played on July 22, 2008. Source: Libyan Premier League at kooora.com
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) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Khaleej Sirte qualify for CAF Confederation Cup as Libyan Cup winners
  2. Al Akhdar deducted 3 points for cancelling their match with Al Ittihad
  3. NSR 0–1 KHA; KHA 1–1 NSR
  4. Al Nasr deducted 1 point for failing to show up for their match against Al Shat
  5. TER: 10 pts 5–2; WAH: 3 pts 3–4; THD: 2 pts 5–7
  6. Al Suqoor deducted one point for abandoning their match with Al Ahly Tripoli

Results
Home \ Away AHLB AHLT AKH ITT JAZ KHA MAD NSR NJMA OLY SHT SQR THD TER URO WAH
Ahly Benghazi 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 5–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 3–0 3–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 2–1
Ahly Tripoli 3–1 4–1 2–2 3–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 4–0 10–2 3–0 5–2 3–1 5–1
Akhdar 0–1 2–2 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 3–0
Ittihad 2–1 1–1 5–2 2–1 5–1 1–1 1–0 6–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–0
Jazeera 0–2 0–1 1–0 0–3 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–2 3–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–1
Khaleej Sirte 0–0 0–1 1–4 0–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 4–0 0–1 4–2 3–1 2–2
Madina 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–1
Nasr 0–0 1–1 1–3 1–2 1–1 0–1 3–1 4–1 1–1 2–1 5–1 2–0 2–0 3–1 1–2
Nojom Ajdabiya 0–1 0–2 1–4 1–3 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–4 2–3 0–0 2–0
Olomby 2–1 2–3 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 5–0 0–1 1–0 3–2 1–1 0–3 1–2
Shat 0–2 1–2 3–3 0–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 2–1 3–2 2–3 3–5 1–0 1–3
Suqoor 0–1 0–3 0–0 0–4 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–1
Tahaddy 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 5–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 0–0 3–3
Tersanah 0–0 3–4 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 1–0
Urouba 0–1 1–2 2–3 1–4 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 0–2 2–1 3–1 0–2 2–1
Wahda 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–5 2–0 0–2 1–2 2–1 3–2 0–1 1–0 6–1 0–0 0–0 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 28 July 2008. Source: Libyan Premier League @ goalzz.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers
21 goals
18 goals
  • William de Souza (Al Tahaddy)
16 goals
13 goals
12 goals
11 goals

Awards
  • Best Foreign Player (sponsored by Libyana & Al Madar) - Mahdi Karim (Al Ahly Tripoli)
  • Golden Boot - Abdelhameed Zidane (Al Akhdar) - 21 goals
  • Goal of the Season - Mahdi Karim for Al Ahly Tripoli vs. Al Madina - January 4, 2008
  • Young Player of the Year - Sapol Mani of Al Ittihad
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