For the next six months, they recorded in a converted warehouse. It was chaos. El-Shawaly brought a small tabla drum to pound during penalty shootouts. Mousa would rip off his headphones and scream “Aaaaah, ya Allah, madha fa’alt??” (What have you done?!) when a defender own-goaled. The sound engineers—German, stoic, used to the monotone of English commentary—were horrified. Then, they were delighted.
The breakthrough came when Thompson played them a test match: Real Madrid vs. Al-Ahly. Cristiano Ronaldo received a through ball. Mousa improvised: “He’s running… he’s dancing… he’s like a camel on ice—no, he’s a gazelle! GOOOO… OOOOO… OOOOO…” He held the note for seventeen seconds. El-Shawaly interrupted: “Abdullah, breathe. The man scored, he didn’t conquer Andalusia.”
Social media in the region erupted upon the game's release. It became a cultural touchstone. Suddenly, gaming clips were being shared with Arabic voiceovers, and living rooms across Riyadh, Cairo, and Dubai were filled with the familiar sounds of Chawali’s voice. It bridged the gap between the virtual and the real.