JEDDAH, 1 May — The curtain will fall on the Saudi soccer season today with the last match to determine if Riyadh-based Al-Hilal or Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad are the team worthy to keep this year’s King’s Cup.
On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will attend the final to be played at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium today.
Al-Ittihad have to overcome the not-so-insignificant problem raised due to the absence of their star players Brazilian Sergio and Hamza Idris. Still the presence of heavyweights such as Hassan Al-Yami, Muhammad Nur and Saleh Al-Saqri who have been rigorously trained by Brazilian coach Oscar is more than enough to boost the morale of the team.
Al-Hilal, on the other hand, led by national captain Sami Al-Jaber along with Nawaf Al-Tamiyyat, Youssaf Al-Thunaiyan and Brazilian Ademelson in their ranks is not an easy rival to reckon with. They are currently playing under their new coach Colombian Maturina after Portuguese coach George Arthur left his job.
Al-Ittihad coach Oscar is expected to trust the left wing with Saleh Al-Saqri and Al-Yami adopting the basic strategy of applying relentless pressure on the rival players. Experienced players such as Muhammad Al-Khelaiwi at the back line, Khamis Al-Oweiran at the center and Al-Hadithy at the attack are quite confidence-inspiring to the fans.
Al-Hilal have never betrayed any sign of weakness though their coach is with them for only one month. They have already boosted their morale by defeating Rifaie Al-Gharbi of Bahrain for seven goals and routed Kuwaiti Al-Nasr with five goals. The team also are proud of winning the Asian Clubs Champions Cup.
