JEDDAH, 10 June 2005 — Celebration started in the 63rd minute of the match at the time Saudi Arabia were leading the Uzbekistani team 2-0 and after the final whistle in the other match of the group in Kuwait announcing the end of Kuwait vs. South Korea match, which ended 4-0 in favor of Korea. The official qualification to World Cup 2006 in Germany was the fourth in a row for the Kingdom after previously qualifying in ’94 in USA, ’98 in France and 2002 in Korea-Japan.
Tens of thousands of Saudi fans took to the streets of Jeddah after the match in a night-long celebration to be remembered. Celebration hit Tahlia streets from 10 p. m. till roughly 4 a.m. with thousands waving Saudi flags. Fans whooped it up on both the streets and the roofs of their cars. Dozens of Hummers and other cars draped all over with Saudi flags except for the front windshield paraded on the streets. Several took the opportunity to show off the modifications made to their vehicles such as flaming exhausts and hydraulic suspensions.
There was a heavy presence of Saudi police to organize traffic and maintain order. Until the next day, no accidents were reported.
Saudi fans interviewed by Arab News said that they saw the victory coming and it was just a matter of time. Nabeel Muhammad, Saudi high school student, said, “This great victory came at a perfect time to erase the sadness caused by our final examinations. We have proven to the world that we are the best. Despite the embarrassing performance in Asian Cup and Gulf Cup, we always manage to come back and to tell the world that we are still here. We must live this moment of joy, but we should think of what is coming.”
Abbas Abu Ali, a Saudi fan, said, “Now that we are in World Cup, we must make sure that we will not repeat the embarrassment of the opening match against Germany in 2002 which ended 8-0. We need the same Saudi team of 1994 in USA when we surprised the world with our excellent performance in out first appearance. We need to send a message to the world saying that we are not an easy target and we came to compete, not for the cup because that it very difficult, but to advance into the upper position and at least to the quarterfinals.”
Many left their cars in the middle of the street to celebrate with their compatriots on the roadside. Quickly the euphoria shifted into madness as Saudi males attempted to frantically open taxi doors and give their mobile numbers to the female passengers inside. It is a shame that despite their happiness these football fans could not control themselves to a degree to keep the celebrations to the roadside. On Tahlia Street traffic had become a mosaic of modified cars, fans and Saudi flags honking their horns and setting off car alarms on purpose in order to fill the night with their celebrations.
A police officer interviewed by Arab News said, “We are experienced in dealing with this because we handled it when we qualified in ’94, ’98 and 2002. We planned for this for a long time. Our main job is to keep peace and watch for troublemakers if there is any. We must make sure that there are no joyriders. Things were peaceful tonight and at the end everyone wants to celebrate and go home, nobody is looking for trouble.”
