JEDDAH, 3 June 2007 — The waves of yellow and black, with a splash of green and white here and there, took to the city streets on Friday night as soon as the final whistle heralded the success of yet another Jeddah team in the soccer season’s third finale.
Al-Ittihad staged a super comeback to beat Al-Hilal 2-1 and inscribe their name on the King’s Cup. And this was enough to send tens of thousands of soccer fans, both Itti and Al-Ahli fans, streaming on to the roads after a tense 90-minute thriller in Riyadh to celebrate the incredible victory.
Fans marched to Ittihad club to celebrate, and their joy was shared by many Ahli fans. Some streets were choked with cars filled with fans and the sustained honking of the horns played out an instant symphony -- that was as marked as the Ode to Joy.
With the King’s Cup now adorning the Ittihad Club showcase, Jeddah made a clean sweep of the season’s Cups. The win was all the more sweet for Ittihad as it was their final chance to win a silverware after two early disappointments. They had lost the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup and Crown Prince Cup final to their archrival Ahli with the lone consolation being that both the trophies remained in the city.
The win also brought Ittihad’s tally of victories in the cup to seven with Hilal still on ten. They won in 1982 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.
The jubilant fans, who were chomping at the bit after the twin lapses, were well over the disappointment after a momentous display by their team in Riyadh.
Sultan Al-Harbi said, “We ended Hilal’s dreams. Hilal were paralyzed on Friday because they were scared of the roaring tigers. We are lucky with Dimitri because we took the cup twice earlier, in 1997 and 1999, when he was at the helm. He (Dimitri) was smart and his tactics to wear down Hilal worked, and just before the end Ittihad showed their teeth and claws.” Mansour Al-Balawi’s presidency has yielded the sixth title in four years. Ittihad won the Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup and the Crown Prince Cup in 2004. Ittihad then secured the Arab Champions League and AFC Champions League in 2005. And last year, Ittihad won the AFC Champions League. Hilal fan Hussein Mansour said that his side gave the match to Ittihad on a platter. “What I don’t understand is why the team arrived in Saudi Arabia from UAE just hours before the match? This was seen in the performance with the players barely running in the second half.”
“I was shocked when Prince Muhammad ibn Faisal, Hilal president, said that he would resign because he found no support from Hilal members. This is a serious problem,” he added.
Ittihad and Ahli now play in AFC Champions League next season. Ahli will participate in GCC Cup for clubs while Hilal, Al-Wehda and Al- Shabab will participate in the Arab Championship.
