Saudi Professional League started a week ago and by yesterday two rounds already finished.
The results, as expected, yielded no surprises except for Hajar forcing a draw with Hilal.
Or actually a hard draw for Hilal, which gained it in the last minute. With all due respect Hilal's coach Antoine Kombouare seemed helpless in that match especially with the lackadaisical play by his players and him not reacting fast when it comes to the late changes he made during the match that almost cost the team a big win. Only a stroke of luck saved the team from a big loss.
On the other hand, Shabab and Ahli continue to hit hard from day one, as both teams had big wins to be ranked first and second so far just like last year's final ranking.
And unlike Hilal both teams seemed very well prepared for the league, their players realized the responsibility and were men enough to score a big win and show everyone that they really are aiming for the championship and nothing else.
Now we see and compare those two teams with the rest of the pack. It is the very good preparation that Shabab and Ahli made since the end of last season —from signing players early to a well planned camp — that made them stand out.
Results weren't that promising except for middle teams like Fateh and Hajar. Other big teams disappointed their supporters, chief of them Hilal and Ittihad as I had pointed out in the past.
Nasr lovers also thought that their team can do something but they didn't, and fans are asking why is it like that?
Since they spent a nice European camp, what went wrong? Were those camps for fun only? I might find a reason for Ittihad since they recently had a new president but what about Hilal and Nasr?
They are more stable and their managements should know better and realize that supporters won't just keep quiet this time.
Also, Saudi sports channel’s telecast of the matches were so-so. I said in a previous column that broadcast rights must be sold to other networks to promote competition and improve performance. I believe that keeping them to exclusively cover the league is a disaster. And I wonder what is the reason this time for their poor performance?
Last but not least, the league will take a break for two weeks and will resume Aug. 23 with more excitement and teams that disappointed their fans hopefully to come back stronger.
Follow me on Twitter @alhamadbander.
