JEDDAH, 26 March 2004 — The Jeddah derby between Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli is expected, as in every contest they have met, to be very close. And the Crown Prince Cup final in Riyadh will be no different. The only thing the fans of both the clubs are in agreement is that the match will be close, while hoping in their hearts that it will be their team that will hold aloft the cup.
Though it would be dangerous to hazard a guess on the outcome of the match, facts on paper point to Ittihad holding the edge over their rivals. The fact that Ittihad has been undefeated for more than seven months is testimony to their talent and endurance. And it is also a fact that their dominance is unchallenged following a string of emphatic displays. And the other fact is that Ittihad, with 11 national players in their ranks, have shown remarkable adaptability.
Ahli on the other hand have shown flashes of brilliance amid some solid display. They will be relying heavily on their defense to carry the day.
Ahli performance throughout the season has been erratic. They have been languishing between the fifth and eighth position in the Saudi League, and their chances of finishing in the fourth position to compete for the King’s Cup is very slim. Ahli and Nasr are in fray for the fourth slot, with Ittihad, Hilal and Shabab already way ahead of the pack.
Ahli coach is most likely to play five defenders, with the three midfielders playing the spearhead to the floating two strikers. The wingbacks will take on the additional duty of boosting the attack by playing just withdrawn from the midfielders and this could enable Ahli to defend solidly while launching counters.
Ittihad will in all likelihood play with their usual 4-4-2 formation and after a superb sequence of success, their coach would not be wanting to tamper with a winning formula. Ittihad will rely on Muhammad Nur, Manaf Abu Shgeer and Chico in the midfield, with Demba and Hamza Idrees in the lead position. Ahli too have two dangerous strikers, Talal Al-Meshal and international Brazilian player Keem, and with Ibraheem Suwaid and Saheeb Al-Abdullah clicking in the midfield, they could well give Ittihad a tough fight. Muhammad Al-Khelaiwi and Emad Siddek are the prominent Ahli defenders and they could be the key in containing Ittihad. But as the numbers have it, Ittihad defense is better than Ahli’s as the former has let in 11 goals in comparison to Ahli’s 15 goals.
Ahli qualified with victories over Al-Wehda (5-1), Al-Shabab in Riyadh (2-1), and then beat Al-Hilal on aggregate in home (2-1) and away (0-0) games.
Ittihad qualified be beating Okhdood of Najran (3-0), Al-Ittifaq of Dammam (1-0) via the golden goal and then beat Al-Nasr club on aggregate in home (3-1) and away (2-1) games. Ittihad will play the final against Ahli for the ninth time in the history of Crown Prince Cup competition.
Ahli met Ittihad eight times in the Crown Prince Cup. The first match was in 1377H which Ahli won 2-1. The second in 1378H ended in favor of Ittihad 2-3. The third match in 1383H saw Ittihad again win 3-0. The next in 1385H too went in Ittihad’s favor, 3-0. The fifth match in 1390H saw Ahli winning 2-0. The sixth match in 1393H ended in favor of Ittihad 1-0. While in 1421H Ittihad won 2-1 and last match in 1423H was won by Ahli 2-1.
The final will be supervised by referees from Portugal. They arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday.
