JEDDAH: The Saudi Professional League with a European flavor kicks off the 2008-2009 Saudi football season, with three matches taking place across the Kingdom today.
Along with the league trophy the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup, Crown Prince Cup and King’s Cup for Champions will be up for grabs in the new season to run for about nine months.
The balance of power in the domestic league is not about to change and the country’s top clubs, among them, Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab of Riyadh and Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli of Jeddah, are again expected to figure prominently in the title race.
With a league and Crown Prince Cup double Hilal was the most successful team in the last season with Ittihad and Ahli unable to bring a trophy to Jeddah, after Shabab won the King’s Cup for Champions and Al-Nasr the Prince Faisal Cup.
Ittihad lost the league title after leading for most of the competition on a controversial tiebreak. The home-and-away match result was applied instead of the goal difference after the teams tied on 48 points. The match in Riyadh ended in a goalless draw and Hilal won 1-0 in Jeddah. Ittihad’s frustration continued when the Tigers lost against Shabab 3-1 in the King’s Cup final.
For the second year, the points system instead of the Golden Four will be used to determine the league champion and the first eight teams in the final standings to qualify for the King’s Cup for Champions.
There are 12 teams entered in the Saudi Profesional League, namely, Ahli, Hilal, Ittihad, Nasr, Shabab, Al-Wehda, Al-Ittifaq, Abha, Raid, Al-Hazem, Al-Watani and Najran.
In today’s opening matches, Shabab hosts Najran in Riyadh, Ittifaq entertains Al-Watani of Tabuk in Dammam while the Jeddah-based Ittihad plays host to Al-Raid.
The first round concludes tomorrow with a further three matches on tap. Easily the strongest match of the first round pits Nasr against Ahli in Riyadh. Abha hosts Hilal in Abha while Wehda welcomes Al-Hazem in Makkah. During the off season, the total number of Saudi players to transfer or be on loan to new teams reached 48. Seven professional non-Saudi players renewed their contracts and 15 new non-Saudi pros signed up for local teams, seven of them Brazilians.
Of the coaches, not a single Brazilian was hired for the new season with the teams going for those from Europe as well as from other Latin American and Arab countries.
The teams had been busy preparing for the new season by entering international and local training camps. The defending champion Hilal held its training camp in Italy and Switzerland and played against such tough teams as Inter Milan, SS Lazio and Olympiakos. Ittihad had its training camp in Abha and participated in Al-Nokhba tournament that featured three other teams namely FAR Forces Armée Royales of Morocco, Al-Raid, and Al-Karamah of Syria.
Shabab went to Tunisia for the second year in a row for its training camp and played friendly matches against Espéranse S de Tunis and C. A. Bizertin.
Ahli trained in Abha and entered the 24th Gulf Clubs Championship in Jeddah. Ahli qualified for the semifinals along with Nasr under new coach Bulgarian Stoicho Dimitrov Mladenov. Watani was another team to train abroad, in Syria, while league newcomers Najran, Raid and Abha stayed put in the Kingdom.
Ahli, Shabab, Nasr, Wehda, Najran, Al-Watani and Abha start their campaigns under new coaches. Hilal, Ittihad, Ittifaq, Al-Hazem and Al-Raid kept their coaches for at least another season.
In the 32-year history of the Saudi league, only six teams managed to win championships with Hilal the winningest with 11 titles (2007, 2004, 2001, 1997, 1995, 1989, 1987, 1985, 1985, 1978 and 976). Ittihad is second with seven (2006, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996 and 1981), Nasr third with six (1994, 1993, 1988, 1980, 1979 and 1975), Shabab fourth with five (2005, 2003, 1992, 1991 and 1990) and Ittifaq and Ahli fifth and sixth with two each (1986 and 1982) and (1983 and 1977).
