World
Meet the Saudi clubs chasing AFC Champions League glory
It has been just over four months since Al-Hilal supporters were heart-broken in the AFC Champions League (ACL) final, as a 1-0 win by Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds denied the tournament’s most successful club a record-extending fifth title.
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However, Al-Hilal has proved persistent over the years in this competition and will unquestionably be among the contenders again when this season’s ACL group stage begins on Monday.
The Saudi Arabian giants are one of 40 teams across Asia hoping to be crowned the continent’s best club, with reigning Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad, 2022 King Cup winners Al-Fayha and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr being the Kingdom’s other representatives this year.
Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their third goal. (File photo: Reuters)
Three of the four – Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad – will face Iranian clubs. After a historic agreement between the respective countries’ football authorities, the games will take place in Saudi Arabia and Iran for the first time since 2016, when strained diplomatic ties led playing matches on neutral territory.
Here’s Al Arabiya English’s preview of the Saudi clubs’ prospects in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League.
Al-Hilal
Group stage opponents: Navbahor (Uzbekistan), Nassaji Mazandaran (Iran), Mumbai City (India)
It is impossible to talk about the AFC Champions League without mentioning Al-Hilal, who has been historically and also, in recent times, the competition’s dominant team, winning four titles and finishing as runners-up five times.
Al Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
They have made it to four out of the past six finals, winning twice – most recently in 2021, when Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim led them to a famous 2-0 victory over South Korean side Pohang Steelers at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Al-Hilal now has a new Portuguese coach at the helm in Jorge Jesus, and given the quality of players they have added to the roster – Malcom, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly and, of course, Neymar – over a sensational summer transfer window, they will surely be among the firm favorites to win the trophy when they begin their campaign against Uzbek side Navbahor.
It is a highly favorable group for Al-Hilal, with Navbahor and Nassaji Mazandaran both making their debuts in the competition, while Mumbai City only made its first appearance last year.
Al-Hilal should have a smooth passage to the knockout stage as group winners.
Star player: Neymar – Although concerns about injuries persist, there is no doubt that Neymar is a genuine global superstar capable of winning any game. Fresh off breaking football icon Pele’s international scoring record for Brazil, Neymar has his sights set firmly on breaking new ground in club football, too. If his UEFA Champions League scoring record is anything to go by – 43 goals in 81 games for PSG and Barcelona – Neymar could be the player to propel Al-Hilal to its fifth ACL trophy.
Al-Ittihad
Group state opponents: Sepahan (Iran), Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (Iraq), AGMK (Uzbekistan)
Domestically and continentally, Al-Ittihad has long played second-fiddle to Al-Hilal. Still, last season’s Saudi Pro League title victory could be the turning point as they look to chase down their rivals.
N'Golo Kante holds his Al-Ittihad team jersey. (Twitter)
Al-Ittihad also has its own history in the ACL, claiming back-to-back triumphs in 2004 and 2005 and famously winning their first crown by overturning a 3-1 first-leg defeat to Seongnam Ilhwa with a stunning 5-0 victory in South Korea. However, the club has not reached a final since 2009.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will be desperate to compete after administrative failings saw Al-Ittihad refused an AFC license to play in the last edition of the ACL. That embarrassment now appears firmly behind the club, and like Al-Hilal, a host of summer arrivals – including Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho – will give Al-Ittihad the belief that they can win the ACL for a third time.
The club’s group includes Sepahan, who is an old stager in the AFC Champions League but has only made it through the group stage three times in 13 attempts.
The Iranians will likely be the toughest opponents in a group that includes Uzbekistan’s AGMK, the visitors to King Abdullah Sports City on Monday in what looks like a winnable first game, and Iraqi club Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.
Al-Ittihad is a favorite to progress as a group winner.
Star player: Karim Benzema
Welcome ceremony for Karim Benzema after joining Al-Ittihad – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski on the list of all-time highest UEFA Champions League goal-scorers, Benzema is a player for the biggest stage. He won Europe’s most prestigious trophy five times with Real Madrid. He has shown his quality against Asian opponents, scoring in the FIFA Club World Cup final victories over Japan’s Kashima Antlers in 2016 and Al-Hilal in 2022.
Al-Nassr
Group stage opponents: Persepolis (Iran), Al-Duhail (Qatar), Istiklol (Tajikistan)
Al-Nassr looked down and out, trailing 2-1 in their ACL qualification playoff against UAE side Shabab Al-Ahli last month. However, goals in the 88th, 95th and 97th minutes saw the team scrape through the group stage. This means that Cristiano Ronaldo and Co now have the opportunity to win the continental championship for the first time in the club’s history.
Al Nassr’s midfielder Marcelo Brozovic (L) vies for the ball with Al Shorta’s forward Idrissa Niang during the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup semi-final football match between Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr and Iraq’s Al Shorta at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha on August 9, 2023. (AFP)
It has been 28 long years since Al-Nassr reached its only ACL final when a golden goal winner in extra-time by Ilhwa Chunma’s Lee Tae-Hong silenced the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
However, Ronaldo’s arrival has rejuvenated Al-Nassr. Though it was pipped to the post in last season’s Saudi Pro League title by Al-Ittihad, the arrival of reinforcements such as Aymeric Laporte, Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic means that Luis Castro’s side is better equipped now than ever before for a shot at continental glory.
Al-Nassr’s campaign begins with a mouthwatering clash with Persepolis at the iconic Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday. The Iranian giant has never won the ACL but has reached the final twice in the past five years.
Qatari champion Al-Duhail, powered by ex-Liverpool and Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho, will also be a challenging prospect. Though Tajikistan’s Istiklol appears as a more straightforward opponent on paper, the team must upset Al-Hilal 4-1 to top the table on an impressive ACL debut in 2021. It’s a tough group for Al Nassr and progress – whether as the first or second-best side – should be celebrated.
Star player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrating after scoring for Al Nassr. (Twitter)
Could it be anyone else? The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and UEFA Champions League record scorer finally had his first taste of silverware with Al-Nassr last month, bagging both goals in the final as they won the Arab Club Champions Cup against Al-Hilal. Ronaldo’s knack for grabbing important goals will be vital if he is to add an Asian Champions League title to his five European winner’s medals.
Al-Fayha
Group stage opponents: Al Ain (UAE), Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Ahal Änew (Turkmenistan)
Shockwaves were sent through Saudi Arabia when Al-Fayha beat Al-Hilal on penalties to win their first-ever King Cup in 2022. Nearly 18 months after that groundbreaking triumph, they are finally being rewarded with another first – an inaugural AFC Champions League appearance.
It is fair to say Al-Fayha’s was a pretty uneventful football history until that victory over Al-Hilal, but it is a fitting time for them to flourish, given that the club is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
Theirs is a team, rather than a patchwork of stars, led by Serbian coach Vuk Rašović, who will be happier than most to make it to the ACL. In 2020, Rašović was denied the chance to lead UAE side Al-Wahda in the competition after the club had to withdraw following a COVID-19 outbreak.
Al-Fayha’s group is tricky, with 15-time Uzbek champions Pakhtakor a perennial presence in the ACL and set to make their 19th appearance in the competition. The UAE’s only ACL winners, Al Ain, will also be expected to advance. At the same time, Turkmenistan’s Ahal Änew represents the best possibility of points for Al-Fayha, for whom progress from the group stage will be a significant and surprising achievement.
Star player: Fashion Sakala
The Zimbabwe striker scored in three of his first five Saudi Pro League games after moving from Scottish side Rangers this summer. That included the opening goal in a morale-boosting 1-1 draw with Al-Hilal. Al-Fayha will need Sakala to replicate that league form in the ACL this season if the club stands a chance of reaching the knockout stage.
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