The Roshn Saudi Pro League continues to make headlines across the world with many big money transfers over the summer in preparation for the 24/25 season which has recently started. I think if you did a quick survey many UK based football fans would not be able to name who the 23/24 Champions were! I think a few would go for Al Nassr where Cristiano Ronaldo plays but the answer is Al-Hilal who won their 19th Championship with former Fulham striker Aleksandr Mitrovic scoring 28 goals in 28 league games played.
The crowds in the league are a real mixture with the lowest of the new campaign being 604 who saw Al Riyadh beat Al Kholood and the highest being 26,977 witnessing Al Ittihad v Al Taawon.
With Ivan Toney's move from Brentford to Al Ahli there is likely to be more interest in the league over the forthcoming months. Here's some facts and figures so you can get to know the league - some you might know and some you might not know!
* Toney's new club Al Ahli are one of four clubs partly owned by The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia. The other clubs are Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Nassr. The PIF hold a 75% stake in the ownership of the clubs - they also hold an 85% stake in Newcastle United
* Al Ahli have won the championship three times previously in 15/16, 83/84 and 77/78. When they won the title most recently former Tottenham Hotspur boss Christian Gross was in charge of the club. Since then Gross has returned the club for two further spells in charge but they have also had Jose Gomes, Serhii Rebrov, Fathi Al-Jabal, Pablo Guede, Jorge Fossati, Yousef Anbar, Branko Ivankovic, Vladan Milojevic, Laurentiu Reghecampf, Besnak Hasi, Robert Sidoldi and Pitso Mosimane in charge before current boss Matthias Jaissle took over in July 2023.
* Toney isn't the only English player to make the move over to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. Striker Brad Young, 21, scored 29 goals in 35 league and cup games for Cymru Premier side The New Saints last season and had helped them to make history and qualify for the Europa Conference League group stages for the 24/25 season. The former Aston Villa player who has also played on loan for Carlisle United and Ayr United has moved to newly promoted Al Orobah for a fee reported to be around £190,000 plus potential future add ons. He wll play alongside central defender Kurt Zouma who has joined on loan from West Ham United.
* Also promoted are Al Qadsiah who were the First Division Champions for 23/24 and Al Kholood who make their debut in the top tier - they are the 38th club to play in the division since it's inception in 1976. Portuguese Manager Fabiano Flora left the club at the end of the last campaign and was replaced by fellow countryman Paulo Duarte who has previously managed International teams Togo, Burkina Faso and Gabon. Flora is now in charge of Third Tier side Al Diriyah.
* Robbie Fowler had a brief stint in charge of Al Qadsiah from June to October 2023. He was replaced by former Spanish International and Real Madrid player Michel who has also manager Olympiacos, Getafe, Malaga, Seville and Rayo Vallecano amongst other clubs.
* A former Maidstone United player has made the move to the Middle East for this season. Chris Smalling has joined Al-Fayha after a five year successful five year spell with Serie A side Roma. He will line up alongside a former "Everton Player" - I use the speech marks as winger Henry Onyekuru was a registered player for The Toffees between June 2017 to August 2019 after a £7,000,000 move from Belgian club KAS Eupen where he had scored 30 goals in 60 league and cup games over two seasons. He played on loan at Anderlecht and Galatasary and was unable to gain a work permit in the UK joining Monaco for a fee reported to be between £12,000,00 to £15,000,000. The Nigerian International scored 11 goals in 31 league and cup games last season for AL Fayha.
WATCH OUT FOR NEOM SPORTS IN THE YELO LEAGUE
A club to be on the look out for is Second Tier (known as The Yelo League for sponsorship reasons) side NEOM Sports Club who are currently based in the City of Tabuk but are expected to move to the planned urban area of Neom when it is completed. The club were founded as Al Suqoor in 1965 and has never played in the top tier. They came under new ownership in 2023 when NEOM purchased the club hence the name change. The name is a fusion of "NEO" which is Ancient Greek for New and ''M' which is the initial of Mohammed bin Salman who launched the project in 2017. They were promoted from the Third Tier last season and have recruited Brazilian Manager Pericles Chamusca who joins from Pro Leauge side Al Taawoun who finished in fourth position last season. He has also manager Al Faisaly, Al Hilal, and Al Shabab along with a host of Brazlian clubs since his career started in 1994. NEOM have signed defender Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari, Muhanad Al-Saad and Salman Al-Faraj from Pro Leauge sides in prepartion for the new season.
Al-Faraj is a club legend at Al Hilal having played for them since 2008. He has made 391 appearances for the club and has 73 caps for the National side and scored in the 2018 World Cup versus Egypt.
Brazilian striker Romarinho has also joined from Al Ittihad - I think the 33 year old will score many goals form the club this season. West Bromwich Albion fans will know forward Mbaye Diagne who has also joined Al Qadsiah - The Senegalese International had a loan spell at The Hawthorns in 2021.
NEOM's forward line also has Brazilian Carlos Junior who has joined from Al Shabab where he scored 41 goals in 81 league and cup games since 2021.
It's no surprise to see NEOM top of the table with three wins from three games and ten goals scored with none conceded. They have won 4-0 v Al Jubail, 4-0 v Al Jandal and 2-0 v Abha with Romarinho netting four goals!
They have also today announced the signing of right-back Mohammed Al-Breik. The 31 year old joins from Al Hilal where he has played for the last decade. He was part of the FIFA World Cup squads of 2018 and 2022 for Saudi Arabia.
The new NEOM stadium with a capacity of 46,010 when completed vwill be a candidate to host games in the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
FIVE FOREIGN PLAYERS YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD OF.....
Cristiano Ronaldo, Ivan Toney, N'Golo Kante, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Riyad Mahrez are some of the names playing in the league that English football fans will know. Here we take a look at five of lesser known foreign players (to UK based football fans) plying their trade in the league.
The league allow ten foreign players to be registered of which two must be under 21 with only eight allowed to be named in match day squads.
(1) GABRI VEIGA - MIDFIELDER
Despite interest from a host of top European clubs, the midfielder who had played 50 La Liga games for Celta Vigo from 2020 to 2023, moved to Al Ahli who activated his €40,000,000 release clause. The 22 year old made 20 Saudi Pro League appearances for his new club last season.
(2) OTABEK SHUKUROV - MIDFIELDER
A recent signing for Al Fayha who currently has 69 International caps for Uzbekistan. The 28 year old has also played in Turkyie for Kayeserispor and Fatih Karagumruk along with Sharjah FC in the UAE.
(3) MARCOS LEONARDO - STRIKER
The 21 year old Brazilian scored 54 goals in 168 league and cup games for Santos before a reported 14 million euro move to Benfica in January 2024 where he scored 8 goals in 24 games. His stay in Portugal was a short one as he has recently signed for Al Hilal for a reported fee of 40 million - not a bad bit of business by Benfica!
(4) EMMANUEL BOATENG - STRIKER
28 year old Ghana International who joins Al Orobah from Portuguese side Rio Ave. He has previously played in China for Dalian Professional and in Spain for Levante.
(5) GIACOMO BONAVENTURA - WINGER/MIDFIELDER
Bonaventura made history when at the age of 34 years, 1 month and 22 days he became the oldest Italian player to score on their debut when he netted against Malta in a Euro 2024 qualifier in October 2023. After two long spells with Fiorentina and AC Milan he has joined Al-Shabab who finished in 8th place last season.
2024/2025 RESULTS
MATCH DAY ONE
Al Akhdoud 0-3 Al Hilal - 5.099
Al Shabab 0-1 Al Ettifaq - 3,880
Al Kholood 0-1 Al Ittihad - 2,296
Al Ahli 2-0 Al Orubah - 20,214
Al Qadisiya 3-0 Al Fateh - 5,265
Damac 0-1 Al Khaleej - 2,677
Al Nassr 1-1 Al Raed - 8,951
Al Wehda 3-3 Al Riyadh - 670
Al Taawon 1-0 Al Feiha - 1,606
AVERAGE CROWD - 5,629
Al Ittihad 2-1 Al Taawon - 26,977
Al Khaleej 0-1 Al Shabab - 1,397
Al Riyadh 3-1 Al Kholood - 604
Al Hilal 3-2 Damac - 8,989
Al Wehda 2-1 Al Orubah - 780
Al Ettifaq 1-0 Al Akhdoud - 3,276
Al Feiha 1-4 Al Nassr - 4.195
Al Raed 0-1 Al Qadisiya - 1,651
Al Fateh 1-0 Al Ahli SC - 7,054
AVERAGE CROWD - 6,103
Former Manchester City and Italy Manger Roberto Mancini was appointed Manager of The Saudi Arabia National Team in August 2023. They have qualified for the Third Round of Qualification for the 2026 Word Cup where they are drawn in a league alongside Australia, Japan, Bahrain, China and Indonesia. The top two in the league will qualify for the World Cup with the 3rd/4th teams going into Round Four which is two groups of three with the winners qualifying - The runner's up play-off over two legs to determine who will go through to the Inter-Confederation play-offs. The Green Falcons next games come at home against Indonesia on 5th September and away in China on 10th September.
No comments:
Post a Comment