SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Saudi Arabian crown await Ighalo and Al-Hilal teammates
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first season in the Saudi Arabian league looks set to end without winning the championship. Rather, it is Odion Ighalo’s Al Hilal that is set to wear the crown.
Al Hilal defender Mohammed Al-Breik says the Saudi side have no concerns that fatigue could derail their quest for a record-extending fifth Asian Champions League crown when they host Urawa Red Diamonds in the first leg of the final on Saturday.
Al Hilal, who won their fourth Asian crown in 2021, go into the game at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium showing signs that a packed season is taking its toll.
They beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr 2-0 before sealing a 1-0 extra-time victory over league leaders Al Ittihad in the King’s Cup in their last two games, but those wins ended an inconsistent run with many players showing signs of tiredness.
Despite appearances at last year’s World Cup and the team’s participation in February’s Club World Cup, the Al Hilal squad were taking the schedule in their stride, said Al-Breik.
“We’re used to playing an intense schedule, we are used to doing this every season,” the Saudi international told Reuters
“Fatigue is not a problem. We know our obligations, how to take care of ourselves and we always do our best to recover.
“We might not have been at our best when we had a lot of games one after the other, but once all our injured players returned we showed the real face of Al Hilal against Al Nassr and Al Ittihad.”
A total of 12 Al Hilal players, including Al-Breik, were involved in Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Qatar, with 10 of them on the pitch for their stunning win over Argentina in the group stage.
“Our experience is going to help,” says Al-Breik. “But we’re facing an opponent who is going to be aggressive and who are going to make things difficult.
“This will my third experience of playing in a final against Urawa Reds and we know they won’t make things easy but I hope we can succeed.”
Al Hilal won the most recent encounter between the clubs in the 2019 Asian Champions League final, avenging a defeat at the hands of the Japanese outfit two years earlier.
After Saturday’s first leg, the teams meet again in Japan seven days later at Saitama Stadium for the return fixture.
Finals during the pandemic were played on a single-game basis but with travel back to normal this edition sees the return of the home-and-away format.
Al-Breik said Al Hilal’s demanding supporters will push their team to success.
“Our fans are always wanting everything,” he says. “They are our motor, our driver to achieve our goals. They have always been like this and it’s thanks to them that we’re always on top.”
-Reuters
SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Peseiro set to return to Saudi Arabia for petro-dollar job
![Know The Nigerian Coach Jose Peseiro -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Know-The-Nigerian-Coach-Jose-Peseiro.png)
Former Super Eagles’ coach, Jose Peseiro is on the line to coach Saudi Arabia Pro League first tier team, Al Riyadh.
Information from the oil rich country indicate that Peseiro who had previously coached the Saudi Arabia national team is one of the two being considered to replace Odair Hellmann at the Saudi club which placed 14th at the end of last season.
It is gathered that Peseiro has a competitor in Spanish cooach, Javier Pereira who is also lineup for the job.
Peseiro had previously managed Al Hilal in 2006 and later coached the Saudi national team during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Ronaldo breaks Saudi League’s single-season scoring record
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Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday.
The Portuguese 39-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.
The previous record was held by former Al Nasr forward and Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in 2018-19.
Ronaldo, who played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, joined Al Nasr in January 2023.
-Reuters
SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Ighalo’s former club, Al-Hilal secure Saudi League title
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Undefeated Al-Hilal won a record-extending 19th Saudi Pro League title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Al-Hazem to reclaim the trophy from Al-Ittihad who won it last season.
Jorge Jesus’ side hold a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in second with three matches remaining.
Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes but Faiz Selemani netted the equaliser for Al-Hazem in the 34th minute.
However, Jesus’s side took the lead again with an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid in the 39th minute.
Mitrovic scored again in first-half stoppage time and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored three minutes later to make it 4-1.
Al-Hilal are chasing the treble having clinched the Saudi Super Cup title in April, and having reached the Saudi King’s Cup final where they will play Al-Nassr.
-Reuters
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