The intense rivalry between Al Hilal and Al Ittihad will be put to the test once again as the Saudi Arabian powerhouses prepare to face off in the King Salman Cup.
The conclusion of the group stage action of the tournament saw Al Ittihad and Al Hilal record 2-1 victories over Iraq’s Al Shorta and Morocco’s Wydad respectively to book their places in the quarter-finals.
The results also meant the two Saudi sides will lock horns in the knockout round, with Al Ittihad topping Group A with the full nine points, and Al Hilal finishing as Group B runners-up. Their clash in Taif on Saturday not only brings some of the biggest stars in the region face to face, but also carries decades of history, rivalry and tradition with it.
While Saudi Arabia’s two major derbies are those in the capital Riyadh between Al Hilal and Al Nassr and in Jeddah between Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, the game between Al Hilal and Al Ittihad has grown in stature, earning the nickname ‘the Saudi clasico’.
Just like the original clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, its Saudi counterpart pits a team from the capital against one from the main coastal metropolis. And this too is a match between two of the most successful clubs in the region.
Al Ittihad are Saudi Arabia’s oldest existing football club, tracing its roots to 1927 - mere months after King Abdulaziz Al Saud declared Jeddah and the western Hejaz region part of the newly unified kingdom. Al Hilal came into existence three decades later, initially under the name ‘Olympic Club’ in Riyadh.
But it wasn’t until the late mid 1960s that the two sides crossed paths.
With a nationwide league still a decade away, the King’s Cup was the most prominent competition bringing together the top teams from around Saudi Arabia.
Al Ittihad and Mecca-based Al Wehda dominated the early years of the competition, with one or both of them appearing in every final between 1957 and 1961. Al Hilal then entered the frame, beating Al Wehda to end the duopoly in 1961. Two years later, they went head-to-head with Al Ittihad in the final, and it was the Jeddah side that emerged triumphant in the first-ever Saudi clasico, winning 3-0 to lift the 1963 King’s Cup.
A year later, Al Hilal took their revenge, beating their new rivals after a penalty shootout in the final to regain the trophy. For decades after that, both sides established themselves as part of the nation’s dominant quartet, with success ebbing and flowing between the pair alongside Al Ahli and Al Nassr.
In the mid-1990s, the rivalry took on a more intense form. This period coincided with the return of foreign players to the league and the introduction of fully professional Saudi players, which allowed the two massively popular clubs to translate their revenues into an ability to recruit the best local talent and cast their net beyond Saudi Arabia to attract players from places like South America, Africa and the rest of the Arab world.
Before the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho, Ittihad attracted names like Italy’s Roberto Donadoni, Sierra Leone’s Mohamed Kallon and Mexico’s Jared Borgetti, while Al Hilal’s international heroes of that period included former Manchester United winger Andrei Kanchelskis and Morocco’s Salaheddine Bassir, who was part of Deportivo La Coruna’s historic La Liga winning side of 2001.
If one name embodied that era of success at Ittihad, it was local hero Mohammed Noor - the brilliant midfielder who captained the club for the best part of a decade and lifted the AFC Champions League trophy twice.
At Al Hilal, Sami Al Jaber established himself as arguably the greatest player in the nation’s history, becoming the first Asian player to score in three FIFA World Cups (1994, 1998 and 2006).
Between 1995 and 2011, the two clubs won seven titles each, with only Al Shabab’s two titles breaking their 16-year-long hold of the Saudi league. The competition between them extended to the continental front too, with Al Hilal winning two AFC Champions League (then known as Asian Club Championship) titles in the 1990s, and Ittihad matching them with back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005.
The year 2009 marked the last time Al Ittihad were on top of their game, when they reached their third Champions League final in five years, losing to Japan’s Gamba Osaka, while winning the league title for the third time in six years. Since then, Al Hilal have dominated, winning two more champions league titles and sweeping seven of the next 13 league titles.
With Al Ittihad now back as league champions and having bolstered their ranks with the signing of Ballon d’Or winner Benzema among others, and Al Hilal now among the top three highest spending clubs in the world, Saturday’s quarter-final in Taif promises to be a new a chapter in an eternal rivalry that has arguably shaped the history of Saudi Arabian football.
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Fresh faces in UAE side
Khalifa Mubarak (24) An accomplished centre-back, the Al Nasr defender’s progress has been hampered in the past by injury. With not many options in central defence, he would bolster what can be a problem area.
Ali Salmeen (22) Has been superb at the heart of Al Wasl’s midfield these past two seasons, with the Dubai club flourishing under manager Rodolfo Arrubarrena. Would add workrate and composure to the centre of the park.
Mohammed Jamal (23) Enjoyed a stellar 2016/17 Arabian Gulf League campaign, proving integral to Al Jazira as the capital club sealed the championship for only a second time. A tenacious and disciplined central midfielder.
Khalfan Mubarak (22) One of the most exciting players in the UAE, the Al Jazira playmaker has been likened in style to Omar Abdulrahman. Has minimal international experience already, but there should be much more to come.
Jassim Yaqoub (20) Another incredibly exciting prospect, the Al Nasr winger is becoming a regular contributor at club level. Pacey, direct and with an eye for goal, he would provide the team’s attack an extra dimension.
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
