Al Hilal Saudi Football Club ( ar, نادي الهلال السعودي), simply known as Al Hilal, is a professional
multi-sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, Saudi Arabia. Their
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team competes in the
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
. They are the most decorated club in Asia winning 65 official trophies. They also hold the record for the most continental trophies in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, as well as a record 18
Professional League
Professional sports, Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterized by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation in order to determine participati ...
titles.
Founded on 16 October 1957, Al Hilal are one of four teams to have
participated in all seasons of the
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
since its establishment in 1976.
Overall, Al Hilal have won 65 official titles and 100 when unofficial trophies are counted. In domestic competitions, they have won a record 18
Professional League
Professional sports, Professional sports leagues are organized in numerous ways. The two most significant types are one that developed in Europe, characterized by a tiered structure using promotion and relegation in order to determine participati ...
titles, a record 13
Crown Prince Cup
The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup ( ar, كأس ولي العهد) was the Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. It was the oldest domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia, its first edition was held in 1956–57, but was not crowned from 1975 unti ...
titles, a record seven
Saudi Federation Cup
Prince Faisal bin Fahd League U-21, formerly Saudi Federation Cup/Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup U-21/Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup and currently known as Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Cup, is an association football league of Saudi Arabia. It was founded in t ...
titles, nine
King Cup
The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup ( ar, كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition, run by the Saudi Arabian Foot ...
titles, a record three
Super Cup titles, and also the
Saudi Founder's Cup
Saudi Founder's Cup (Arabic: كأس المؤسس الملك عبدالعزيز), is an official Centennial football tournament, held every hundred years. organized by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation ( ...
.
Internationally, Al Hilal have won a record eight
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
trophies – the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
,
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, the
Asian Cup Winners Cup in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
and
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, and the
Asian Super Cup
The Asian Super Cup was an annual football competition between the winners of the Asian Club Championship and the Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
The competition started in 1995, but came to an end in 2002 after both major AFC tournaments were merged int ...
in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. In September 2009, Al Hilal was awarded
Best Asian Club of the 20th Century by the
IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
.
History
Founding and Early Years (1957–1979)
Al Hilal Club was originally known as the Olympic Club during its founding by Abdul Rahman bin Saad bin Saeed on 15 October 1957 in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
. The club's name lasted for only one year before it was changed to its current name on 3 December 1958 by
King Saud
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سعود بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Suʿūd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 ...
. He changed the name after he attended a tournament that was contested between the Olympic Club,
Al Nassr
Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yello ...
,
Al Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
and
El Kawkab clubs. As soon as the club's establishment, Al Hilal enjoyed not only grassroots support but also
royal
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
attention.
After spending their formative years building a squad, the club made their first mark by lifting the
King's Cup
__NOTOC__
King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to:
Sports Football
* Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football
* King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...
trophy in 1961. Al Hilal won the King's Cup again in 1964, with a penalty shootout victory over two-time Asian champions
Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to:
Sports Football Libya
*Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier
* Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...
. The club also won the crown prince cup in 1963-64
The club were the inaugural winners when the
Saudi Premier League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
came into existence in the
1976–77 season. Al Hilal also won the league title in
1978–79.
With the success, a number of players and coaches from outside Saudi Arabia joined the club in the 1970s, including Brazilian legends
Mario Zagallo
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
and
Roberto Rivelino.
Sustained Success (1980–1990)
After the establishment of the Saudi Premier League in the late 70's and with Al Hilal winning the competition twice including the inaugural edition. The eighties brought about a new dawn of success to the riyadh giants, with group of talented homegrown players such as the charismatic figurehead defender
Saleh Al-Nu'eimeh who captained both Al-Hilal and the
Saudi National Football Team, together with the promotion of the extremely gifted player maker
Yousuf Al-Thunayan
Yousuf Al-Thunayyan ( ar, يوسف الثُنيان, born November 18, 1963) is a former association football winger and attacking midfielder from Saudi Arabia. He spent all 21 seasons of his senior career at Al-Hilal FC. A playmaker known for ...
and the young and prolific forward
Sami Al-Jaber
Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber ( ar, سامي الجابر; born 11 December 1972) is a Saudi Arabian football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He spent the entirety of his career with Al-Hilal apart from a five-month ...
. The club went on to win four league titles as well as four kings cup titles in ten years, two of those being season double's. Al Hilal were the runners-up in the
Asian club Championship
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
twice. They were second after the round-robin in the final round in 1986. They reached the final the following year in 1987, but
Yomiuri FC
is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country.
Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...
were crowned the champion automatically as Al-Hilal were unable to field a team for the final due to nine of the starting players being chosen for the Saudi team's preparation camp that clashed with the date fixed for the first leg.
Continental Dominance (1991–2002)
The 90's marked a shift in the dominant teams challenging for the title, such as the emergence of a
Al-Shabab as a new contender and force in the league. As well as the resurgence of bitter rivals
Al-Nasser and
Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to:
Sports Football Libya
*Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier
* Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...
made the league become contested and shared between the four, Al-Hilal achieved three titles during this period (
1995–96,
1997–98,
2001–02). The club continued to churn out talent from its academy with players such as
Nawaf Al-Temyat
Nawaf Bander Nawaf Al-Temyat ( ar, نواف بندر نواف التمياط; born 28 June 1976) is a Saudi Arabian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Al-Temyat played his entire club career with Al-Hilal, starting in 19 ...
,
Mohammed Al-Shalhoub,
Abdallah Al-Jamaan,
Ahmad Al-Dokhi as well as Zambian defender
Elijah Litana
Elijah Litana (born 5 December 1970) is a Zambian former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. He was part of the Zambia national football team, Zambia national team that reached ...
. Al-Hilal's continental spoil's during this period defined the clubs identity, decadence and standing in the Asian continent for years to come. The first of which came in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
when the club won their first Asian title, the
Asian Club Championship
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
, beating Iranian club
Esteghlal F.C.
Esteghlal Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال, ''Bâšgâh-è Futbâl-è Esteqlâl''), commonly known as Esteghlal ( fa, استقلال, meaning 'The Independence'), is an Iranian football club based in capital Tehran th ...
in penalties in the final. In 1997 the
Asian Cup Winners Cup and
Asian super cup
The Asian Super Cup was an annual football competition between the winners of the Asian Club Championship and the Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
The competition started in 1995, but came to an end in 2002 after both major AFC tournaments were merged int ...
were also obtained. The club won the
Asian Club Championship
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
again in
1999–2000, when they scored an equaliser in the 89th minute and won the match against
Júbilo Iwata
is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...
in the extra-time, with the final being one of the most exciting and competitive in the competition's history; A
super cup was also achieved in the same year. Finally the last of the Asian titles to be secured in this era was the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
Cup Winners Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
.
League Duopoly (2003–2011)
At the turn of the century the historic rivalry between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad had reached levels never seen before in Saudi football. Historically, since their first meeting, Al-Hilal/Al-Ittihad matches have always been aggressive and passion filled spectacles that drew huge crowds due to both teams being from the two major Saudi cities of Riyadh and Jeddah. Each team represented different cities, backgrounds and values. Al-Hilal is based in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
the capital of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, in addition to having traditional
Najd
Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...
i values the club is most commonly supported by the upper and middle class and also enjoyed royal attention. While on the other hand, Al-Ittihad is based in the port city of
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
and is commonly supported by the lower and middle class as well as non-Saudi natives giving it the nickname "the people's club". Both teams dominated this era of Saudi football history. Al-Hilal won the title/s in (
2001–02,
2004–05,
2007–08,
2009–10,
2010–11). Al-Ittihad's golden generation in this period of time equaled Al-Hilal's two
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
titles, as well as winning the league title/s in (
2000–01,
2002–03,
2006–07,
2008–09). This resulted in both teams exchanging winner and runner-up positions almost every season in the league for eleven years with the exception of two seasons.
The pinnacle moment of the era was in the
2007–08 season when Al-Ittihad was leading the table the whole season with Al-Hilal always right behind in second, the final match day pitted both teams against each other in the
Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium
Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium ( ar, استاد الأمير عبدالله الفيصل) is a stadium in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The stadium is located in the south east of Jeddah, between King Abdulaziz University and the in ...
in Jeddah with Al-Ittihad needing a draw at the minimum to clinch the league title at home. Al-Ittihad were the clear favourites due to their much superior quality and home advantage. The match began with Al-Ittihad leading in possession and attacking opportunities but to no avail. In the 49th minute
Ahmed Al-Fraidi crossed the ball from the edge of the box, to which
Yasser Al-Qahtani
Yasser Saeed Al-Qahtani ( ar, ياسر سعيد القحطاني; born 10 October 1982) is a former Saudi footballer who played as a forward for Al-Hilal FC in the Saudi Professional League. He was also captain of the Saudi Arabia national te ...
skimmed with a header to the right bottom corner of the goal giving Al-Hilal a 1–0 lead four minutes after half time. Al-Ittihad franticly tried to equalise with an abundance of shots but
Mohamed Al-deayea
Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea ( ar, محمد عبد العزيز الدعيع; born 2 August 1972) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a football goalkeeper. He participated in four FIFA World Cups for the Saudi Ara ...
goalkeeping heroics the whole match denied them the goal they so desperately needed, and even more so after
Al-Qahtani's goal. The referee finally blew the whistle and Al-Hilal were crowned the league champions in Jeddah, and under whose management of
Cosmin Olăroiu
Cosmin Aurelian Olăroiu (born 10 June 1969) is a Romanian professional football manager and former footballer in charge of UAE Pro League Sharjah FC.
As a manager, he guided Steaua Bucharest to the Romanian League title and Romanian Supercup b ...
was coupled with the
Crown Prince Cup
The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup ( ar, كأس ولي العهد) was the Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. It was the oldest domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia, its first edition was held in 1956–57, but was not crowned from 1975 unti ...
finishing the season with a double. The league is commonly known and remembered with the nickname (Arabic: شعره ياسر) which roughly translates to "
Yasser's hair" due to the winning goal being scored with a header that skimmed the ball with
Yasser's hair veering the ball towards the goal. What made the occasion even more special is that the same outcome happened the previous season but the teams were in the opposite situation.
Before the beginning of the
2009–10 season
Eric Gerets
Eric Maria Gerets (, born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a right back.
He started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success with Standard Liège and PSV. ...
was hired as the new Al-Hilal manager. Under his management Al-Hilal tactically adopted a very attacking style, combining an already talented local group of players with star foreign players such as the versatile South Korean right back
Lee Young-pyo
Lee Young-pyo ( ko, 이영표; ; born 23 April 1977) is a retired South Korean professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called h ...
, the powerful and dominant defensive midfielder
Mirel Rădoi
Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Tai.
A defensive midfielder or a centre-back, Rădoi began his playing career at Extens ...
, the speedy Swedish winger
Christian Wilhelmsson
Christian Ulf "Chippen" Wilhelmsson (; born 8 December 1979) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a winger. Beginning his career with Mjällby AIF in 1997, he went on to represent clubs in Norway, Belgium, France, Italy, Sp ...
and the technically gifted Brazilian attacking midfielder
Thiago Neves
Thiago Neves Augusto (born 27 February 1985), known as Thiago Neves, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Thiago Neves was born in Curitiba. Playing for Fluminense in 2008, he scored a hat-t ...
. This blend of local and foreign talent guided by a tactically astute manager dominated the league and were crowned champions with three games to spare, a crown prince cup was also won in the same season. In the following
2010–11 season Al-Hilal continued to dominate domestically and continentally until their semi-final exit from the
2010 ACL, shortly following their exit
Eric Gerets
Eric Maria Gerets (, born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a right back.
He started his playing career as an amateur for his local team AA Rekem, before achieving success with Standard Liège and PSV. ...
left to become the new head coach of the
Morocco national football team
The Morocco national football team,french: Équipe du Maroc de football nicknamed "the Barbary lion, Atlas Lions", represents Morocco in men's international Association football, football competitions. It is controlled by the Royal Moroccan Foo ...
. After
Gerets's departure
Gabriel Calderon
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
took over as head coach of Al-Hilal and finished the updated 14 team league as undefeated champion with 19 wins and 7 draws, becoming the second team to achieve this feat after
Al-Ettifaq. The season finished as a double due to the Crown Prince Cup being retained
Struggle at the continental stage (2012–2019)
After their back-to-back league titles and generally consistent success in the domestic front, Al-Hilal always seemed to come up short in their continental pursuit since their last triumph in the
1999-2000 campaign. Adding to an already aging local core and departing key players, Al-Hilal was in a transition period to rebuild the team that was able to challenge domestically and in the
Champions league. Al Hilal reached the final of
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, 14 years after their last appearance in the final. This time they faced
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
. The Australian club won 1–0 on aggregate with some very questionable refereeing decisions by
Yuichi Nishimura
is a Japanese football referee. He has refereed in the Japanese J. League Division 1 since 1999 and has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2004. He refereed the opening game in the 2014 FIFA World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croa ...
. During this period of time Al-Hilal was not able to win the league title for five seasons beginning from the
2011–12 to the
2015–16 season, finishing runner up in three of those seasons, and was only able to achieve five cup titles: Crown Prince cup (
2011–12,
2012–13,
2015–16), King cup (
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
) and a Super cup (
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
) Against arch rivals Al-Nasser held at
Loftus Road Stadium
Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers.
In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...
, in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
At the start of the
2016–17 season a string of bad results caused
Gustavo Matosas
Gustavo Cristian Matosas Paidón (born 25 May 1967) is an Argentine-born Uruguayan former professional footballer.
Playing career
Club
The son of former footballer Roberto Matosas, Gustavo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1967, as his f ...
to be sacked and replaced by
Ramón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959) is a former Argentine Association football, footballer and the current manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal SFC, Al Hilal. He played for Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate as a Forw ...
.
Diaz's reorganised the tactical shape and style of play in which the team was engaging with as well as the conditioning his players to quickly grasp his philosophy. Taking advantage of the fact that throughout the generations Al-Hilal's success largely came from academy players as well as key signings, which the squad already possessed but the group was not in sync or able to reach their true potential. Players such as goalkeeper
Abdullah Al-Mayouf was brought back From
Al-Ahli because of his distribution abilities, right and left backs
Yasser Al-Shahrani and
Mohammed Al-Breik excelled in chance creation and also in attacking output,
Salman Al-Faraj and
Abdullah Otayf connection in the midfield linked exceptionally for their vision, technical and passing abilities and intelligence in reading the game as well as rarely giving away possession.
Salem Al-Dawsari
Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari ( ar, سالم محمد شافي الدوسري; born 19 August 1991) is a Saudi Arabian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for Saudi Professional League club Al ...
was extremely talented but unpolished player when he was promoted to the first team in 2011, but has matured to become a key player. These player became the spine of the team and an integral part of Al-Hilal squad for years to come. The managerial replacement radically changed the team's performance by playing possession-based attacking football which the aforementioned players turned out to be very adept to. Al-Hilal finished the season as champions of the
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and
King cup
The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup ( ar, كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition, run by the Saudi Arabian Foot ...
with the former being achieved with record points in a season.
The following season continued in the same rhythm with Al-Hilal leading in the domestic league and reaching the
2017 AFC Champions league
The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title.
Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal ...
final. But they ultimately lost to the Japanese side
Urawa Red Diamonds
, colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...
1–2 in aggregate after
Carlos Eduardo suffered an
ACL tear in the first minutes of the first leg, and
Omar Kharbin suffered an injury in the second leg. The team slumped mentally after the defeat and began a series of subpar performances which lead to their exit from the next edition's group stage which was their first time leaving the group stage since 2010.
Ramón Díaz
Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959) is a former Argentine Association football, footballer and the current manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal SFC, Al Hilal. He played for Club Atlético River Plate, River Plate as a Forw ...
was sacked on 21 February 2018 and he was replaced
Juan Brown as caretaker until the end of the season, he managed to salvage the season by winning Al-Hilal their 15th domestic league title.
Return to continental dominance (2019–present)
The
2018–19 season saw drastic changes to the league with an increase in the number of clubs from 14 to 16, as well as the increase of foreign players to 8. This season saw the arrival of
Bafetimbi Gomis,
Andre Carrillo and
Sebastian Giovinco
Sebastian Giovinco (; born 26 January 1987) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A quick and creative player on the ball, Giovinco was a versatile forward capable of playing in multiple offensive positions.
Gio ...
managed by
Jorge Jesus
Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe.
He started his career with Sporting CP, going on to play for 12 ...
. The season started very well winning first nine matches of the league, when a new president was appointed
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
was sacked on 30 January with no specified reason even though he had won 20 matches, was leading the league by 9 points and had won the
2018 super cup. Things started to go downhill from there, by the end of the season Al-Hilal ended up as runner-up in the
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
by one point to Al-Nasser and runner-up in the
2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup, lost out to
Al-Taawon
Al Taawoun Football Club ( ar, التعاون, lit=Cooperation) is a professional multi-sports club based in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. The football team competes in the Saudi Professional League, the top tier of Saudi Football.
The club play the ...
in the semi-final of the
king cup
The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup ( ar, كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition, run by the Saudi Arabian Foot ...
. Mohammed bin Faisal resigned as president on the 1st of may before the season ended.
Fahad bin Nafil was elected president for a four-year term.
Răzvan Lucescu
Răzvan Lucescu (; born 17 February 1969) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Greek Super League club PAOK.
As a player, he operated as a goalkeeper and spent most years of his career ...
was appointed as the new manager, several players that were deemed unneeded were released. South Korean defender
Jang Hyun-soo
Jang Hyun-soo (; ; born 28 September 1991) is a South Korean professional footballer who currently plays for Al-Hilal in the Saudi Professional League.
Club career
On 12 July 2019, Jang joined Saudi Professional League club Al-Hilal on a t ...
was signed alongside Colombian international
Gustavo Cuéllar. The season started well and Al-Hilal was leading the table almost the whole season with the Al-Nasser being the only other club in the title race with Al-Hilal finishing the season as champions and setting a new points record of 72, Al-Hilal beat Al-Nasser 4–1 to end their title hopes. During the
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Champions League campaign Al Hilal produced one of the most dominating and exciting performances in the competition history to reach the final midway through the season. The first Champions league match of the season was against
Al-Ahli in the round of 16 Al-Hilal won 4–1 away With
Gomis scoring a hattrick, and lost 0–1 at home, Al-Hilal qualified to the next stage with an aggregate score of 4–2. The quarter final matched Al-Hilal against local rivals Al-Ittihad, the first match ended in a 0-0 stalemate away while the second match Al-Hilal won 3–1 at home with memorable performances from
Salem,
Carrillo and
Giovinco, Al-Hilal qualified to the semi-final with an aggregate score of 3–1. In the semi-final Al-Hilal was against their toughest opponent in the competition
Al-Sadd
Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the ...
, in the away match Al-Hilal won 4–1 in Doha while the opposing team player
Abdulkarim Hassan was sent off. In the return leg at home in Riyadh
Al-Sadd
Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the ...
was able to turn around the score by scoring four goals to two, and in the last minute of the game they were awarded a free kick at the edge of the box and needed to score one more goal to go through to the final, but
Abdullah Al-Mayouf saved the ball and the original time finished with Al-Hilal winning 6–5 on aggregate, Al-Hilal qualified to their third final in 5 years. After trying and failing to win on two previous finals in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. They played against the Japanese club
Urawa Red Diamonds
, colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...
, to whom they lost to in the final two years before. They successfully took a revenge and won 3–0 on aggregate 1–0 at home and 2–0 away, ending a nineteen-year wait for the Asian crown,
Bafetimbi Gomis was also the tournaments top scorer and MVP. With both the
2019–20 Saudi Professional League as well as the
2019 AFC Champions league titles secured Al-Hilal had one more title to win to wrap up the treble. Al-Hilal reached the
2019-20 King cup final to face Al-Nasser who hadn't won the cup title since
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, Al-Hilal won by 2–1 to complete the historic
Treble.
Lasty, In the
2021 AFC Champions league
The 2021 AFC Champions League was the 40th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the current AFC Champions League title.
Al-Hilal won their fourth title by def ...
Al-Hilal had barley qualified to the knockout stages of the competition. In the round of 16 They faced
Esteghlal F.C. and won the match 2–0, in the quarter finals they faced another Iranian team
Persepolis F.C.
Persepolis Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پرسپولیس, Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Perspolis) is an Iranian professional football club based in Tehran, that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League.
Persepolis was founded in 1 ...
whom they defeated 3–0 to qualify to the next stage. In the semi-final stage Al-Hilal came up against their perennial rivals Al-Nasser which was dubbed as the match of the century due to the long-standing animosity these historic rivals had for each other. This was the first time both teams would face each other in this competition, Further more Al-Nasser had never won the
AFC Champions league
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
before and Al-Hilal needed one more title to be the
AFC Champions league
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
outright record title holders. The stakes of the game were so high that the tension was felt in the city of Riyadh weeks before the game. The game finished with Al-Hilal winning 2–1 against Al-Nasser to reach the final in addition to bragging rights for many years to come. Al Hilal reached the final in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
to face
Pohang Steelers
The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The Steelers were founded on 1 A ...
, both clubs had held a record of three Asian champions league titles. Al-Hilal came up on top to score the first goal 16 seconds after the match began. In the end a 2–0 win secured the fourth Asian champions league title and Al-Hilal became the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
unequivocal record title holders.
As the champions of the AFC Champions League, Al Hilal qualified for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, Al Hilal in their first match faced hosts
Al Jazira and managed to win 6–1. Al Hilal later faced
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
winners
Chelsea FC
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...
but lost 1–0 to face off Egyptian club
Al Ahly SC
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
for the match for 3rd place, who are the winners of the
2020-21 CAF Champions League, in which Al Hilal lost in a 4–0 defeat with a disappointing performance hence Al Hilal were awarded the 4th position in the tournament.
In September 2022, Al Hilal offered
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
a two-year contract worth €242 million. However, Ronaldo rejected the proposal, calling it "obscene".
If accepted, Ronaldo's transfer would have been the most expensive, exceeding
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Sain ...
's €222 million transfer. The reports of the offer first surfaced in July 2022, but the Saudi club name was not known. The President of the
Saudi Arabian Football Federation
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF, ar, الاتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions an ...
, Yasser Al Misehal said he would like to see Ronaldo play in Saudi, but that it "won’t happen before January unfortunately".
Grounds
Al Hilal currently plays their home games at
King Fahd International Stadium
The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities.
Overview
The ...
in Riyadh, stadium that was constructed in 1987 with a capacity of 67,000 supporters. The club's reserve team stadium,
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير فيصل بن فهد) (formerly the Malab Reayat Al Shabab Stadium, ملعب رعاية الشباب بالرياض) is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by arch ...
, was used in
2011–12 when
King Fahd Stadium
The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities.
Overview
The ...
was under renovation. When prince
Abdulrahman bin Musa'ad
Abdul Rahman bin Musa'id Al Saud ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن مساعد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, born 18 August 1967) is a Saudi Arabian businessman, writer and the former president of Saudi football club Al-Hilal.
Biography
P ...
became the President of the club in 2008, there was some serious idea of making Al-Hilal a home avenue but the plans have not come to fruition. Al-Hilal became the tenants of
King Saud Stadium from the second part of the
2017–18 season until the end of the
2019–20 season. In February 2022 it was announced that both Al Hilal and Al Nasser would become the tenants of the "Qiddiya’s planned cliff-top 40,000+ seat stadium, once complete, will eventually become the new venue for home games for both teams and the full range of sporting facilities being developed will be made available for both clubs".
Rivalries
Al Hilal has a long-standing rivalry with
Ittihad
The Ittihad Party ( az, İttihad firqəsi) was a radical Islamist party in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1917–1920. It was formed in September 1917 in opposition to the secular Musavat Party and proposed political unity of all the Musl ...
. From the start of national competition the clubs were seen as representatives of the two biggest cities in Saudi Arabia:
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
and
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
. While Al Hilal have won four
Asian Club Championship
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
in years 1991, 1999–2000, 2019 and 2021, Ittihad has won
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
two times in a row, in 2004 and 2005. Al Hilal won the Saudi El Clasico 62 times, while Ittihad has won it 50 times and two sides have drawn 35 times. As of 2019, the biggest win was when Al Hilal defeated Ittihad 5–0 in 2009–10.
Another rivalry is with their neighbors
Al-Nassr
Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yello ...
, which is called Riyadh's Derby. They have met 148 times, Al Hilal has won 59 times, and lost 48 times, while 41 games have ended in a draw. The biggest win is for Al Hilal when they defeated Al-Nassr 5–1 in
2016–17. The rivalry with Al-Nasser is more violent between them than the rivalry with Al-Ittihad. As an example, when Al Hilal reached the 2014 AFC Champions League Final, in 2nd leg Al-Nassr fans awaited Western Sydney Wanderers arrival at the airport to spur them on against Al Hilal and tried to sabotage Al Hilal's ticket plan.
Finance and sponsorship
Sponsorship
Mobily
Etihad Etisalat Company ( ar, شركة إتحاد إتصالات) is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company that offers fixed line, mobile telephony, and Internet services under the brand name Mobily ( ar, موبايلي).
The co ...
was the main sponsor of Al Hilal, and as part of the sponsorship deal, their logo was displayed on the front of the club's shirts and a plethora of other merchandise. The Mobily deal was announced by the club's previous President
Abdulrahman bin Musa'ad
Abdul Rahman bin Musa'id Al Saud ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن مساعد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, born 18 August 1967) is a Saudi Arabian businessman, writer and the former president of Saudi football club Al-Hilal.
Biography
P ...
on 14 October 2008, and is worth a Saudi record
SAR
SAR or Sar may refer to:
Places
* Sar (river), Galicia, Spain
* Sar, Bahrain, a residential district
* Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China
* Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe
...
517 million, to be paid over six years (SAR 69.1 million per year).
Also, the previous president Prince
Abdulrahman bin Musa'ad
Abdul Rahman bin Musa'id Al Saud ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن مساعد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, born 18 August 1967) is a Saudi Arabian businessman, writer and the former president of Saudi football club Al-Hilal.
Biography
P ...
made a contract with Omar Almady, CEO of
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
Group in Saudi Arabia. the contract period is 6 years and was signed on 18 September 2014.
Television match broadcasting rights
Al-Hilal receives a certain amount from the
Saudi Arabia Football Federation
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF, ar, الاتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions a ...
as the federation sell the complete matches' right in one package and all the clubs in the
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
share the revenue equally. The Saudi league broadcasting rights currently were sold to
Saudi Broadcasting Authority
The Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), formerly Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and the Broadcasting Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BSKSA), is a governmental entity of Saudi Arabia, organized under the Ministry of Media (Saudi Ara ...
's SBC Channel, as well as
Shahid
''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
streaming service.
Other income sources
The club's president and other board members secure any extra income required to run the club from merchandising of the club's kit and other products as well as establishing an investment company owned by the club to increase the club's revenue. Recently Sponsorships have been instrumental to the clubs finances due to the numerous lucrative deals signed by the club, owing to the fact that the clubs huge popularity and appeal locally, regionally and continentally generates a huge number of supporters and admirers especially on social media; Where the club has an over 15m+ followers across all social media accounts.
Charity and philanthropy
Special seats have been allocated for the disabled to watch the training. Twenty-five percent of the income of tickets sold goes to charities. Players and board members arrange and attend social activities for charities during
Eid and other holidays.
Club facilities
In 2009, the club opened a new camp in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
. It contains 25 rooms, meeting rooms, smart room for lectures, library, eating room, living rooms, a big salon and a medical clinic. It also has entertainment corners for video games, table tennis, billiards, table football and many others. There are two training fields for the senior team.
Players
Out on loan
Personnel
Coaching staff
Management
This is a list of Al Hilal SFC presidents and chairmen from their foundation in 1957.
Honours
The club holds 65 official titles.
Domestic
Confederation
Worldwide
Regional
Others
Recent seasons
The table below chronicles the achievements of Al Hilal in various competitions since 1999.
Key
* Pld = Games played
* W = Games won
* D = Games drawn
* L = Games lost
* GF = Goals for
* GA = Goals against
* Pts = Points
* Pos = Final position
* W = Champion
* RU = Final (Runner-up)
* SF = Semi-finals
* QF = Quarter-finals
* R16/R32 =
Round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
, round of 32, etc.
* GS = Group stage
* QS = Qualifying stage
Records
Asian Record
Overview
Record by country
Matches
Key: PO – ''Play-off round''; 1R/2R – ''First/Second round''; R16 – ''Round of 16''; QF – ''Quarter-final''; SF – ''Semi-final'';
;Notes
Top scorers in Asian competitions
See also
*
Sultan Al-Saud
References
External links
Official website
{{Navboxes
, title = Al-Hilal honours and awards
, list =
{{AFC Champions League Winners
{{Asian Cup Winners' Cup winners
{{Asian Super Cup winners
{{AFC Club of the Year
Association football clubs established in 1957
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
H
H
H