2008–09 Saudi Pro League

The 2008–09 Saudi Professional League was the 33rd season of Saudi Pro League since its establishment in 1976. Al-Hilal were the defending champions, having won their 11th title in the previous season. The campaign began on 13 September 2008 and ended on 12 April 2009. A total of 12 teams contested the league, 10 of which already contested in the 2007–08 season, and two of which were promoted from the First Division.

Pro League
Season2008–09
Dates13 September 2008 – 12 April 2009
ChampionsAl-Ittihad (8th title)
RelegatedAbha
Al-Watani
AFC Champions LeagueAl-Ittihad
Al-Hilal
Al-Ahli
Al-Shabab
Gulf Club Champions CupAl-Nassr
Al-Ettifaq
Matches played134
Goals scored371 (2.77 per match)
Top goalscorerNasser Al-Shamrani
Hicham Aboucherouane
(12 goals each)
Biggest home winAl-Hilal 7–0 Najran
(20 December 2008)
Biggest away winAl-Raed 0–4 Al-Shabab
(30 November 2008)
Al-Shabab 0–4 Al-Ittihad
(28 January 2009)
Highest scoringAl-Ittihad 7–2 Al-Watani
(15 December 2008)
Al-Raed 6–3 Al-Wehda
(8 April 2009)
Longest winning runAl-Ittihad (5 games)[1]
Longest unbeaten runAl-Hilal (18 games)[1]
Longest winless runAbha (12 games)[1]
Longest losing runAl-Raed (5 games)[1]

On 12 April 2009, in the final round of the season, Al-Ittihad won the title after a 2–1 victory over Al-Hilal.[2] It was their eighth league title overall. Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab all secured a berth for the 2010 AFC Champions League, while Al-Nassr and Al-Ettifaq qualified for the Gulf Club Champions Cup. Al-Watani and Abha were relegated to the Saudi First Division League.[3]

Changes

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Professional League rebrand

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On 26 May 2008, the SAFF announced that the league would be rebranded as Saudi Professional League. The changes were based on the criteria introduced by AFC President Mohammed bin Hammam to improve the football standards in Asia.[4] The changes also included a website dedicated to recording statistics of the league for the first time. It was also announced that the website would be run by the Saudi Professional League rather than the Saudi FF.[5]

Qualification and Prize money

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The League champions, runners-up and third place as well as the winner of the King Cup of Champions qualified for the 2010 AFC Champions League.

The top eight teams qualified for King Cup of Champions.

Prize money:

  • First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
  • Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
  • Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals

Teams

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Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Saudi First Division League. The promoted teams were Al-Raed (returning to the top flight after an absence of five years) and Abha (returning to the top flight after an absence of two years). They replaced Al-Tai (after seven consecutive years in the top-flight) and Al-Qadsiah (after six consecutive years in the top-flight).

Stadiums and locations

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Locations of teams in the 2008–09 Saudi Professional League
Club Location Stadium
Abha Abha Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Al-Ahli Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium
Al-Ettifaq Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
Al-Hazem Ar Rass Al-Hazem Club Stadium
Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al-Ittihad Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium
Al-Nassr Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al-Raed Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al-Watani Tabuk King Khalid Sport City Stadium
Al-Wehda Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium
Najran Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium

Personnel

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Club Coach Nationality City Stadium Capacity 2007–08 season Notes
Abha Idris Obeis   Abha Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 20,000 First Division runners-up
Al-Ahli Stoycho Mladenov   Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 8th Qualified to the 2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup
Al-Ettifaq Ioan Andone   Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium 30,000 4th Qualified to the 2009 AFC Champions League
Al-Hazem Ammar Souayah   Ar Rass Al Hazm Club Stadium 11,000 7th Qualified to the 2008–09 Arab Champions League
Al-Hilal Georges Leekens   Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 1st Qualified to the 2009 AFC Champions League
Al-Ittihad Gabriel Calderón   Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 2nd Qualified to the 2009 AFC Champions League
Al-Nassr Edgardo Bauza   Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 5th Qualified to the 2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup
Al-Raed Luis Antônio Zaluar   Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium 35,000 First Division champions
Al-Shabab Enzo Trossero   Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 3rd Qualified to the 2009 AFC Champions League
Al-Watani Hélio Vieira   Tabuk King Khalid Sport City Stadium 20,000 9th
Al-Wehda Theo Bücker   Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium 28,550 6th Qualified to the 2008–09 Arab Champions League
Najran Mokhtar Tlili   Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium 10,000 10th

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Date
Abha   Abdelkader Youmir Sacked[6]   Saad Al-Beshri (caretaker) October 2008
Al-Watani   Moussa Saïb Sacked[7]   Habib Ben Romdhane (caretaker) October 2008
Al-Watani   Habib Ben Romdhane Caretaker period ended[8]   Hélio Vieira November 2008
Abha   Saad Al-Beshri Caretaker period ended   Idris Obeis November 2008
Al-Shabab   Nery Pumpido Sacked[9]   Enzo Trossero December 2008
Al-Nassr   Rodion Gačanin Sacked[10]   Edgar (caretaker) December 2008
Al-Raed   Mohammed Aldo Sacked[11]   Luis Antônio Zaluar December 2008
Al-Ettifaq   Toni Sacked[12]   Ioan Andone December 2008
Najran   Costică Ștefănescu Sacked[13]   Mokhtar Tlili January 2009
Al-Nassr   Edgar Caretaker period ended[14]   Edgardo Bauza January 2009
Al-Hilal   Cosmin Olăroiu Sacked[15]   Cătălin Necula (caretaker) March 2009
Al-Hilal   Cătălin Necula Caretaker period ended[16]   Georges Leekens April 2009

Foreign players

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The number of foreign players was limited to 3 per team, and should not be a goalkeeper. For the January transfer window, the SAFF added an additional slot for a player from one of the AFC countries.

  • Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during mid-season transfer window.
  • Players name in italic indicates the player was de-registered or left their respective clubs during mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player Former players
Abha   Aziz Ayat Aabi   Khalid Zouine
Al-Ahli   Youcef Saïbi   Walid Soliman   Ibrahima Gueye   Baha' Abdel-Rahman   Adel Maïza
  Harison
  Ndubuisi Eze
Al-Ettifaq   Paulo Sérgio   Prince Tagoe   Salaheddine Aqqal   Mohannad Ibrahim
Al-Hazem   Karim Eddafi   Hamad Ji   Mohamed Rebeiz   Bashar Bani Yaseen   Kodjo Afanou
Al-Hilal   Tarik El Taib   Mirel Rădoi   Christian Wilhelmsson   Seol Ki-hyeon   Ronald Raldes
Al-Ittihad   Renato Cajá   Emad Moteab   Hicham Aboucherouane   Ahmed Hadid Al-Mukhaini
Al-Nassr   Éder Gaúcho   Élton Arábia   Hossam Ghaly   Hassan Rabia   Razak Omotoyossi
Al-Raed   Felipe Campos   Leandro Sena   Boris Kabi   Saleh Abdulhameed   Tarik Miri
  Zakaria Aboub
Al-Shabab   Marcelo Camacho   Ricardo Bóvio   Talal Al-Bloushi   Nei
Al-Watani   Josimar   Makhete Diop   Basem Fathi   Mamadou Ba Camara
  Mousa Conde
  Assane Sy
Al-Wehda   Harison   Amir Akrout   Mejdi Traoui   Raja Rafe   Omar Daoud
  Daouda N'Diaye
  Bilel Sabri
Najran   Vinícius   Wilsinho   Abdulfatah Safi   Talal Khalfan

League table

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Fixtures and results

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Home \ Away ABH AHL ETT HAZ HIL ITT NSR RAE SHB WAT WHD NAJ
Abha 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–3 1–2 2–2 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–0
Al-Ahli 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 3–2 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–0
Al-Ettifaq 3–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 4–0 1–1
Al-Hazem 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 3–3 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 3–1 2–1
Al-Hilal 4–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 7–0
Al-Ittihad 3–0 1–2 3–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 5–1 2–1 7–2 2–1 3–2
Al-Nassr 0–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 1–0
Al-Raed 3–1 2–3 1–2 1–0 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–4 3–2 6–3 0–1
Al-Shabab 5–0 3–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–4 2–1 1–4 2–2 4–2 2–1
Al-Watani 0–0 2–2 0–1 3–3 1–3 1–2 1–2 3–1 0–2 0–2 3–1
Al-Wehda 4–1 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–3 1–2 3–1 1–1 4–0 2–1
Najran 1–1 1–4 0–2 2–1 2–1 1–4 1–0 2–1 0–2 2–0 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2009. Source: Goalzz.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

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Al-Raed, who finished 10th, faced Abha, who finished 11th for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2009–10 Professional League while the loser was relegated to the First Division. Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate and retained their place in the next edition.[17]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Abha 3–4 Al-Raed 1–1 2–3

First leg

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Abha1–1Al-Raed
Yaseen   20' Report Al-Amri   57'

Second leg

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Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate.

Season statistics

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Scoring

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals[18]
1   Hicham Aboucherouane Al-Ittihad 12
  Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Shabab
3   Emad Moteab Al-Ittihad 10
  Yasser Al-Qahtani Al-Hilal
5   Boris Kabi Al-Raed 9
  Hassan Al-Raheb Al-Ahli
  Naif Hazazi Al-Ittihad
  Amir Akrout Al-Wehda
9   Mohammad Al-Anbar Al-Hilal 8
10   Essa Al-Mehyani Al-Wehda 7
  Sultan Al-Nemri Al-Ittihad

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Ref
  Nei4 Al-Shabab Al-Wehda 4–2 (H) 4 October 2008 [19]
  Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Shabab Abha 5–0 (H) 4 December 2008 [20]
  Hicham Aboucherouane Al-Ittihad Al-Watani 7–2 (H) 15 December 2008 [21]
  Yasser Al-Qahtani4 Al-Hilal Najran 7–0 (H) 20 December 2008 [22]
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Most assists

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Rank Player Club Assists[23]
1   Mohammed Noor Al-Ittihad 11
2   Abdoh Otaif Al-Shabab 7
3   Ahmed Al-Fraidi Al-Hilal 6
  Christian Wilhelmsson Al-Hilal
5   Hamad Ji Al-Hazem 5
  Saleh Al-Saqri Al-Ittihad
  Tarik El Taib Al-Hilal
  Hicham Aboucherouane Al-Ittihad
9   Al Hasan Al-Yami Najran 4
  Hassan Al-Raheb Al-Ahli
  Essa Al-Mehyani Al-Wehda

Clean sheets

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Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[24]
1   Mohamed Al-Deayea Al-Hilal 14
2   Yasser Al-Mosailem Al-Ahli 7
3   Mabrouk Zaid Al-Ittihad 6
  Waleed Abdullah Al-Shabab
5   Saeed Al-Harbi Al-Hazem 5
  Salem Asiri Abha
7   Adnan Al-Salman Al-Ettifaq 3
  Assaf Al-Qarni Al-Wehda
  Jaber Al-Ameri Najran

Discipline

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Player

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Club

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  • Most yellow cards: 52[26]
    • Abha
    • Al-Watani
  • Most red cards: 7[27]
    • Al-Wehda

Awards

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The following awards were given following the conclusion of the season. The awards were known as the Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence and were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication company Mobily. The awards were presented on 30 May 2009.[28]

Award Winner Club
Player of the Season     Ahmed Otaif
    Tarik El Taib
    Osama Hawsawi
Al-Shabab
Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal
Young Player of the Season     Hamad Al-Hamad
    Salman Al-Faraj
    Mansoor Al-Harbi
Al-Ettifaq
Al-Hilal
Al-Ahli
Goldent Boot   Hicham Aboucherouane
  Nasser Al-Shamrani
Al-Ittihad
Al-Shabab

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "All Statistics:Teams". Archived from the original on 2017-05-23.
  2. ^ "الاتحاد يتوج بلقب الدوري السعودي على حساب الهلال".
  3. ^ "الحزن يسيطر على لاعبي الوطني بعد الهبوط".
  4. ^ "دوري المحترفين في آسيا.. الحلم أصبح حقيقة!".
  5. ^ "ثوب الاحتراف يزين الدوري السعودي بعد ثلاثة عقود".
  6. ^ "هروب مدرب أبها".
  7. ^ "الوطني يعين الحبيب مدرباً بعد هروب صايب".
  8. ^ "البرازيلي فيريرا مدربا للوطني".
  9. ^ "الشباب يقيل بومبيدو.. والبديل مواطنه هيكتور".
  10. ^ "اقالة رادان و تكليف ادغر مؤقتا".
  11. ^ "الرائد ينهي علاقته بالدو ويبحث عن بديله في أوروبا".
  12. ^ "الاتفاق يقيل توني والنصر يفسد إتمام تعاقده مع اندوني".
  13. ^ "التليلي مدرباً لنجران".
  14. ^ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168493833.html Edgardo Bauza takes over as Al-Nasr Coach
  15. ^ "اتحاد الكرة يقيل الروماني كوزمين من تدريب الهلال ويمنعه من السعودية".
  16. ^ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168624529.html Leekens takes over at Al Hilal
  17. ^ "الرائد وأبها بين الاستمرار في الأضواء والمغادرة إلى الأولى".
  18. ^ "أكثر اللاعبين تسجيلاً للأهداف". slstat.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Al Shabab 4 – 2 Al Wehda". Archived from the original on 21 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Al Shabab 5 – 0 Abha". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Al Ittihad 7 – 2 Al Watani". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016.
  22. ^ "Al Hilal 7 – 0 Najran". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016.
  23. ^ "أكثر اللاعبين صناعة للأهداف". slstat.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  24. ^ "أكثر الحراس محافظة على شباكه". slstat.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  25. ^ a b "عدد الكروت الملونة التي أبرزت". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  26. ^ "أكثر فريق حصل على كروت صفراء". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  27. ^ "أكثر فريق حصل على كروت حمراء". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016.
  28. ^ "أحمد عطيف أفضل لاعب والحمد أفضل لاعب واعد والسبع أفضل رياضي في نتائج جوائز الموسم السعودي".
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