Earlier this year, Al-Ahli beat Al-Hazem (1:0) - that Second League match in Saudi Arabia went unnoticed by the rest of the world.
The same rivals, now in the Pro League of the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, will open the new season tonight (20 p.m.). This time the story is completely different.
Clubs from Saudi Arabia shook the football planet this summer, many big stars arrived in the Pro League, so it is clear that from now on it will also be on the radar of many who follow football.
It is Al-Ahli, one of those who made the top team, since Roberto Firmino, Eduard Mendy, Riyad Mahrez, Alan Saint Maximin, Frank Kesi and coach Matias Jaisle arrived in Jeddah.
Apart from them, among the stars who will entertain the fans in this rich country are also Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr, the first of the big names to reach the Pro League), then his teammates Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozović, and the "Golden Ball" Karim Benzena, Fabinho, Ngolo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Jordan Henderson and coach Steven Gerrard (Al-Etifak), while the jersey of the biggest Asian club Al-Hilal will be worn by Kalida Koulibaly, Sergej Milinković Savić and Ruben Neves.
The great masters are here, and it's an ideal moment to get acquainted with everything that makes up the Pro League of Saudi Arabia.
Five magnificent
The aforementioned Al-Ahli may have just returned to the Pro League, but this club is one of the five biggest in the country - along with Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nasr and Al-Shabab.
Certainly the biggest name among them is Al-Hilal, the "Real Madrid of Asia" and the most trophy-winning club on the continent (last year it played in the final of the Champions League), which was the champion of Asia four times (the most of all) and has 18 championship titles in Saudi Arabia. .
It is followed by the current champion Al-Ittihad (coached by Nuno Espirito Santo) and Al-Nasr with nine titles each - Al-Shabab has six, Al-Ahli three, Al-Etifak two and Al-Fateh one.
Interestingly, as many as four giants (Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nasr and Al-Ahli) were taken over by the same state fund that also owns the English Newcastle.
It also seems that the championship race will be conducted precisely between these four teams.
El Clasico and other derbies
Every match between the mentioned teams is a big derby, but one, however, stands out - named as the famous Spanish derby between Real and Barcelona "El clasico".
"Saudi El Clasico" is also a duel between the two great cities of Riyadh and Jeddah, played by the giants Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad. Their first big duel in the new season is already scheduled for September 1.
In addition to the biggest derby, there are also local ones, so Al-Hilal is fighting for the glory of the capital city of Riyadh, Al-Nasra, and their rival from the same city is Al-Shabaab.
On the other hand, the Jeddah derby is played by Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.
Apart from these two largest cities of Saudi Arabia, the title has only reached Dammam (Al-Etifak) and Al-Hasa (Al-Fetah).
Recorders
Since foreign players rarely came to Saudi Arabia in earlier years, the records are mostly still held by local players. The all-time top scorer is Majid Abdullah, who scored all 189 goals for Al-Nasra.
Mohamed Al-Dejea has the most appearances in the league - the former goalkeeper of Al-Tai and Al-Ittihad made 406 appearances in the Pro League.
However, as this competition became stronger, since 2014 it has been waiting for a local guy to win the "golden boot" for the best scorer. The last one to do it was Nasser Al-Shamrani from Al-Hilal.
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