2008–09 Saudi Professional League

Professional League
Season 2008–2009
Champions Al-Ittihad (8th title)
Relegated Al-Watani
Abha
Champions League Al-Ittihad
Al-Hilal
Al-Ahli
Al-Shabab
Matches played 134
Goals scored 371 (2.77 per match)
Top goalscorer Hicham Aboucherouane
Nasser Al-Shamrani
(12 goals each)
Biggest home win Al-Hilal 7–0 Najran
(20 December 2008)
Biggest away win Al-Shabab 0–4 Al-Ittihad
(28 January 2009)
Al-Raed 0–4 Al-Shabab
(30 November 2008)
Highest scoring Al-Ittihad 7–2 Al-Watani
(15 December 2008)
Al-Raed 6–3 Al-Wehda
(8 April 2009)

The 2008–09 Saudi Professional League was the 33rd season of Saudi Professional League since its establishment in 1976.

Al-Hilal were the defending champions for this season, having won the previous 2007–08 season. The season featured 10 teams from the 2007–08 and two new teams promoted from the 2007–08 First Division: Al-Raed and Abha who replace relegated Al-Qadisiya and Al-Tai.

On 12 April 2009, the final round of the season, Al-Ittihad won the title after a 2–1 victory over Al-Hilal. It was their eighth league title overall. Al-Watani and Abha were relegated.

Qualification and Prize money

The Top three of the league and the winner of Champions Cup qualified to the Champions League.

The Top eight qualified to Champions Cup.

Prize money:

Stadiums and locations

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 Hazm Ar Rass Al Hazm Club Stadium
Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al-Ettifaq Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
Al-Ittihad Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium
Al-Nasr Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al Raed Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium
Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd Stadium
Al-Watani Tabuk Khalid bin Abdul Aziz Stadium
Al-Wahda Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium
Najran Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium

Members clubs

Club Coach Nationality City Stadium Capacity 2007-2008 season Notes
Abha Abdulqader Yomer Morocco Abha Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 20,000 The 2nd In 1st Division
Al-Ahli Stoycho Mladenov Bulgaria Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 8th 2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup Qualifier
Al Hazm Luiz Ribeiro Pinto Neto Brazil Ar Rass Al Hazm Club Stadium 11,000 7th 2008–09 Arab Champions League Qualifier
Al-Hilal Georges Leekens Belgium Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 Champions 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier
Al-Ettifaq Ioan Andone Romania Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium 30,000 4th 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier
Al-Ittihad Gabriel Calderón Argentina Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 2nd 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier
Al-Nasr Edgardo Bauza Argentina Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 5th 2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup Qualifier
Al Raed Mohamed Aldo Tunisia Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium 35,000 The 1st In 1st Division
Al-Shabab Enzo Trossero Argentina Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 3rd 2009 AFC Champions League Qualifier
Al-Wahda Theo Bucker Germany Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium 28,550 6th 2008–09 Arab Champions League Qualifier
Al-Watani Moussa Saib Algeria Tabuk Khalid bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 20,000 9th
Najran Lotfy Albenzarte Tunisia Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium 10,000 10th

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Date
Al-Nasr Brazil Edgar Sacked [1] Argentina Edgardo Bauza January 2009
Al-Hilal Romania Cosmin Olaroiu Sacked [2] Romania Catalin Necula (caretaker) March 2009
Al-Hilal Romania Catalin Necula Necula was temporary replacement [3] Belgium Georges Leekens April 2009
Al-Ahli Bulgaria Stoycho Mladenov Sacked at end of the season [4][5] Argentina Gustavo Alfaro April 2009
Al-Hilal Belgium Georges Leekens Sacked after 1 month [6] Belgium Eric Gerets May 2009

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Ittihad (C) 22 17 4 1 57 21 +36 55 AFC Champions League Group Stage
2 Al-Hilal 22 15 5 2 41 9 +32 50
3 Al-Ahli 22 11 7 4 33 20 +13 40
4 Al-Shabab 22 10 5 7 37 29 +8 35
5 Al-Nassr 22 10 4 8 24 22 +2 34
6 Al-Ettifaq 22 7 8 7 23 20 +3 29
7 Al-Wahda 22 7 5 10 33 39 −6 26
8 Al Hazm 22 6 7 9 25 31 −6 25
9 Najran 22 6 3 13 22 42 −20 21
10 Al-Raed (O) 22 6 1 15 28 43 −15 19 Qualification to relegation play-off
11 Abha (R) 22 4 7 11 19 40 −21 19
12 Al-Watani (R) 22 2 6 14 22 48 −26 12 Relegated to 2009–10 First Division

Source: slstat.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away[1] AlITT HIL AHISHBNASETTWATWAHNAJRAEABHHZM
Al-Ittihad 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 7–2 2–1 3–2 5–1 3–0 3–0
Al-Hilal 1–2 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 7–0 2–0 4–1 3–0
Al-Ahli 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 3–2 2–1 1–0
Al-Shabab 0–4 1–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–2 4–2 2–1 1–4 5–0 2–0
Al-Nassr 2–2 0–2 2–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–1
Al-Ettifaq 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–0
Al-Watani 1–2 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–2 3–1 3–1 0–0 3–3
Al-Wahda 1–3 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 1–0 4–0 2–1 3–1 4–1 2–1
Najran 1–4 2–1 1–4 0–2 1–0 0–2 2–0 2–2 2–1 1–1 2–1
Al-Raed 0–2 0–2 2–3 0–4 0–1 1–2 3–2 6–3 0–1 3–1 1–0
Abha 1–2 0–3 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–0
Al Hazm 3–3 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 2–1

Source: Goalzz.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals

Source:

1 Saudi Arabia Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Shabab 12
Morocco Hicham Aboucherouane Al-Ittihad 12
2 Egypt Emad Moteab Al-Ittihad 10
Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Qahtani Al-Hilal 10
3 Saudi Arabia Naif Hazazi Al-Ittihad 9

Assist

Rank Scorer Club Assists [7]
1 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Noor Al-Ittihad 11
2 Saudi Arabia Abdoh Otaif Al-Shabab 7
3 Sweden Christian Wilhelmsson Al-Hilal 6
Saudi Arabia Ahmed Al-Fraidi Al-Hilal 6

Relegation play-offs

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. Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate and retained their place in the next edition.

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

First leg

24 April 2009
20:40 (UTC+3)
Abha 1–1 Al-Raed
Yaseen  20' Report  57' Al-Amri

Second leg

30 April 2009
20:40 (UTC+3)
Al-Raed 3–2 Abha
Felipe Campos  37'
Al-Shereaf  65'
Boris Kabi  88'		 Report  2' Al-Faraj
 49' Morjan
King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Buraidah
Referee: Jérôme Laperrière, (Switzerland)

Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168493833.html Edgardo Bauza takes over as Al-Nasr Coach
  2. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168527995.html Olaroiu abruptly dismissed in bizarre circumstances
  3. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168624529.html Leekens takes over at Al Hilal
  4. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168690337.html Sweeping changes as Al Ahli eye ACL
  5. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168692596.html Alfaro is new Ahli coach
  6. ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168690574.html Hilal boot out Leekens
  7. ↑ "Saudi League Statistics". slstat.com. slstat.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.

External links

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