Riyadh-based club Al Hilal and the Saudi Pro League (SPL) have made a habit of making international headlines in recent years, but almost exclusively it’s been for off-field matters involving money and player transfers.
Whether it was Brazilian superstar Neymar’s 90-million-euro ($98m) blockbuster signing in 2023 and subsequent departure 17 months later after playing just seven games, or their unsuccessful attempts to lure other big names like Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen, the club and league are never far from the headlines at this time of year as the summer transfer window kicks into gear.
And now, once again, the whole world is talking about Al Hilal – but for an entirely different reason.
For once, they’re talking about the football because Al Hilal has only gone and defeated Manchester City – a star-studded side that has won four of the past five English Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League title two year ago – in the Round of 16 at the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) in the United States.
As far as world football’s elite clubs go, Pep Guardiola’s side sit right near the very top. But on this night in Orlando, now etched in Saudi football folklore, they were no match for Al Hilal; the thrilling, see-sawing encounter ending 4-3 after a simply remarkable 120 minutes of football that heralded the arrival of Middle East club football onto a global stage.
Al Hilal’s historic victory makes them the first Asian side to beat a European side in a FIFA tournament.
Al Hilal’s coach, Simone Inzaghi, who only joined the club a few weeks after guiding Inter Milan to the UEFA Champions League final in May, likened the challenge to climbing the world’s tallest mountain.
“The key to this result was the players, and the heart they put on the pitch tonight,” the 49-year-old Italian said.
“We had to do something extraordinary because we all know Manchester City, that team. We had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we made it.”
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