The wheel of the Saudi Professional League is turning again, after a hiatus that extended for nearly a month, since the curtain came down on the seventh round competitions on September 13 last year, which is the period that witnessed the holding of the Arabian Gulf Cup Championship “Gulf 27”, in which the Saudi national team was crowned champion.
The eighth round competitions will begin with 3 matches, during which Al-Nasr will look to restore its winning tone when it hosts Al-Diriyah at Al-Awal Park Stadium in the capital, Riyadh, while Al-Ahly will be a guest of Al-Fateh at Al-Oula Square Stadium in Al-Ahsa, and Al-Khuloud will host its counterpart Al-Qadisiyah at Al-Hazm Club Stadium in the city of Al-Rass.
In the match between Al-Nasr and Al-Diriyah, attention is directed towards the captain of the Al-Asmi team, the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, after the events that accompanied the hiatus period and his departure from the Portuguese team’s camp, and the wide controversy that this sparked regarding his readiness to return to participate with his team, which was confirmed by the Australian Ange Postecoglou, Al-Nasr’s coach, and indicated his return to the team’s ranks and his readiness to participate in the confrontation.
Postecoglou said about the Portuguese star’s readiness: “Ronaldo is back, and he is ready to play,” adding regarding what happened during his time with his country’s national team: “I previously coached national teams for 4 years, and I do not like club coaches to talk about national team coaches; So I will not touch on that.”
Al-Nasr enters the confrontation while it occupies third place in the standings, looking to regain its victories after its last stumble before the break, in a draw against Al-Khaleej, with a goal for the same.
Victory over Diriyah will be enough for Al-Nasr to temporarily rise to the top of the standings, awaiting the rest of the results of the round, which witnesses an expected confrontation on Saturday between Al-Hilal, the leader with 18 points, and Al-Ittihad, which is in second place with 17 points.
The importance of the confrontation for Al-Nasr is not limited to the three points, as the team seeks to dispel the doubts that surrounded its levels before the stoppage, after it suffered a heavy loss against Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates with a score of 4-0 in the first round of the AFC Elite Champions League, before it stumbled locally in a 1-1 draw against Al-Khaleej.
On the other hand, Diriyah goes into the confrontation with great ambitions, after showing remarkable development in terms of performance and results under the leadership of its Portuguese coach, Bruno Lage, to collect 11 points that put it in eighth place, despite its goalless draw against Abha in its last match before the stoppage.
Al-Diriyah worked to strengthen its ranks after the start of the season with a number of prominent names, led by Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez, coming from Al-Hilal on loan, along with Frenchman Enzo Miott, coming from Al-Ahly, and Algerian Adel Boulbena.
In Al-Ahsa, the confrontation between Al-Fateh and Al-Ahly is renewed, in a meeting that fans of both teams are accustomed to witnessing excitement inside and outside the stadium, especially on social media platforms, which over the past years have witnessed repeated disputes between the two clubs.
Al-Fateh has a distinguished record against Al-Ahly in the confrontations that brought them together in Al-Ahsa, but the team’s current conditions and results since the beginning of the season put it in front of a difficult challenge to maintain its superiority in these confrontations.
Al-Fateh is in fifteenth place with 3 points, after suffering from a faltering start to the season, amid increasing news about the possibility of its national coach, Khaled Al-Atawi, leaving his position, and Moroccan Jamal Al-Salami taking over as his successor, who has prominent coaching experience, most recently with the Jordanian national team.
This atmosphere casts a shadow over Al-Fateh’s preparations, which is looking to exploit the ground staff and the public to achieve a result that restores confidence to its ranks, and gives it an important impetus to move away from the lagging positions.
On the other hand, Al-Ahly arrives in Al-Ahsa looking for the three points, and avoiding any stumble that might keep it away from the competition, especially since the confrontation comes after a long period of hiatus, which doubles the importance of quickly restoring the competitive rhythm.
During the league suspension period, Al-Ahly lost the Intercontinental Cup title to Sun Downs of South Africa, returning to local competitions with the ambition of compensation and continuing its progress in the standings.
The team, led by Dutch coach Marino Pusic, is in sixth place with 12 points, and is still close to competing for the title, in light of the closeness in points between the leading teams, and the fact that the season is still in its early stages.
Al-Ahly had ended its campaign before the stoppage with a victory over Al-Hazm with a score of 3-1, and hopes to build on that result, especially since its confrontation with Al-Fateh precedes a more difficult test when it meets Al-Nasr in the next round at Al-Jawhara Stadium in Jeddah.
In Al-Rass, Al-Khuloud receives its counterpart Al-Qadisiyah in a confrontation no less important than the rest of the round’s matches, as both teams look forward to returning to victories after disappointing results in the last round before the break.
Al-Khuloud, led by its English coach Des Buckingham, is in seventh place with 12 points, and is seeking to capitalize on the match at home to produce a positive result against a competitor who has great ambitions in the title race.
On the other hand, Al-Qadisiyah will come to Al-Rass looking forward to making up for its exciting draw against its traditional rival, Al-Ittifaq, with a score of 3-3, in a confrontation that left the team feeling frustrated after missing the chance to get the three points.
Al-Qadisiyah has 16 points, placing it in fourth place on goal difference behind Al-Nasr, and Irish coach Brendan Rodgers is counting on his team’s distinguished elements capable of making a difference, in order to overcome the obstacle of immortality and return with the three points.
An informed source in the Saudi Football Federation revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the reports circulating about the federation reaching an agreement with Spanish coach Roberto Martinez, who previously coached the Belgium and Portugal national teams, were incorrect to take over the leadership of the first Saudi national team, succeeding the Greek Georgios Donis, who recently led the “Greens” to win the 27th Arabian Gulf Cup title in Jeddah.
Despite the confirmation of his stay by the Football Association, multiple sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that an agreement was reached between the Saudi Federation and Martinez before the start of the Gulf Cup tournament. However, the achievement that Denis achieved in winning the title may prompt a re-evaluation of his future with the national team, and the possibility of ignoring the completion of the contract with the Spanish coach, in light of the changes that occurred in the artistic scene after the tournament.
According to multiple sources, Matt Crocker, the technical director of the Saudi Football Federation, reached an agreement with Martinez to lead the Saudi national team for the next 4 years, in exchange for an annual salary of approximately 13 million euros, which is information that contradicts what was confirmed by the knowledgeable source in the Saudi Federation regarding the lack of an agreement with the Spanish coach.
For his part, a source in the Saudi national team’s management confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Denis is continuing in his position, according to the information available to him, explaining that he does not have any information regarding the departure of the Greek coach or the existence of arrangements to end his contractual relationship with the national team.
The news of the Saudi Federation’s contract with Spanish coach Roberto Martinez, and the dismissal of Greek Georgios Donis from training the Saudi national team, sparked a wave of controversy and questions among Saudi fans on social media platforms, especially since this news came hours after Donis led “the Green” to the crown of the Arabian Gulf Cup title “Gulf 27,” ending a 23-year absence from the podium.
Martinez's name was not the only one at the center of the controversy, as much as the timing of the change was what raised the objection of the fans, who saw that Donis's departure hours after achieving a long-awaited title raises questions about the feasibility of ending his experience at this stage, especially after he succeeded in returning the Saudi national team to the podiums.
Denis was one of the most prominent names that received praise after the tournament, due to the levels presented by the team, the team spirit shown by the players, and his ability to overcome the difficulties that hindered his path to the title.
Denis's journey with the Saudi national team was not ideal from the beginning, as he took over the job to succeed Frenchman Hervé Renard, after settling the contractual relationship between the latter and the Saudi Football Association, with a contract extending until July 2027.
The contract with the Greek coach came at an important stage in the Saudi national team’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup finals, benefiting from his long experience in Saudi stadiums, having previously coached Al Hilal, Al Wahda, Al Fateh and Al Khaleej, in addition to his European experiences with clubs including AEK Athens and PAOK of Greece.
Donis began his career with the national team by losing 2-1 to Ecuador in a friendly match in preparation for the World Cup, before achieving his first victory over Puerto Rico by 3-0, then drawing with Senegal in another friendly match.
In the 2026 World Cup finals, the Saudi national team tied against Uruguay with a score of 1-1, before suffering a heavy loss against Spain 4-0, then concluded its participation with a goalless draw with Cape Verde, leaving the tournament in the group stage after finishing in last place in its group, at a time when the Cape Verde national team succeeded in qualifying for the second round.
The early exit from the World Cup represented a difficult test for the Greek coach, who found himself faced with the task of rearranging the team’s cards and addressing the shortcomings that appeared during the tournament, before the Gulf Cup came to give him a new opportunity to demonstrate his ability to lead the group.
During the 11 matches played by the Saudi national team under the leadership of Denis, it achieved 5 victories, all of which came in the “Gulf 27” Championship, compared to 4 draws and two losses, while its players scored 13 goals, including 8 goals in the Gulf Cup, and conceded 7 goals, including one goal during the Gulf Championship.
Perhaps the most notable feature of Donis’ experience in the Gulf Championship was his ability to create a harmonious group of players, especially the young players, whom he gave the opportunity and confidence to appear remarkably during the competitions and contribute to achieving the title.
This came despite the difficulties facing the team, whether in terms of injuries that affected a number of its players, or the pressure of matches and the short periods between them, but the Greek coach succeeded in leading his team to the podium without any loss, and with a distinguished defensive score during which he conceded only one goal.
These data were present in the reactions of the Saudi fans to the news of the agreement with Martinez, as many demanded that Donis continue, considering that what he presented in the Gulf Cup deserved to be given an additional opportunity to build on the achievement, instead of making a technical change after a short period of achieving the championship and a few weeks before the start of the Asian Nations Cup hosted by Saudi Arabia.
