Saudi El Clásico (Arabic: كلاسيكو السعودية), is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad. It is contested at least twice a year in the Saudi Pro League competition and often in other competitions. The rivalry comes about as Riyadh and Jeddah are the two largest cities in Saudi Arabia.[1]
| Native name | كلاسيكو السعودية (Clasico Alsaudia) |
|---|---|
| Location | Saudi Arabia |
| Teams | |
| First meeting | Al-Ittihad 2–0 Al-Hilal Friendly (27 July 1962) |
| Latest meeting | Al-Ittihad 1–2 Al-Hilal King Cup (30 April 2024) |
| Stadiums | Kingdom Arena (Al-Hilal) King Abdullah Sports City (Al-Ittihad) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | Official matches: 162 Unofficial matches: 14 Total matches: 176 |
| Most wins | Official matches: Al-Hilal (75) Unofficial matches: Al-Ittihad (5) Total matches: Al-Hilal (79) |
| Top scorer | Ahmed Bahja Salem Al-Dawsari (10 goals each) |
| Largest victory | Al-Hilal 5–0 Al-Ittihad Pro League (10 December 2009) |
History edit
The first-ever match between these two teams was in 1962. The two teams played a friendly match in Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah which ended in a 2–0 for Al-Ittihad. In 1964, both teams met in the final of the King Cup in what would be the first final between these two teams and the first official match. Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Hilal 3–0 in the Al-Sayegh stadium in Riyadh to lift their fourth title.[2] Ahmed Bahja and Salem Al-Dawsari are the top scorers of the fixture with 10 goals each.[3][4] The clubs have met each other in 11 finals, with Al-Hilal winning 6 and Al-Ittihad winning 5.[5]
Statistics edit
Statistics as of 11 April 2024.[6][7][8]
| Matches | Al-Hilal Wins |
Draws | Al-Ittihad Wins |
Al-Hilal Goals |
Al-Ittihad Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Pro League |
105 | 48 | 29 | 28 | 156 | 118 |
| King Cup |
17 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 27 |
| Crown Prince Cup |
11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 6 |
| Saudi Super Cup |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Federation Cup |
16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 19 |
| AFC Champions League |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Arab Competitions |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| Total official matches | 162 | 75 | 45 | 42 | 239 | 183 |
| Al-Maseef Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| International Friendship Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Together Against Terrorism Tournament | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Friendlies | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 12 |
| Total matches | 176 | 79 | 50 | 47 | 259 | 201 |
Top scorers edit
Below is the list of players who have scored at least four goals in official meetings.
| Position | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ahmed Bahja
|
Al-Hilal (6) Al-Ittihad (4) | 10 |
 Salem Al-Dawsari
|
Al-Hilal | ||
| 3 | Sameer Sultan
|
Al-Hilal | 8 |
| Abdullah Al-Jamaan
|
Al-Hilal | ||
| Al-Hasan Al-Yami
|
Al-Ittihad | ||
 Thiago Neves
|
Al-Hilal | ||
| Carlos Eduardo
|
Al-Hilal | ||
| 8 | Sami Al-Jaber
|
Al-Hilal | 7 |
| 9 | Hamzah Idris
|
Al-Ittihad | 6 |
| Sérgio Ricardo
|
Al-Hilal (3) Al-Ittihad (3) | ||
| Mohammed Noor
|
Al-Ittihad | ||
| Mohammad Al-Shalhoub
|
Al-Hilal | ||
| Nawaf Al-Abed
|
Al-Hilal |
Official match results edit
As of 30 April 2024. Source:[9][10]
Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form.
- SF = Semi-finals
- QF = Quarter-finals
- R16 = Round of 16
- R32 = Round of 32
- GS = Group stage
- R1 = Round 1
- R2 = Round 2
- PO = Play-offs
Al-Hilal win Draw Al-Ittihad win
|
|
- ^ Al-Hilal won 2–0 on penalties after both teams tied 1–1.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 9–8 on penalties after both teams tied 2–2.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 3–2 on penalties after both teams tied 0–0.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 8–7 on penalties after both teams tied 1–1.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 4–3 on penalties after both teams tied 0–0.
- ^ Al-Hilal won 4–3 on penalties after both teams tied 2–2 on aggregate.
- ^ Al-Hilal won 4–3 on penalties after both teams tied 0–0.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 4–1 on penalties after both teams tied 0–0.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 8–7 on penalties after both teams tied 2–2.
- ^ Al-Ittihad won 5–4 on penalties after both teams tied 0–0.
- ^ Al-Hilal won on away goals after tied 3–3 on aggregate.
Friendlies edit
| Date | Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | ||
| 27 July 1962 | Al-Ittihad | 2-0 | Al-Hilal | Friendly |
| 24 June 1969 | Al-Ittihad | 1–1 | Al-Hilal | Al-Maseef Cup |
| 26 June 1969 | Al-Ittihad | 1–0 | Al-Hilal | Al-Maseef Cup |
| 18 August 1969 | Al-Hilal | 3–0 | Al-Ittihad | Friendly |
| 20 January 1971 | Al-Ittihad | 3–3 | Al-Hilal | Friendly |
| 15 March 1984 | Al-Hilal | 0–1 | Al-Ittihad | Friendly |
| 10 March 1986 | Al-Ittihad | 3–1 | Al-Hilal | Friendly |
| 22 July 1986 | Al-Hilal | 0–0 | Al-Ittihad | Friendly |
| 2 October 1995 | Al-Ittihad | 0–0 | Al-Hilal | Friendly |
| 17 April 1998 | Al-Hilal | 4–1 | Al-Ittihad | Friendly |
| 11 May 1998 | Al-Ittihad | 2–4 | Al-Hilal | Friendly |
| 9 November 1998 | Al-Hilal | 0–0 | Al-Ittihad | Friendly |
| 18 August 2004 | Al-Ittihad | 3-2 | Al-Hilal | International Friendship Tournament |
| 11 February 2005 | Al-Hilal | 2–1 | Al-Ittihad | Together Against Terrorism Tournament |
| Al-Hilal wins | Draws | Al-Ittihad wins |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 5 |
Honours edit
The rivalry reflected in "El Clásico" matches comes about as Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal are the most successful football clubs in Saudi Arabia. As seen below, Al-Hilal leads the count in official titles won with 66 trophies, while Al-Ittihad has won 35 trophies. Only official trophies are counted.
| Al–Hilal[11] | Championship | Al–Ittihad[12] | Official |
|---|---|---|---|
| International (official) | |||
| 4 | AFC Champions League | 2 | Yes |
| 2 | Asian Super Cup | 0 | Yes |
| 2 | Asian Cup Winners Cup | 1 | Yes |
| 2 | Arab Champions League | 1 | Yes |
| 1 | Arab Super Cup | 0 | Yes |
| 1 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | 0 | Yes |
| 2 | Gulf Club Champions Cup | 1 | Yes |
| Domestic (official) | |||
| 18 | Saudi League | 9 | Yes |
| 10 | King's Cup | 9 | Yes |
| 13 | Crown Prince Cup | 8 | Yes |
| 3 | Super Cup | 1 | Yes |
| 7 | Federation cup | 3 | Not official since 2007 |
| Other Domestic (Defunct, official) | |||
| 1 | Saudi Founder's Cup | 0 | Yes |
| Official Championships | |||
| 66 | Total | 35 | |
References edit
- ^ Al Arabiya – El Clasico
- ^ "5 معلومات عن أول كلاسيكو جمع الهلال والاتحاد في التاريخ".
- ^ "محترفون سجلوا بصمتهم بقوة في كلاسيكو الاتحاد والهلال".
- ^ "سالم الدوسري الهداف التاريخي للهلال في الكلاسيو أمام الاتحاد".
- ^ "نهائيات الهلال والاتحاد.. لمن سيكون التفوق في السوبر؟".
- ^ "تاريخ مواجهات الهلال أمام الاتحاد في كأس الملك".
- ^ "كلاسيكو السعودية: ما هو تاريخ مواجهات الهلال والاتحاد في جميع البطولات؟".
- ^ "في120 مباراة.. فاز الهلال في54 والاتحاد في 42 وتعادلا في البقية".
- ^ "السجل الذهبي للقاءات الرسمية للهلال والإتحاد".
- ^ "تاريخ لقاءات: الهلال - الاتحاد".
- ^ "Alhilal Saudi Club Achievments [sic] - Al Hilal Saudi Club : The Official Website". www.alhilal.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01.
- ^ "نادي الإتحاد العربي السعودي – الإنجازات والبطولات". ittihadclub.sa. Archived from the original on 2011-09-24.