You can have all the shiniest baubles in the world, but nothing earns credibility like achievement.
The Saudi Pro League (SPL) has Cristiano Ronaldo. They had Neymar. Maybe Lionel Messi will end up in Riyadh or Jeddah next.
All great, of course. But there is nothing like a win over the side who have been the benchmark for excellence for the past decade in the world’s most watched football league to make a statement.
Al Hilal’s thrilling extra-time win over Manchester City in the Club World Cup was exactly that. A landmark success that, it should be remembered, follows a draw with the mighty Real Madrid in the group stage. This is a serious team, and they mean business.
It is not the first time a side from the kingdom has been noticed by global football. Famously, Doha was awash with green when Saudi Arabia stunned Messi’s Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Hilal’s win against City ranks right up there with that. It grabs the attention in the same way as the Salem Al Dawsari-inspired success against the world champions-elect in Qatar.
Al Dawsari is equally as totemic for Hilal as he is for the national team. The fact their stunning win against City came without their injured captain shows they are a side of great substance.
And, unlike in Doha, Hilal’s giant-killing could have lasting reverberations. The national team’s triumph against Argentina was well-earned and well-celebrated back home. But the side failed to progress thereafter.
Hilal, by contrast, are now through to a quarter-final against Fluminense. The Rio side may be one of the great names of Brazilian football, but the Riyadh team will regard them as beatable. Why wouldn’t they after what they have done so far in this competition?
They are unbeaten despite having faced titans like Madrid and City. Few beyond the region would have expected that ahead of the competition.
Maybe a few even among their own fanbase would have had their doubts, given the way the past few months have gone.
There are many similarities between Hilal and City. Both have expensively assembled squads who are used to competing for and winning the biggest titles available to them.
Also, like City in the Premier League, Hilal were not even the best team in Saudi Arabia last season, having previously set the highest standards.
Instead, the Lauren Blanc-coached Al Ittihad side of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante et al were worthy winners of the SPL.
And Ittihad’s city rivals, Al Ahli, earned themselves the title of best in Asia after a thrilling success on home soil in the AFC Champions League in Jeddah.
At the time those trophies were being vied for, Hilal were unravelling in the final throes of Jorge Jesus’ spell in charge.
In the penultimate SPL game of the season, they struggled to a draw with Al Wehda, a Makkah-based club who were themselves heading towards relegation.
Even then, Hilal retained an enviable squad of talent. As they have shown in the US, they have global stars of their own. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a midfield colossus. He dovetails brilliantly with Ruben Neves, the Portuguese schemer.
It is not just their imported talent, either. Al Dawsari is the standout of their homemade contingent and one of the best in Asia, but Nasser Al Dawsari and Mohammed Kanno deserve plaudits, too.
It just needed a change at the helm – Jesus was summarily axed after their Champions League semi-final exit and has now, remarkably, ended up at their city rivals Al Nassr – and a nudge in the right direction for Hilal to get back on track.
How much of an impact Jesus’ replacement, Simone Inzaghi, will have been able to have in the short time he has been there is debatable. He only met his new charges just ahead of the Club World Cup.
But the Italian coach has certainly not got in the way, as Jesus clearly did towards the end of his spell as coach.
-
Al Hilal players celebrate after their 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the Club World Cup in Orlando, Florida. AP -
City star Phil Foden is left dejected after the defeat by the Saudi side. Reuters -
Al Hilal players celebrate their victory, which came after extra time. Reuters -
Defender Kalidou Koulibaly scores the third goal for Al Hilal, who progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Reuters -
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and midfielder Rodri. Reuters -
Koulibaly, centre, celebrates his goal with Al Hilal team-mates Ali Lajami, left, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. EPA -
Al Hilal's Renan Lodi challenges Manchester City's Savinho during the seven-goal thriller. AP -
An Al Hilal fan waves a Saudi flag during the match with the English Premier League side. EPA
On Inzaghi's watch, the side have looked far more like their old selves at the Club World Cup, equal to the sum of their parts.
And their new manager – who was overseeing Inter Milan in the Uefa Champions League final in his previous assignment before joining them – has appreciated their efforts.
“We had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we made it,” Inzaghi said after the win in Orlando.
A cute sentiment, no doubt. But Hilal’s fans will be hoping that the best might yet be to come. They have a Club World Cup final to summit now.
