The 2009–10 Saudi Professional League (known as the Zain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 34th season of the Saudi Pro League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 18 August 2009, and ended on 18 March 2010.[2] Al-Ittihad were the defending champions.[3]
| Season | 2009–10 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18 August 2009 – 18 March 2010 |
| Champions | Al Hilal (12th title) |
| Champions League | Al-Hilal Al-Ittihad Al-Nassr Al-Shabab |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Goals scored | 377 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Mohammad Al-Shalhoub (12 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Ittihad 7–1 Al-Qadsiah (26 August 2009) |
| Biggest away win | Najran 0–5 Al Wehda (7 January 2010) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Ittihad 7–1 Al-Qadsiah (26 August 2009) |
| Longest winning run | 6 games[1] Al Hilal |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 games[1] Al Hilal |
| Longest winless run | 14 games[1] Al-Raed |
| Longest losing run | 8 games[1] Najran |
← 2008–09 2010–11 → | |
Al Hilal secured the title with a 2–0 win away to Al-Hazem on 24 January 2010.[4] Al Hilal won the league with three games to spare. Al Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al Shabab and Al Nassr all secured a berth for the 2011 AFC Champions League. No teams were relegated at the end of the season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 12 to 14.[5]
Name sponsorship
editOn 16 June 2009, the Saudi Professional League announced a sponsorship with telecommunication company Zain. As part of the sponsorship deal the Saudi Professional League would be known as the Zain Professional League for the next 4 seasons.[6]
Qualification and Prize Money
editThe League champions, runners-up and third-placed team, as well as the winners of the King Cup of Champions, qualify for the 2011 AFC Champions League.
The top six teams, and the Crown Prince Cup winners and runners-up qualify for King Cup of Champions.
- Prize money:
- First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals
Teams
editTwelve teams competed in the league – the top nine teams from the previous season, the relegation play-off winner and the two teams promoted from the Saudi First Division. Al-Raed defeated Abha 4–3 on aggregate to confirm their top-flight status.[7] The promoted teams were Al-Qadsiah (returning after a season's absence) and Al-Fateh (playing top-flight football for the first time ever). They replaced Abha (relegated after a season's presence) and Al-Watani (ending their two-year top-flight spell).
Stadiums and locations
edit
Personnel
edit
Managerial changes
edit
Foreign players
editThe number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries.
- Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Players name in italic indicates the player was de-registered or left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Hilal (C) | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 56 | 18 | +38 | 56 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage and the King Cup of Champions[a] |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 45 | |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 43 | |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 40 | |
| 5 | Al-Wehda | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 28 | Qualification for the King Cup of Champions |
| 6 | Al-Ahli | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 28 | |
| 7 | Al-Hazem | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 24 | |
| 8 | Al-Fateh | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 24 | |
| 9 | Al-Ettifaq | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 30 | −6 | 22 | |
| 10 | Al-Qadsiah | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 40 | −20 | 20 | |
| 11 | Al-Raed | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 35 | −17 | 16 | |
| 12 | Najran | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 22 | 46 | −24 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total goal difference; 3) Total goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only for deciding champion, relegation and AFC competitions participation).
(C) Champions
Notes:
- ^ Since the winners of the King Cup of Champions, Al-Ittihad, qualified for the Champions League, the spot given to the King Cup of Champions winners (Champions League group stage) was passed to the fourth-placed team.
Results
editSeason statistics
editScoring
editTop scorers
editHat-tricks
edit| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Flávio Amado |
Al-Shabab | Najran | 3–1 (A) | 19 August 2009 | [30] |
 Naif Hazazi |
Al-Ittihad | Al-Qadisiyah | 7–1 (H) | 26 August 2009 | [31] |
 Thiago Neves |
Al-Hilal | Al-Ittihad | 5–0 (H) | 10 December 2009 | [32] |
 Hicham Aboucherouane |
Al-Ittihad | Al-Hazem | 5–2 (H) | 6 January 2010 | [33] |
| Muhannad Assiri |
Al-Wehda | Najran | 5–0 (A) | 7 January 2010 | [34] |
| Abdelkarim Benhenia4 |
Al-Wehda | Al-Fateh | 6–0 (H) | 28 January 2010 | [35] |
- Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team
Clean sheets
edit| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khalid Radhy
|
Al Nassr | 8 |
| 2 | Mohamed Al-Deayea
|
Al Hilal | 7 |
| 3 | Mohammad Khouja
|
Al-Ettifaq | 5 |
| Mohammad Sharifi
|
Al-Fateh | ||
| Mohammed Al-Khojali
|
Al-Raed | ||
| Waleed Abdullah
|
Al Shabab | ||
| 7 | Faisal Al-Merqeb
|
Al Wehda | 4 |
| 8 | Jaber Al-Ameri
|
Najran | 3 |
| Mabrouk Zaid
|
Al-Ittihad |
Discipline
editPlayer
edit- Most yellow cards: 8[36]
Ramzi Ben Younès (Al-Fateh)
- Most red cards: 2[36]
- Abdullah Al-Garni (Al-Nassr)
- Ahmed Menawer (Al-Hazem)
- Mansoor Al-Harbi (Al-Ahli)
- Zakaria Al-Hadaf (Al-Qadsiah)
Club
edit- Most yellow cards: 56[36]
- Al-Hazem
- Most red cards: 8[36]
- Al-Ittihad
Awards
editArriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence
editThe Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence were awarded at the conclusion of the season for the fourth time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication company Mobily. The awards were presented on 13 May 2010.[37]
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season |   Christian Wilhelmsson Osama Hawsawi Mohammad Al-Sahlawi
|
Al-Hilal Al-Hilal Al-Nassr |
| Young Player of the Season | Ibrahim Ghaleb Nawaf Al-Abed Khaled Al-Mutairi
|
Al-Nassr Al-Hilal Al-Hazem |
| Golden Boot | Mohammad Al-Shalhoub
|
Al-Hilal |
Al-Riyadiya Awards
editAnother set of awards were awarded at the end of the season. It was announced that AlRiyadiya were presenting their awards for the first time. The awards were known as AlRiyadiya Awards and were presented on 8 May 2010.[38]
- Best Goalkeeper: Waleed Abdullah (Al-Shabab)
- Best defender: Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal)
- Best Midfielder: Christian Wilhelmsson (Al-Hilal)
- Best attacker: Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr)
- Player of the Year: Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "All Statistics:Teams". Archived from the original on 11 June 2017.
- ^ "جدول الدوري". Archived from the original on 22 April 2016.
- ^ "الاتحاد بطلا لدوري المحترفين السعودي بفوزه على الهلال".
- ^ "الهلال بطلاً للدوري السعودي 2010".
- ^ "هل ستتغير خارطة دوري "زين"؟".
- ^ "تغيير مسمى دوري المحترفين السعودي إلى "دوري زين"".
- ^ ""رائد التحدي" يعلن البقاء في دوري الأضواء".
- ^ "رسمياً..البلجيكي غيرتس مدرباً للهلال لموسمين مقبلين".
- ^ "الأرجنتيني جوستافو الفارو يقود الأهلي الموسم المقبل مع خمسة مساعدين".
- ^ "البرتغالي أكاسيو الفريدو مدربا للرائد".
- ^ "الحزم يوقع مع محسن صالح رسمياً".
- ^ http://www.the-afc.com/en/news-centre/member-association-news/222-west-asia-/24671-nasr-turn-to-uruguayan-da-silva-to-end-coaching-woes Nasr turn to Uruguayan Da Silva to end coaching woes
- ^ http://www.the-afc.com/en/member-association-news/west-asia-news/24762-pacheco-is-new-shabab-coach Pacheco is new Shabab coach
- ^ "دانيال يرفض حضور اجتماع القادسية.. والإدارة تقيله رسمياً".
- ^ "الرائد يقيل البرتغالي أكاسيو.. والبديل البرازيلي ماريو".
- ^ "شرط جزائي يحول تعاقد نجران من الغرايري إلى الجويلي".
- ^ "الاتفاق أقال ملادينوف أمس .. ورئيسه يؤكد".
- ^ "الروماني إيوان مدربا للاتفاق.. ويبدأ مهمته أمام العروبة".
- ^ "أفضل مدرب في إفريقيا لعام 2008 يقود الأهلي خلفاً للفارو".
- ^ "السويح يترك القادسية ويعود للحزم".
- ^ "الحزم يودع محسن صالح والسلمي يبدأ مهمته".
- ^ "رسمياً لولا بيريرا مدرباً للحزم".
- ^ "فارياس يصل جدة والأمير عبدالله بن فيصل يفتتح المركز الإعلامي".
- ^ "ديمتروف وقَّع للقادسية ودجلاس وصل البحرين".
- ^ "العقبي يخلف الجويلي في نجران".
- ^ "الاتحاد يقيل (كالديرون) ويعين خليفة مدربا مؤقتا".
- ^ "الاتحاد يتعاقد مع (هيكتور) حتى نهاية الموسم".
- ^ [1] Shabab, Al Ain boot out their coaches
- ^ "Zain Saudi Professional League 2009/2010 – scorers".
- ^ "Najran 1 – 3 Al Shabab". Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.
- ^ "Al Ittihad 7 – 1 Al Qadisiyah". Archived from the original on 20 May 2016.
- ^ "Al Hilal 5 – 0 Al Ittihad". Archived from the original on 22 June 2016.
- ^ "Al Ittihad 5 – 2 Al Hazem". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Najran 0 – 5 Al Wehda". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Al Wehda 6 – 0 Al Fateh". Archived from the original on 21 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d "الكروت". Archived from the original on 27 April 2016.
- ^ "الراجحي يتوج بجائزة الرياضية وموبايلي للتميز الرياضي".
- ^ "أسامة هوساوي أفضل لاعب في الموسم الرياضي السعودي".