LONDON: Can a team that has won 14 out of the last 16 league games be feeling a little uncertain about the coming weeks? We may be about to find out.
Al-Ittihad may be closing in on a first title since 2009, but it has not been a great week for the Saudi Professional League leaders. A couple of recent off-pitch issues have been joined by an on-pitch wobble, the first in several months.
Once trophies have been lifted, such weeks are invariably looked back on as blips that inevitably occur over the course of a long season. But when the outcome is yet to be decided, it is understandable if there are a few nerves.
The week began with a television announcement that star winger Fahad Al-Muwallad is being investigated by the Kingdom’s Anti-Doping Committee amid reports that he failed a drug test.
If confirmed, it would not be the first time the international forward, who plays regularly for the national team, has failed an out-of-competition test. In 2019, he was hit by a one-year ban. That may not happen this time, but the 27 year-old will not play while the issue is being investigated.
Al-Muwallad was absent on Monday and missed a shock defeat in the semifinal of the King’s Cup at the hands of Al-Feiha. On another day, the Tigers, who dominated possession, would have won that game and be looking forward to a May final and a possible — and impressive — double.
For a team that has been so dominant in the league, it was a rare setback. The double is no longer on, and some would say that being forced to concentrate on the league is exactly what the Jeddah giants need as they seek to end a 13-year title drought. But that may not be the case.
The problem is that while the Tigers can rest, there have not been that many games of late anyway — just 13 in all competitions so far in 2022. It remains to be seen how sharp the players are next week when they return from a break agreed by coach Cosmin Costra. Star striker Abderrazak Hamdallah has reportedly gone to the US for a few days.
This should have been the start of a busy, but not frantic, April. The Asian Champions League came to Jeddah on Thursday, but the local giants, the only team to have won back-to-back titles in the tournament, a feat they managed in 2004 and 2005, will not feature.
There will be 12 games played in the Red Sea Port City, but Group C will be contested by Iran’s Foolad, Shabab Al-Ahli of the UAE, Turkmenistan’s Ahal and Al-Gharafa of Qatar. Al-Ittihad fans may want to go and watch some continental action, but their thoughts are more likely to be on Al-Taawoun instead.
The Buraidah club kick off their campaign with a tough clash against Al-Duhail of Qatar, but it should be Al-Ittihad who are trying to stop the ultra-prolific Michael Olunga from scoring. Al-Taawoun finished fourth last season, one place behind the Tigers. Al-Ittihad, who have had financial issues in the past, were not given the club license last October that is needed in order to compete on the continent. As a result, they lost the chance to compete in Asia’s biggest event.
Again, it may seem better to miss out on the six games in the space of 19 or 20 days before a return to league action next month. But is it? Al-Hilal are the only realistic challengers to Al-Ittihad in the league, sitting 11 points behind with seven matches left to play, two more than the leaders.
That would be seen as too much of a gap by most, but it is not the case here. Al-Hilal have won all eight games under coach Ramon Diaz, which included victory over the leaders last month, a first league defeat for Al-Ittihad since October. Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad will also meet one more time this season in what will be a crunch game.
By the time that meeting, scheduled for May 15, comes around, Al-Hilal should be razor sharp — assuming injuries are avoided — after seven games in a month. Al-Ittihad, meanwhile, will have played just one.
It remains to be seen which offers the best chance of the title. If it goes the way of the Jeddah giants, they will look back on this week as one to forget in what was a season to remember. However, If they miss out on the league championship one more time, they may see the first week of April as when it all started to go wrong.