2008–09 Saudi Professional League
| Season | 2008–2009 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Ittihad (8th title) |
| Relegated |
Al-Watani Abha |
| Champions League |
Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal Al-Ahli Al-Shabab |
| Matches played | 134 |
| Goals scored | 371 (2.77 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |
Hicham Aboucherouane Nasser Al-Shamrani (12 goals each) |
| Biggest home win |
Al-Hilal 7–0 Najran (20 December 2008) |
| Biggest away win |
Al-Shabab 0–4 Al-Ittihad (28 January 2009) Al-Raed 0–4 Al-Shabab (30 November 2008) |
| Highest scoring |
Al-Ittihad 7–2 Al-Watani (15 December 2008) Al-Raed 6–3 Al-Wehda (8 April 2009) |
|
2009–10 → | |
The 2008–09 Saudi Professional League was the 33rd season of Saudi Professional League since its establishment in 1976.
Al-Hilal were the defending champions for this season, having won the previous 2007–08 season. The season featured 10 teams from the 2007–08 and two new teams promoted from the 2007–08 First Division: Al-Raed and Abha who replace relegated Al-Qadisiya and Al-Tai.
On 12 April 2009, the final round of the season, Al-Ittihad won the title after a 2–1 victory over Al-Hilal. It was their eighth league title overall. Al-Watani and Abha were relegated.
Qualification and Prize money
The Top three of the league and the winner of Champions Cup qualified to the Champions League.
The Top eight qualified to Champions Cup.
Prize money:
- First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals
Stadiums and locations
Members clubs
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Nasr |  Edgar |
Sacked [1] |  Edgardo Bauza |
January 2009 |
| Al-Hilal |  Cosmin Olaroiu |
Sacked [2] | Catalin Necula (caretaker) |
March 2009 |
| Al-Hilal | Catalin Necula |
Necula was temporary replacement [3] | .svg.png){kind=small} Georges Leekens |
April 2009 |
| Al-Ahli |  Stoycho Mladenov |
Sacked at end of the season [4][5] | Gustavo Alfaro |
April 2009 |
| Al-Hilal | Georges Leekens |
Sacked after 1 month [6] | Eric Gerets |
May 2009 |
League table
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ittihad (C) | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 21 | +36 | 55 | AFC Champions League Group Stage |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 9 | +32 | 50 | |
| 3 | Al-Ahli | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 40 | |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 35 | |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 34 | |
| 6 | Al-Ettifaq | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 29 | |
| 7 | Al-Wahda | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 26 | |
| 8 | Al Hazm | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 25 | 31 | −6 | 25 | |
| 9 | Najran | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 42 | −20 | 21 | |
| 10 | Al-Raed (O) | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 19 | Qualification to relegation play-off |
| 11 | Abha (R) | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 40 | −21 | 19 | |
| 12 | Al-Watani (R) | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 48 | −26 | 12 | Relegated to 2009–10 First Division |
Source: slstat.com
Rules for classification:
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Fixtures and results
| Home \ Away[1] | AlITT | HIL | AHI | SHB | NAS | ETT | WAT | WAH | NAJ | RAE | ABH | HZM |
| Al-Ittihad | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 7–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| Al-Hilal | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | |
| Al-Ahli | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Shabab | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 5–0 | 2–0 | |
| Al-Nassr | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Al-Ettifaq | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | |
| Al-Watani | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | |
| Al-Wahda | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | |
| Najran | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Raed | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 6–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
| Abha | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | |
| Al Hazm | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
Source: Goalzz.com
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nasser Al-Shamrani |
Al-Shabab | 12 |
 Hicham Aboucherouane |
Al-Ittihad | 12 | |
| 2 |  Emad Moteab |
Al-Ittihad | 10 |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani |
Al-Hilal | 10 | |
| 3 | Naif Hazazi |
Al-Ittihad | 9 |
Assist
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Assists [7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammed Noor |
Al-Ittihad | 11 |
| 2 | Abdoh Otaif |
Al-Shabab | 7 |
| 3 |  Christian Wilhelmsson |
Al-Hilal | 6 |
| Ahmed Al-Fraidi |
Al-Hilal | 6 | |
Relegation play-offs
Al-Raed, who finished 10th, faced Abha, who finished 11th for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2009–10 Professional League. Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate and retained their place in the next edition.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abha | 3–4 | Al-Raed | 1–1 | 2–3 |
First leg
Second leg
Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate.
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168493833.html Edgardo Bauza takes over as Al-Nasr Coach
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168527995.html Olaroiu abruptly dismissed in bizarre circumstances
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168624529.html Leekens takes over at Al Hilal
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168690337.html Sweeping changes as Al Ahli eye ACL
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168692596.html Alfaro is new Ahli coach
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/eng/articles/viewArticle.jsp_168690574.html Hilal boot out Leekens
- ↑ "Saudi League Statistics". slstat.com. slstat.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.