2014–15 Saudi Professional League

Professional League
Season 2014–2015
Champions Al-Nassr (7th title)
Relegated Al-Shoalah, Al-Orobah
Champions League Al-Nassr
Al-Ahli
Al-Hilal
Al-Ittihad
Matches played 182
Goals scored 528 (2.9 per match)
Top goalscorer Omar Al Soma
(22 goals)
Biggest home win Al-Ahli 6–1 Hajer (16 August 2014)
Biggest away win Al-Faisaly 1–5 Al Nassr (26 April 2015)
Highest scoring Hajer 4–4 Al-Shabab (19 February 2015)
Longest winning run 8 games
Al-Ahli
Longest unbeaten run 26 games
Al-Ahli
Longest losing run 7 games
Al-Oruba
Highest attendance 60,134[1]
Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal (1 December 2014)
Lowest attendance 45[2]
Najran Hajer (18 May 2015)
Average attendance 9,191[3]

The 2014–15 Saudi Professional League (officially known as the Abdul Latif Jameel League, because of its sponsorship) was the 39th season of Saudi Professional League since its establishment in 1976.

Al-Nassr were the defending champions for this season, having won the previous 2013–14 season and 6th title in total.[4] The season was featured 14 teams, 12 from the 2013–14 campaign and two new teams promoted from the 2013–14 First Division, champions Hajer and Al-Khaleej who replace relegated Al-Ettifaq and Al-Nahda.

The title was won by Al-Nassr on May 10, 2015 after defeating rivals Al-Hilal 1-0 in the Riyadh derby. Al-Ahli became the only team in Saudi football history to lose the league and not lose any preceding matches (26), with 9 draws. Furthermore, they defeated champions Al-Nassr home (2-1) and away (4-3), and were still not crowned, the last time they won the league was in the 1983–84 season.

Teams

Hajer were back in the top flight bouncing straight back after relegation in the 2012–13 campaign. Al-Khaleej also were back for the first time in seven years, last competing in the 2006–07 Saudi Premier League season.

Stadiums and locations

Locations of teams in the 2014–15 Saudi Professional League
Club Location Stadium Capacity Coach
Al-Ahli Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Stadium 62,241 Switzerland Christian Gross
Al-Faisaly Harmah King Salman Sport City Stadium 7,000 Portugal Toni Conceição
Al-Fateh Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium 27,550 Tunisia Nacif Beyaoui
Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 62,685 Greece Giorgos Donis
Al-Ittihad Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Stadium 62,241 Romania Victor Pițurcă
Al-Khaleej Saihat Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium 20,100 Tunisia Jalal Qaderi
Al Nassr Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 62,685 Uruguay Jorge da Silva
Al-Oruba Sakakah Al-Oruba Club Stadium 5,000 France Laurent Banide
Al Raed Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium 25,000 Belgium Marc Brys
Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 62,685 Portugal Jaime Pacheco
Al-Shoalah Al Kharj Al-Shoalah Club Stadium 8,000 Romania Eusebiu Tudor
Al Taawon Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium 25,000 Portugal José Manuel Gomes
Hajer Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium 27,550 Montenegro Nebojša Jovović
Najran Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium 2,800 Algeria Fouad Bouali

Kit manufacturer and sponsors

Club Kit manufacturer Sponsors
Al-Ahli Umbro Qatar Airways
Al-Faisaly Macron ALDREES
Al-Fateh
Al-Hilal Nike Mobily
Al-Ittihad Erreà
Al-Khaleej Uhlsport Hyundai Motor Company
Al Nassr Made by club Mobily
Al-Oruba
Al Raed
Al-Shabab Adidas
Al-Shoalah
Al Taawon
Hajer Erreà Al-Ajmi Company
Najran Made by club

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries and a marquee player. A team could use four foreign players on the field during each game including at least one player from the AFC country.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player
Al-Ahli Brazil Bruno César Brazil Osvaldo Egypt Mohamed Abdel-Shafy Syria Omar Al Soma
Al-Faisaly Cameroon André Ndame Ndame The Gambia Macoumba Kandji Jordan Ashraf Nu'man Jordan Khalil Bani Attiah
Al-Fateh Brazil Elias Luiz Brazil Élton Republic of the Congo Doris Fuakumputu Bahrain Hussain Ali Baba
Al-Hilal Brazil Thiago Neves Brazil Digão Greece Georgios Samaras South Korea Kwak Tae-Hwi
Al-Ittihad Brazil Marquinho Poland Łukasz Szukała Romania Lucian Sânmărtean Iraq Saif Salman
Al-Khaleej Cameroon Aminou Bouba Ivory Coast Habib Meite Jordan Ibrahim Al-Zawahreh Jordan Hamza Al-Dardour
Al-Nassr Ecuador Armando Wila Poland Adrian Mierzejewski Uruguay Fabián Estoyanoff Bahrain Mohamed Husain
Al-Oruba Ghana Moussa Narry Ghana Isaac Obang Owsai Lebanon Khodor Salame Kuwait Musaed Neda
Al-Raed Cameroon Alexis Mondomo Iraq Amjad Radhi Morocco Hassan Tair Jordan Anas Bani Yaseen
Al-Shabab Brazil Rafinha Ghana Mohamed Awal Ghana John Antwi Jordan Tareq Khattab
Al-Shoalah Ghana Sadat Bukari Montenegro Bojan Božović Mali Lassana Fané East Timor Orestes Júnior
Al-Taawon Cameroon Paul Alo'o Jordan Shadi Abu Hash'hash Kenya David Ochieng Syria Jehad Al-Hussain
Hajer Brazil Jildemar Croatia Dario Jertec Montenegro Đorđe Đikanović Jordan Alaa' Al-Shaqran
Najran Algeria Farid Cheklam Brazil Jandson Ghana Winful Cobbinah Jordan Mussab Al-Laham

Managerial Changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Incoming manager
Al Hilal Saudi Arabia Sami Al-Jaber Mutual consent[5] Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf
Al Ittihad Saudi Arabia Khalid Al Koroni Sacked[6] Egypt Amr Anwar
Al Ittihad Egypt Amr Anwar Temporary mandate over Romania Victor Pițurcă
Najran France Denis Lavagne Resigned Belgium Marc Brys
Al Nassr Spain Raúl Caneda Resigned Uruguay Jorge da Silva
Hajer Tunisia Nacif Beyaoui Resigned to join Al Fateh Montenegro Nebojša Jovović
Al Fateh Spain Juan Maqueda Sacked Tunisia Nacif Beyaoui
Najran Belgium Marc Brys Resigned to join Al Raed Algeria Fouad Bouali
Al Raed Republic of Macedonia Vlatko Kostov Sacked Belgium Marc Brys
Al Shabab Portugal José Morais Sacked Germany Reinhard Stumpf
Al Tawoon Algeria Tawfiq Rawabeh Sacked Portugal José Manuel Gomes
Al Shabab Germany Reinhard Stumpf Sacked Portugal Jaime Pacheco
Al Hilal Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf Sacked[7] Romania Ciprian Panait
Al Hilal Romania Ciprian Panait Temp mandate over Greece Giorgos Donis
Al-Faisaly Belgium Stéphane Demol Sacked Portugal Toni Conceição[8]

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Nassr (C) 26 20 4 2 62 20 +42 64 Qualification to the AFC Champions League group stage
2 Al-Ahli 26 17 9 0 59 22 +37 60
3 Al-Hilal 26 16 6 4 46 17 +29 54
4 Al-Ittihad 26 16 4 6 44 33 +11 52 Qualification to the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off1
5 Al-Shabab 26 11 7 8 37 31 +6 40
6 Al-Fateh 26 9 6 11 35 43 8 33 Qualification to the GCC Champions League group stage
7 Al-Faisaly 26 8 6 12 31 42 11 30
8 Al-Khaleej 26 7 8 11 35 43 8 29
9 Al-Taawon 26 7 7 12 42 46 4 28
10 Hajer 26 8 4 14 29 56 27 28
11 Al-Raed 26 7 5 14 33 45 12 26
12 Najran 26 7 3 16 28 41 13 24
13 Al-Shoalah (R) 26 5 6 15 26 48 22 21 Relegation to 2015–16 First Division
14 Al-Orobah (R) 26 4 5 17 21 43 22 17

Source: FIFA.com (English)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th goal difference; 5th number of goals scored;
1Al-Ittihad secured qualification for the 2016 AFC Champions League due to Al-Hilal winning the 2015 King Cup.
(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.

Results

Home \ Away[1] AHI FSL FATHILITTKHJNASORORAESHBSHLTWNHJRNAJ
Al-Ahli 11 50 11 11 21 21 20 10 00 30 22 61 21
Al-Faisaly 14 42 22 03 12 15 20 10 13 00 22 20 01
Al-Fateh 01 12 12 22 20 11 10 32 02 00 20 31 21
Al-Hilal 00 30 30 30 30 01 41 31 01 21 31 51 21
Al-Ittihad 11 21 10 00 21 13 21 31 01 32 43 01 21
Al-Khaleej 11 42 22 01 01 01 20 30 10 11 03 22 01
Al-Nassr 34 00 42 10 21 41 21 22 00 50 21 30 41
Al-Orobah 13 11 12 10 01 22 02 21 00 20 43 23 01
Al-Raed 24 21 23 11 01 12 12 21 31 10 00 21 32
Al-Shabab 23 21 22 01 34 20 03 30 00 21 12 20 21
Al-Shoalah 02 21 10 13 13 11 12 00 22 12 43 31 21
Al-Taawoun 14 01 12 01 43 44 01 11 31 11 30 31 00
Hajer 03 02 21 11 01 11 04 10 21 44 21 20 03
Najran 11 01 11 02 12 14 04 20 12 21 31 01 12

Updated to games played on 18 May 2015.
Source: ALJLeague.com (English)
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Clubs season-progress

W Win
D Draw
L Lose
Team \ Round 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
Al-Hilal W W D W W W L D W W L D D W L D W W W W W W W D L W
Al-Shoalah L D L L L L L W L D W L D L D L L L L W D W L L D W
Al-Nassr W W W W W W L W W W D W W W D W D W W L W W W W W D
Al-Orobah L W W L D L L D L D D L L D W L L L L L L L W L L L
Al-Shabab W W W W D W W W D L D W L L D D W L L L W L D W L D
Al-Faisaly L W W W D D W L D D L D D L L W W W W L L L L L L L
Al-Taawon L L D D L D W L W W L L W D W W W L L L L L D L D D
Al-Fateh L L L L W L W L D W L L W D D L D W L W D W D L W W
Al-Ahli W D D W D W W W W D W W D W D D W W W W W W W W D D
Hajer L W L L W D W L W L L W D L L D L L D W W L L W L L
Najran L D D L L L L W W L W W L L L L L L W W L L D L W L
Al-Khaleej L D L L L D L D D W L W L W D L D L D L W L W W W D
Al-Ittihad W W W W W W W L L D L L D D W W W W W W L W L W W D
Al-Raed L L L D L L L L D L L W W W D W L W L L L W L D D W

Last updated: 18 May 2015
Source: ALJ Stats

Season statistics

Top scorers

Position Player Club Goals
1 Syria Omar Al Soma Al-Ahli 22
2 Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Sahlawi Al-Nassr 21
3 Cameroon Paul Alo'o Al Taawon 16
4 Saudi Arabia Naif Hazazi Al-Shabab 14
5 Saudi Arabia Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Hilal 13
6 Brazil Jandson Najran 12

Last updated: 17 May 2015

Top Assistants

Position Player Club Assists
1 Syria Jehad Al-Hussain Al-Taawon 9
2 Saudi Arabia M. Bassas Al-Ahli 8
Brazil Élton Al-Fateh
4 Saudi Arabia Taisir Al-Jassim Al-Ahli 6
Brazil Marquinho Al-Ittihad
Poland Adrian Mierzejewski Al-Nassr
7 Saudi Arabia Mohammad Al-Shalhoub Al-Hilal 5

Last Update: 17 May 2015

Clean Sheets

Position Player Club G.Played Clean Sheets
1 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Enezi Al-Nassr 24 9
Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Maiouf Al-Ahli 25
3 Saudi Arabia Waleed Abdullah Al-Shabab 17 8
4 Saudi Arabia Khalid Sharhili Al-Hilal 10 7
5 Saudi Arabia Basem Alatalah Al-Taawon 21 5

Last updated: 17 May 2015
Source: ALJ Stats

Attendances

By round

2014–15 Saudi Pro League Attendance
Round Total Games Avg. Per Game
Round 1 139,173 7 19,882
Round 2 34,802 7 4,972
Round 3 31,136 7 4,448
Round 4 86,586 7 12,369
Round 5 43,471 7 6,210
Round 6 29,017 7 4,151
Round 7 115,246 7 16,464
Round 8 27,127 7 3,875
Round 9 86,696 7 12,385
Round 10 78,823 7 11,260
Round 11 31,342 7 4,477
Round 12 63,776 7 9,111
Round 13 85,384 7 12,198
Round 14 23,436 7 3,348
Round 15 50,236 7 7,177
Round 16 122,641 7 17,520
Round 17 26,215 7 3,745
Round 18 71,086 7 10,155
Round 19 69,109 7 9,873
Round 20 52,536 7 7,505
Round 21 115,986 7 16,569
Round 22 23,998 7 3,428
Round 23 59,097 7 8,442
Round 24 47,950 7 6,850
Round 25 43,619 7 6,231
Round 26 105,164 7 17,527
TOTALS
1,663,652
182 9,191

Top 10 Season Attendances

Attendance Round Date Home Score Away Venue City Weekday
60,134 10 1 December 2014 Al-Ittihad 0–0 Al-Hilal King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Monday
60,010 7 18 October 2014 Al-Ahli 2–1 Al-Nassr King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Saturday
59,731 16 20 February 2015 Al-Ittihad 3–2 Al-Shoalah King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Friday
59,174 26 15 May 2015 Al-Nassr 0–0 Al Shabab King Fahd International Stadium Riyadh Friday
59,137 21 4 April 2015 Al-Ittihad 1–3 Al-Nassr King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Saturday
59,026 13 19 December 2014 Al-Ahli 1–1 Al-Ittihad King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Friday
58,896 1 13 August 2014 Al-Ittihad 1-0 Al-Fateh King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Wednesday
58,600 1 16 August 2014 Al-Ahli 6–1 Hajer King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Saturday
48,763 21 3 April 2015 Al-Ahli 1–0 Al-Raed King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Friday
47,300 9 31 October 2014 Al-Ittihad 0–1 Hajer King Abdullah Sports City Jeddah Friday

Last updated: 17 May 2015
Source: slstat com

See also

References

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