# 2009–10 Saudi Pro League

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. Al-Ittihad were the defending champions.
Al Hilal secured the title with a 2–0 win away to Al-Hazem on 24 January 2010. 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.

## Name sponsorship

On 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.

## Qualification and Prize Money

The 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

Twelve 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. 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

| Club | Location | Stadium |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Hazem | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Qadsiah | Al Khubar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Raed | Buraydah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium |
| Al Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Wehda | Mecca | King Abdul Aziz Stadium |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium |

### Personnel

| Club | Coach | City | Stadium | Capacity | 2008–09 season | Notes |
| Al-Ahli | Sergio Farias | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 24,000 | 3rd | Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Ettifaq | Marin Ion | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 30,000 | 6th | Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup |
| Al-Fateh | Fathi Al-Jabal | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 20,000 | First Division runners-up | |
| Al-Hazem | Lula | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium | 11,000 | 8th | |
| Al-Hilal | Eric Gerets | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 2nd | Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Ittihad | Enzo Trossero | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 24,000 | 1st | Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Nassr | Jorge da Silva | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 5th | Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup |
| Al-Qadsiah | Dimitar Dimitrov | Al Khubar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 10,000 | First Division champions | |
| Al-Raed | Edison Mario Souza | Buraydah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 35,000 | 10th | |
| Al-Shabab | Edgar Pereira | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 4th | Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup |
| Al-Wehda | Eurico Gomes | Mecca | King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 28,550 | 7th | |
| Najran | Mourad Okbi | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 10,000 | 9th | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by | Date |
| Al-Hilal | Georges Leekens | Sacked | Eric Gerets | May 2009 |
| Al-Ahli | Stoycho Mladenov | Sacked | Gustavo Alfaro | June 2009 |
| Al-Raed | Luiz Antônio Zaluar | End of contract | Acácio Casimiro | June 2009 |
| Al-Hazem | Ammar Souayah | End of contract | Mohsen Saleh | July 2009 |
| Al-Nassr | Edgardo Bauza | End of contract | Jorge da Silva | July 2009 |
| Al-Shabab | Enzo Trossero | End of contract | Jaime Pacheco | July 2009 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Daniel Lanata | Sacked | Ammar Souayah | September 2009 |
| Al-Raed | Acácio Casimiro | Sacked | Edison Mario Souza | October 2009 |
| Najran | Marcelo Zuleta | Sacked | Samir Jouili | October 2009 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Stoycho Mladenov | Sacked | Saber Eid (caretaker) | October 2009 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Saber Eid (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | Marin Ion | October 2009 |
| Al-Ahli | Gustavo Alfaro | Resigned | Alan Guido (caretaker) | November 2009 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Ammar Souayah | Resigned | Anas Al Zerqati (caretaker) | November 2009 |
| Al-Hazem | Mohsen Saleh | Resigned | Emad Al Solami (caretaker) | November 2009 |
| Al-Hazem | Emad Al Solami (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | Lula | December 2009 |
| Al-Ahli | Alan Guido (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | Sergio Farias | December 2009 |
| Al-Qadsiah | Anas Al Zerqati (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | Dimitar Dimitrov | December 2009 |
| Najran | Samir Jouili | Sacked | Mourad Okbi | January 2010 |
| Al-Ittihad | Gabriel Calderón | Sacked | Hassan Khalifah (caretaker) | January 2010 |
| Al-Ittihad | Hassan Khalifah (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | Enzo Trossero | January 2010 |
| Al-Shabab | Jaime Pacheco | Sacked | Edgar | April 2010 |

### Foreign players

The 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.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | Former players |
| Al-Ahli | Marcinho | Victor Simões | Saïf Ghezal | Ahmed Kano | Javier Toledo Sebastián Rusculleda Josimar Mosquera |
| Al-Ettifaq | Cristian Dănălache | Dorel Stoica | Jeremiah White | Badar Al-Maimani | Youness Mankari Khalifa Ayil Al-Noufali José Luis Garcés |
| Al-Fateh | Emmanuel Emmanuel | Naïm Berrabet | Ramzi Ben Younès | | |
| Al-Hazem | Salaheddine Aqqal | Hamad Ji | Mohamed Rebeiz | Bashar Bani Yaseen | |
| Al-Hilal | Thiago Neves | Mirel Rădoi | Christian Wilhelmsson | Lee Young-pyo | |
| Al-Ittihad | Abdelmalek Ziaya | Hicham Aboucherouane | Amine Chermiti | Ahmed Hadid Al-Mukhaini | Luciano Leguizamón |
| Al-Nassr | Víctor Figueroa | Hossam Ghaly | Pascal Feindouno | Lee Chun-soo | Éder Gaúcho |
| Al-Qadsiah | Nasigba John-Jumbo | Nelson Figueredo | Juan Cominges | | Rubén Gigena Said Suwailim Al-Shoon |
| Al-Raed | Bruno Luiz | Felipe Campos | Sérgio Ricardo | Hatem Aqel | Mário Sérgio Sédonoudé Abouta |
| Al-Shabab | Flávio Amado | Marcelo Camacho | Tarik El Taib | Hussain Ali Baba | Adam Griffiths |
| Al-Wehda | Abdelkarim Benhania | Abdessamad Rafik | Youssef Kaddioui | | Eli Felton |
| Najran | Abdessamad Ouarrad | Yves Diba Ilunga | Moussa Soulaimane | Anas Bani Yaseen | Cédric Kisamba Ibrahim Kamara |

## League table

| 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 |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage and the King Cup of Champions |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 38 | 23 | +15 | 43 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage and the King Cup of Champions |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 40 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage and the King Cup of Champions |
| 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 | Qualification for the King Cup of Champions |
| 7 | Al-Hazem | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 24 | Qualification for the King Cup of Champions |
| 8 | Al-Fateh | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 24 | Qualification for the King Cup of Champions |
| 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 | |
* ↑ 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

| Home \ Away | AHL | ETT | FAT | HAZ | HIL | ITT | NSR | QAD | RAE | SHB | WHD | NAJ |
| Al-Ahli | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Ettifaq | 0–0 | | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Al-Fateh | 3–1 | 0–3 | | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Hazem | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Al-Hilal | 3–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 4–0 | | 5–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–0 |
| Al-Ittihad | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 7–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Nassr | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Al-Qadsiah | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Raed | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Al-Shabab | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Al-Wehda | 1–1 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 |
| Najran | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–5 | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mohammad Al-Shalhoub | Al-Hilal | 12 |
| 2 | Thiago Neves | Al-Hilal | 11 |
| 2 | Mohammad Al-Sahlawi | Al-Nassr | 11 |
| 4 | Waleed Al-Gizani | Al-Hazem | 10 |
| 5 | Víctor Figueroa | Al-Nassr | 9 |
| 5 | Ahmed Abo Obaid | Al-Fateh | 9 |
| 5 | Muhannad Assiri | Al-Wehda | 9 |
| 5 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | 9 |
| 5 | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | 9 |
| 5 | Christian Wilhelmsson | Al-Hilal | 9 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Flávio Amado | Al-Shabab | Najran | 3–1 (A) | 19 August 2009 |
| Naif Hazazi | Al-Ittihad | Al-Qadisiyah | 7–1 (H) | 26 August 2009 |
| Thiago Neves | Al-Hilal | Al-Ittihad | 5–0 (H) | 10 December 2009 |
| Hicham Aboucherouane | Al-Ittihad | Al-Hazem | 5–2 (H) | 6 January 2010 |
| Muhannad Assiri | Al-Wehda | Najran | 5–0 (A) | 7 January 2010 |
| Abdelkarim Benhenia$^4$ | Al-Wehda | Al-Fateh | 6–0 (H) | 28 January 2010 |

##### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals (H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Khalid Radhy | Al Nassr | 8 |
| 2 | Mohamed Al-Deayea | Al Hilal | 7 |
| 3 | Mohammad Khouja | Al-Ettifaq | 5 |
| 3 | Mohammad Sharifi | Al-Fateh | 5 |
| 3 | Mohammed Al-Khojali | Al-Raed | 5 |
| 3 | Waleed Abdullah | Al Shabab | 5 |
| 7 | Faisal Al-Merqeb | Al Wehda | 4 |
| 8 | Jaber Al-Ameri | Najran | 3 |
| 8 | Mabrouk Zaid | Al-Ittihad | 3 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 8
** Ramzi Ben Younès (Al-Fateh)
* Most red cards: 2
** Abdullah Al-Garni (Al-Nassr)
** Ahmed Menawer (Al-Hazem)
** Mansoor Al-Harbi (Al-Ahli)
** Zakaria Al-Hadaf (Al-Qadsiah)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 56
** Al-Hazem
* Most red cards: 8
** Al-Ittihad

## Awards
### Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence

The 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.
| 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

Another 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.
* 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)