# 2010–11 Saudi Pro League

The 2010–11 Saudi Professional League (known as the Zain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 35th season of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 14 August 2010, and ended on 20 May 2011. Al-Hilal were the defending champions. The league was contested by the 12 teams from the 2009–10 season as well as Al-Faisaly and Al-Taawoun, who joined as the promoted clubs from the Saudi First Division. No teams were relegated the previous season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 12 to 14.
On 29 April, defending champions Al-Hilal won their thirteenth League title with two games to spare after a 1–0 home win over Al-Raed. Al-Hilal ended the season without a single defeat – the first team ever to do so in a 26-game league season and the second team overall (the first was Al-Ettifaq in 1983, during an 18-game league season).
Al-Hazem were the first team to be relegated following a 2–0 away defeat to Al-Taawoun. Al-Wehda became the second and final team to be relegated following the decision to dock 3 points from them.

## Overview
### Changes

The Saudi FF announced that the number of teams in the league would be increased from 12 to 14.

### Qualification and Prize money

The League champions, runners-up and third place as well as the winner of the King Cup of Champions qualified for the 2012 AFC Champions League.
The top six teams, and the Crown Prince Cup winners and runners-up qualified for King Cup of Champions.
Prize money:
* First place: 2.5 million SAR
* Second place: 1.5 million SAR
* Third place: 1 million SAR

## Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. No teams were relegated the previous season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 12 to 14. The promoted teams were Al-Faisaly (returning after an absence of three years) and Al-Taawoun (returning after an absence of thirteen years).

### Stadiums and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Hazem | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Qadsiah | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium |
| Al-Wehda | Mecca | King Abdul Aziz Stadium |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium |

### Personnel

| Club | Coach | City | Stadium | Capacity | 2009–10 season | Notes |
| Al-Ahli | Aleksandar Ilić | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 24,000 | 6th | |
| Al-Ettifaq | Youssef Zouaoui | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 30,000 | 9th | |
| Al-Faisaly | Zlatko Dalić | Harmah | Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Sport City Stadium | 10,000 | | First Division champions |
| Al-Fateh | Fathi Al-Jabal | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 20,000 | 8th | |
| Al-Hazem | Goran Miscevic | Ar Rass | Al-Hazem Club Stadium | 11,000 | 7th | |
| Al-Hilal | Gabriel Calderon | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 1st | Qualified to the 2011 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Ittihad | Dimitri Davidović | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium | 24,000 | 2nd | Qualified to the 2011 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Nassr | Dragan Skočić | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 3rd | Qualified to the 2011 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Dimitar Dimitrov | Khobar | Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium | 10,000 | 10th | |
| Al-Raed | Eurico Gomes | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 | 11th | |
| Al-Shabab | Enzo Trossero | Riyadh | King Fahd Stadium | 69,000 | 4th | Qualified to the 2011 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Taawoun | Florin Motroc | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 25,000 | | First Division runners-up |
| Al-Wehda | Lotfi Benzarti | Mecca | King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 28,550 | 5th | |
| Najran | José Rachão | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 10,000 | 12th | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al-Faisaly | Hadi Ben Mokhtar | End of contract | 9 May 2010 | Pre-season | Zlatko Dalić | 19 May 2010 |
| Al-Taawoun | Grigore Sichitiu | End of contract | 9 May 2010 | Pre-season | Gheorghe Mulțescu | 2 July 2010 |
| Al-Nassr | Jorge da Silva | End of contract | 18 May 2010 | Pre-season | Walter Zenga | 18 May 2010 |
| Al-Hazem | Lula Pereira | End of contract | 30 May 2010 | Pre-season | Lutfi Rhim | 10 July 2010 |
| Al-Ittihad | Enzo Trossero | End of contract | 30 May 2010 | Pre-season | Manuel José | 2 June 2010 |
| Al-Raed | Edison Mario Souza | End of contract | 30 May 2010 | Pre-season | Lucho Nizzo | 15 July 2010 |
| Al-Shabab | Edgar Parreira | End of contract | 30 May 2010 | Pre-season | Jorge Fossati | 12 July 2010 |
| Al-Wehda | Eurico Gomes | End of contract | 30 May 2010 | Pre-season | Jean-Christian Lang | 24 June 2010 |
| Al-Ahli | Sergio Farias | Signed by Al Wasl | 1 July 2010 | Pre-season | Trond Sollied | 1 July 2010 |
| Al-Ahli | Trond Sollied | Sacked | 28 August 2010 | 8th | Khaled Badra (caretaker) | 28 August 2010 |
| Al-Ahli | Khaled Badra (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 10 September 2010 | 10th | Milovan Rajevac | 10 September 2010 |
| Al-Hilal | Eric Gerets | Signed by Morocco | 25 October 2010 | 2nd | Reinhard Stumpf (caretaker) | 25 October 2010 |
| Najran | Mourad Okbi | Resigned | 30 October 2010 | 10th | José Rachão | 30 October 2010 |
| Al-Hazem | Lutfi Rhim | Sacked | 31 October 2010 | 14th | Fathi Al-Heric (caretaker) | 31 October 2010 |
| Al-Hilal | Reinhard Stumpf (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 5 November 2010 | 1st | Gabriel Calderón | 5 November 2010 |
| Al-Raed | Lucho Nizzo | Sacked | 7 November 2010 | 7th | Eurico Gomes | 7 November 2010 |
| Al-Hazem | Fathi Al-Heric (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 13 November 2010 | 14th | Goran Miscevic | 13 November 2010 |
| Al-Taawoun | Gheorghe Mulțescu | Sacked | 16 December 2010 | 11th | Florin Motroc | 22 December 2010 |
| Al-Wehda | Jean-Christian Lang | Sacked | 23 December 2010 | 9th | Mokhtar Mokhtar | 25 December 2010 |
| Al-Ittihad | Manuel José | Resigned | 24 December 2010 | 2nd | Toni | 28 December 2010 |
| Al-Shabab | Jorge Fossati | Resigned | 24 December 2010 | 5th | Enzo Trossero | 27 December 2010 |
| Al-Nassr | Walter Zenga | Sacked | 27 December 2010 | 3rd | Dragan Skočić | 11 January 2011 |
| Al-Ahli | Milovan Rajevac | Resigned | 20 February 2011 | 7th | Aleksandar Ilić | 24 February 2011 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Marin Ion | Sacked | 23 March 2011 | 4th | Youssef Zouaoui | 23 March 2011 |
| Al-Wehda | Mokhtar Mokhtar | Sacked | 8 May 2011 | 11th | Lotfi Benzarti | 8 May 2011 |
| Al-Ittihad | Toni | Sacked | 11 May 2011 | 2nd | Dimitri Davidovic | 13 May 2011 |

### 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 is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | Former Players |
| Al-Ahli | Marcinho | Victor Simões | Nikola Petković | Amad Al-Hosni | Wánderson |
| Al-Ettifaq | Sebastián Tagliabúe | Bruno Lazaroni | Mateus | Hassan Mudhafar Al-Gheilani | |
| Al-Faisaly | Migen Memelli | Dario Jertec | Albaye Papa Diop | Wael Ayan | |
| Al-Fateh | Élton Arábia | Doris Fuakumputu | Ramzi Ben Younès | Ahmed Kano | |
| Al-Hazem | Nikica Košutić | Nemanja Obrić | Francis Kasonde | | Mohammad Khamees Mohamed Rebeiz |
| Al-Hilal | Ahmed Ali | Mirel Rădoi | Christian Wilhelmsson | Lee Young-pyo | Thiago Neves |
| Al-Ittihad | Abdelmalek Ziaya | Nuno Assis | Paulo Jorge | Ahmed Hadid Al-Mukhaini | |
| Al-Nassr | Víctor Figueroa | Jonathan McKain | Ovidiu Petre | Bader Al-Mutawa | Răzvan Cociș |
| Al-Qadisiyah | Nasigba John-Jumbo | Juan Cominges | Mouin Chaâbani | Abdulla Baba Fatadi | Edorisi Master Ekhosuehi |
| Al-Raed | Charles | Jaouad Akaddar | Salaheddine Aqqal | Khalifa Ayil Al-Noufali | Hatem Aqel |
| Al-Shabab | Marcelo Camacho | Marcelo Tavares | Alhassane Keita | Musaed Neda | Song Chong-gug Juan Manuel Olivera |
| Al-Taawoun | Ertan Demiri | Šakir Redžepi | Dejan Rusič | Shadi Abu Hash'hash | Amir Azmy Bamba Drissa Mensur Kurtiši |
| Al-Wehda | Issam Erraki | Youssef Kaddioui | | Suleiman Al-Salman | Hussain Ali Baba Felipe Campos Abdelkarim Benhania |
| Najran | Juliano Mineiro | Yves Diba Ilunga | Hamad Ji | Anas Bani Yaseen | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Hilal (C) | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 52 | 18 | +34 | 64 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 51 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 48 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 46 | |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 43 | |
| 6 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 37 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 7 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 35 | |
| 8 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 32 | |
| 9 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 31 | |
| 10 | Al-Raed | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 30 | |
| 11 | Najran | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 33 | 52 | −19 | 26 | |
| 12 | Al-Qadsiah | 26 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 23 | |
| 13 | Al-Wehda (R) | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 21 | Relegation to the First Division |
| 14 | Al-Hazem (R) | 26 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 13 | 70 | −57 | 6 | Relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ Al-Ahli qualified for the Champions League group stage as 2011 King Cup of Champions winners.
* 1 2 Al-Taawoun and Al-Wehda were deducted 3 points for their deliberate delay of the kick-off time in the final round.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AHL | ETT | FSY | FAT | HAZ | HIL | ITT | NSR | QAD | RAE | SHB | TWN | WHD | NAJ |
| Al-Ahli | | 5–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Al-Ettifaq | 4–3 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Faisaly | 3–2 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 |
| Al-Fateh | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Al-Hazem | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| Al-Hilal | 3–3 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Ittihad | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | | 5–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Al-Nassr | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 6–1 |
| Al-Qadsiah | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Al-Raed | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Al-Shabab | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | | 4–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 |
| Al-Taawoun | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Al-Wehda | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 8–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 2–0 |
| Najran | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–5 | |

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

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | 17 |
| 2 | Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | 16 |
| 3 | Mohammed Al-Rashid | Al-Taawoun / Al-Ittihad | 14 |
| 3 | Muhannad Assiri | Al-Wehda | 14 |
| 3 | Yousef Al-Salem | Al-Ettifaq | 14 |
| 6 | Yves Diba Ilunga | Najran | 13 |
| 6 | Migen Memelli | Al-Faisaly | 13 |
| 8 | Sebastián Tagliabué | Al-Ettifaq | 12 |
| 8 | Naif Hazazi | Al-Ittihad | 12 |
| 10 | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | 11 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | Al-Faisaly | 5–1 (H) | 25 August 2010 |
| Naif Hazazi | Al-Ittihad | Al-Hazem | 4–0 (H) | 29 August 2010 |
| Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | Al-Faisaly | 4–1 (H) | 11 November 2010 |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | Al-Hazem | 3–0 (H) | 15 December 2010 |
| Migen Memelli | Al-Faisaly | Al-Ittihad | 3–3 (A) | 16 December 2010 |
| Mukhtar Fallatah$^4$ | Al-Wehda | Al-Hazem | 8–1 (H) | 24 February 2011 |
| Muhannad Assiri | Al-Wehda | Al-Hazem | 8–1 (H) | 24 February 2011 |
| Yousef Al-Salem | Al-Ettifaq | Najran | 4–2 (A) | 25 February 2011 |
| Alhassane Keita | Al-Shabab | Al-Hazem | 4–0 (A) | 1 April 2011 |
| Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | Al-Qadisiyah | 3–1 (A) | 2 April 2011 |
| Nasigba John-Jumbo | Al-Qadisiyah | Al-Raed | 4–1 (A) | 22 April 2011 |

##### Notes

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

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Mabrouk Zaid | Al-Ittihad | 9 |
| 2 | Fayz Al-Sabiay | Al-Ettifaq | 8 |
| 2 | Hassan Al-Otaibi | Al-Hilal | 8 |
| 4 | Fahad Al-Thunayan | Al-Taawoun | 6 |
| 5 | Abdullah Al-Enezi | Al-Nassr | 5 |
| 5 | Waleed Abdullah | Al-Shabab | 5 |
| 7 | Awidhah Al-Aamri | Al-Faisaly | 4 |
| 7 | Yasser Al-Mosailem | Al-Ahli | 4 |
| 7 | Mohammad Sharifi | Al-Fateh | 4 |
| 7 | Mohammed Al-Khojali | Al-Raed | 4 |
| 7 | Mansoor Al-Najai | Al-Qadisiyah | 4 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 10
** Ahmed Mubarak Kano (Al-Fateh)
* Most red cards: 2
** Fuad Al-Mutairi (Al-Hazem)
** Moïne Chaâbani (Al-Qadisiyah)
** Juliano Mineiro (Najran)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 71
** Al-Ettifaq
* Most red cards: 11
** Al-Hazem

## Attendances
### By team

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Al-Hilal | 113,567 | 19,212 | 3,968 | 8,736 | n/a$^†$ |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 98,112 | 15,758 | 648 | 7,547 | n/a$^†$ |
| 3 | Al-Ahli | 97,770 | 16,350 | 1,158 | 7,521 | n/a$^†$ |
| 4 | Al-Raed | 89,306 | 14,909 | 2,395 | 6,870 | n/a$^†$ |
| 5 | Al-Taawoun | 87,002 | 15,160 | 2,610 | 6,692 | n/a$^†$ |
| 6 | Al-Nassr | 82,830 | 14,750 | 1,603 | 6,372 | n/a$^†$ |
| 7 | Al-Ettifaq | 57,138 | 21,174 | 628 | 4,395 | n/a$^†$ |
| 8 | Al-Fateh | 27,142 | 9,281 | 50 | 2,088 | n/a$^†$ |
| 9 | Al-Qadisiyah | 26,508 | 9,361 | 100 | 2,039 | n/a$^†$ |
| 10 | Al-Wehda | 25,628 | 8,060 | 110 | 1,971 | n/a$^†$ |
| 11 | Al-Shabab | 22,481 | 9,366 | 46 | 1,729 | n/a$^†$ |
| 12 | Al-Faisaly | 17,175 | 5,022 | 83 | 1,321 | n/a$^†$ |
| 13 | Najran | 13,569 | 2,335 | 368 | 1,044 | n/a$^†$ |
| 14 | Al-Hazem | 6,934 | 2,413 | 6 | 533 | n/a$^†$ |
| | League total | 765,162 | 21,174 | 6 | 4,204 | n/a$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 20 May 2011 Source:

## 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 fifth time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication company Mobily. The awards were presented on 11 September 2011.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Mohammad Al-Shalhoub Yahya Al-Shehri Bader Al-Khamees | Al-Hilal Al-Ettifaq Al-Taawoun |
| Young Player of the Season | Yasser Al-Shahrani Abdullah Al-Sudairy Meshal Al-Enezi | Al-Qadisiyah Al-Hilal Al-Raed |
| Goldent Boot | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab |

### Al-Riyadiya Awards

The Al-Riyadiya Awards were awarded for the second time since its inception last year. The awards were presented on 15 June 2011.
* Best Goalkeeper: Hassan Al-Otaibi (Al-Hilal)
* Best defender: Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal)
* Best Midfielder: Mohammed Noor (Al-Ittihad)
* Best attacker: Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab)
* Player of the Year: Hassan Al-Otaibi (Al-Hilal)