# Al-Riyadh SC

Riyadh F.C. or Al-Riyadh (Arabic: نادي الرياض السعودي, romanized: nādī nādī al-Riyāḍ as-saʿūdī, lit. 'Saudi Riyadh Club') is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It currently plays in the Saudi Pro League (the first tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia). It was established in 1953 as Ahli Al-Riyadh, then changed its name to Al-Yamamah and finally to Al-Riyadh. Best known for its football team, Al-Riyadh also have squads in other sports.
Al-Riyadh have won one major title: the Crown Prince Cup in 1994. The team also finished as runners-up in the Saudi Premier League in 1994; they have never won the top league.
Al-Riyadh was promoted to the Saudi Pro League in 2023.

## History
### Early history

The club was founded in 1953 under the name "Ahli Al-Riyadh", before changing to "Al-Yamama" and then to "Al-Riyadh." It is currently based in west Riyadh. They reached the final of the Kings Cup in 1962 and 1978, but triumphed on neither occasion.

### Golden era

Al-Riyadh was promoted to the Saudi Premier League at the end of the 1988/89 season after winning the Saudi First Division League.
In the early 1990s, under the leadership of the Brazilian coach Zumario and players such as Khalid Al-Qarouni, Talal Al-Jabreen, Yasser Al-Taafi and Fahd Al-Hamdan, Al-Riyadh won the Crown Prince Cup in 1994. They were unable to retain the Cup in 1995, losing in the final to Al-Hilal. However, they did win the 1995 Federation Cup and reached the semi-final of the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In 1998, Al-Riyadh once again reached the finals of the Crown Prince Cup, and lost to Al-Ahli.
Al-Riyadh were relegated at the end of the 2004/5 season.

### Return to the top flight

Al-Riyadh finished fourth in the Saudi First Division League in the 2022/23 season. Normally, a fourth-place finish would not be good enough for promotion, but the Saudi Premier League was expanding from 16 teams to 18, offering an additional promotion spot.

## Honours
### Domestic

* Saudi Premier League (tier 1)
** Runners-up (1): 1993–94
* Saudi First Division League (tier 2)
** Winners (2): 1977–78, 1988–89
** Runners-up (2): 1979–80, 1982–83
* King's Cup
** Runners-up (2): 1962, 1978
* Crown Prince's Cup
** Winners (1): 1993–94
** Runners-up (2): 1994–95, 1997–98
* Saudi Federation Cup
** Winners (1): 1994–95

### Continental

* Arab Super Cup
** Runners-up (1): 1996

## Current squad

    As of 31 January 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Vincent Angelini |
| 2 | DF | KSA | Yazeed Al-Bakr |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Yoann Barbet |
| 6 | MF | KSA | Saud Zidan |
| 7 | MF | KSA | Mohammed Al-Aqel |
| 8 | DF | KSA | Abdulelah Al-Khaibari |
| 10 | MF | KSA | Nawaf Al-Abed |
| 11 | MF | IRQ | Ibrahim Bayesh |
| 13 | FW | BFA | Mohamed Konaté |
| 16 | MF | KSA | Talal Al-Shubili $^{U19}$ |
| 17 | MF | COM | Faïz Selemani |
| 20 | MF | POR | Tozé |
| 21 | MF | BRA | Lucas Kal |
| 24 | FW | KSA | Rayan Al-Bloushi |
| 25 | DF | KSA | Suwailem Al-Menhali |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 27 | DF | KSA | Hussain Al-Nowaiqi |
| 28 | MF | KSA | Bader Al-Mutairi |
| 29 | DF | KSA | Ahmed Assiri |
| 40 | GK | KSA | Abdulrahman Al-Shammari |
| 43 | MF | GHA | Bernard Mensah |
| 50 | MF | KSA | Nawaf Hawsawi |
| 66 | MF | KSA | Majed Al-Qahtani |
| 77 | FW | FRA | Sekou Lega |
| 82 | GK | CAN | Milan Borjan |
| 85 | FW | KSA | Talal Haji $^{U19}$ (on loan from Al-Ittihad) |
| 87 | DF | KSA | Marzouq Tambakti |
| 88 | MF | KSA | Yahya Al-Shehri |
| 99 | MF | ROU | Enes Sali (on loan from FC Dallas) |
| — | DF | KSA | Saud Tambakti |

### Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 4 | DF | CHI | Enzo Roco |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | KSA | Nasser Al-Bishi (on loan to Al-Najma) |
| — | GK | KSA | Abdulaziz Al-Awairdhi (on loan to Al-Qadsiah) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | KSA | Mohammed Suhluli (on loan to Al-Jabalain) |

## Management staff

| Position | Name |
| Manager | Sabri Lamouchi |
| Assistant manager | José Rodrigues Michael Hefele |
| Goalkeeper coach | Saleh Hawsawi |
| Rehab coach | Nawaf Al-Qahtani |
| Fitness coach | Fahad Al-Zaqaan |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Prandeep Bordoloi |
| Youth coach | Saad Al-Jaithen |
| Development coach | Bader Al-Koroni |
| Head of medical | Ibrahim Al-Khaibari |
| Doctor | Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi |
| Sporting director | Saleh Al-Kubaishan |

## Managerial history

* Khalid Al-Koroni (11 January 2010 – 12 April 2010)
* Fahd Al-Hamdan (caretaker) (12 April 2010 – 1 May 2010)
* Marian Bondrea (1 July 2010 – 19 February 2011)
* Mohamed Aldo (19 February 2011 – 30 May 2011)
* Djamel Belkacem (26 July 2011 – 30 May 2012)
* Ayman El Yamani (3 July 2012 – 12 December 2012)
* Habib Ben Romdhane (12 December 2012 – 1 May 2014)
* Amir Alagić (17 June 2014 – 15 September 2014)
* Lotfi Kadri (16 September 2014 – 15 December 2014)
* Zouhair Louati (15 December 2014 – 28 July 2015)
* Leandro Simpson (7 August 2015 – 18 December 2015)
* Abderrazek Chebbi (18 December 2015 – 30 April 2016)
* Sultan Khamees (23 June 2016 – 18 November 2016)
* Hani Anwar (18 November 2016 – 30 May 2017)
* Adel Latrach (13 July 2017 – 26 November 2017)
* Yousef Khamees (26 November 2017 – 14 February 2018)
* Bandar Al-Jaithen (14 February 2018 – 1 April 2018)
* Amro Anwar (15 August 2018 – 2 December 2018)
* Bandar Al-Jaithen (2 December 2018 – 27 January 2019)
* Khalid Al-Koroni (27 January 2019 – 15 October 2019)
* Saad Al-Subaie (15 October 2019 – 25 January 2020)
* Yousri bin Kahla (25 January 2020 – 7 February 2021)
* Anis Chaieb (10 February 2021 – 1 June 2021)
* Moncef Mcharek (24 June 2021 – 1 May 2022)
* Dejan Arsov (3 May 2022 – 8 September 2022)
* Teo Pirija (caretaker) (8 September 2022 – 18 September 2022)
* Damir Burić (18 September 2022 – 1 June 2023)
* Yannick Ferrera (6 June 2023 – 20 September 2023)
* Bandar Al-Kubaishan (caretaker) (20 September 2023 – 8 October 2023)
* Odair Hellmann (8 October 2023 – 1 June 2024)
* Sabri Lamouchi (12 July 2024 – )

## International competitions
### Overview

    As of 1 July 2023
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Arab Cup Winners' Cup | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 21 | 18 |
| Arab Super Cup | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Asian Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 29 | 21 |

### Record by country

| Country | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
| Algeria | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Bahrain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Egypt | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Jordan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 050.00 |
| Kuwait | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 050.00 |
| Lebanon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 100.00 |
| Qatar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 000.00 |
| Sudan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Syria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 000.00 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Yemen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 100.00 |
| TOTAL | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 047.62 |

### Matches

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1995 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Al-Ahly | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2nd |
| 1995 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Club Africain | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 2nd |
| 1995 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Al-Nasr | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 2nd |
| 1995 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Al-Ittihad Aleppo | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 2nd |
| 1995 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | SF | ES Sahel | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| 1995 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | 2R | Homenmen | 3–0 | 2−0 | 5–0 |
| 1995 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | QF | Kazma | 2–1 | 0−1 | 2–2 |
| 1995 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | SF | Al-Talaba | – | – | Withdrew |
| 1996 | Arab Super Cup | Final | ES Tunis | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2nd |
| 1996 | Arab Super Cup | Final | Al-Hilal | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 2nd |
| 1996 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group A | Al-Muharraq | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1st |
| 1996 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group A | Al-Wehdat | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1st |
| 1996 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group A | Olympique Médéa | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1st |
| 1996 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | SF | Al-Faisaly | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Al-Merrikh | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2nd |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Al-Masry | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 2nd |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | QR | Al-Ittihad Ibb | 5–3 | 5–3 | | 2nd |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Al-Jaish | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3rd |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | Al-Gharafa | 1–3 | 1–3 | | 3rd |
| 1999 | Arab Cup Winners' Cup | Group B | MC Oran | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 3rd |
Key: QR – Qualifying round; 1R/2R – First/Second round; R16 – Round of 16; QF – Quarter-final; SF – Semi-final;