# 2012–13 Saudi Pro League

The 2012–13 Saudi Professional League (known as the Zain Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th season of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 2 August 2012 and ended on 27 April 2013. Al-Shabab were the defending champions. The league was contested by the 12 teams from the 2011–12 season as well as Al-Shoulla and Al-Wehda, who joined as the promoted clubs from the 2011–12 First Division. They replace Al-Ansar and Al-Qadisiyah who were relegated to the 2012–13 First Division.
On 14 April, Al-Fateh won their first League title, with 2 games to spare, following a 1–0 home win over Al-Ahli. Al-Fateh became the seventh club to win the Pro League. This is considered by many to be one of the greatest shocks in Saudi football history, especially considering that Al-Fateh were promoted to the Pro League for the first time only four years earlier.
Al-Wehda were the first team to be relegated following a 2–1 home defeat to Al-Faisaly on 29 March. Hajer became the second and final team to be relegated following a 2–1 defeat away to Al-Shabab on the final matchday.

## Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Al-Shoulla (returning after an absence of eight seasons) and Al-Wehda (returning after a season's absence). They replaced Al-Qadisiyah (ending their three-year top-flight spell) and Al-Ansar (who were relegated after one season in the top flight).

### Stadiums and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Ahli | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 25,000 33,195 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Dammam | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium | 21,701 |
| Al-Faisaly | Harmah | Prince Salman Sport City Stadium | 5,200 |
| Al-Fateh | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Al-Hilal | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Ittihad | Jeddah | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 25,000 33,195 |
| Al-Nassr | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Raed | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Shabab | Riyadh | King Fahd International Stadium Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium | 62,685 22,500 |
| Al-Shoulla | Al-Kharj | Al-Shoulla Club Stadium | 8,000 |
| Al-Taawoun | Buraidah | King Abdullah Sport City Stadium | 23,600 |
| Al-Wehda | Mecca | King Abdul Aziz Stadium | 33,195 |
| Hajer | Al-Hasa | Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium | 19,096 |
| Najran | Najran | Al Akhdoud Club Stadium | 3,200 |
* 1 2 Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad played at the King Abdul Aziz Stadium, from 23 November onwards, due to the expansion of the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal stadium.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Al-Ahli | Aleksandar Ilić | Taisir Al-Jassim | Umbro | STC, Toyota$^1$, ExxonMobil$^2$ |
| Al-Ettifaq | Maciej Skorża | Saleh Bashir | Puma | Toyota$^1$ |
| Al-Faisaly | Marc Brys | Omar Abdulaziz | Joma | ALDREES, Roco$^2$ |
| Al-Fateh | Fathi Al-Jabal | Hamdan Al-Hamdan | Lotto | Kia Motors, Fuchsia$^1$ |
| Al-Hilal | Zlatko Dalić | Salman Al-Faraj | Adidas | Mobily |
| Al-Ittihad | Beñat San José | Mohammed Noor | SportONE | STC, Toyota$^1$, ExxonMobil$^2$ |
| Al-Nassr | José Daniel Carreño | Hussein Abdulghani | NFC | STC, Toyota$^1$, ExxonMobil$^2$ |
| Al-Raed | Vlatko Kostov | Issam Erraki | Hattrick | Al-Remeikhany, Al Qassim National Hospital$^1$ |
| Al-Shabab | Michel Preud'homme | Ahmed Otaif | Adidas | STC, Toyota$^1$, ExxonMobil$^2$ |
| Al-Shoulla | Ahmad Al-Ajlani | Burj Maodah | Hattrick | Anfal Dalton |
| Al-Taawoun | Taoufik Rouabah | Ahmed Al-Harbi | Hattrick | |
| Al-Wehda | Khalil Obaid | Sulaiman Amido | Hattrick | |
| Hajer | Tarek Yehia | Mansoor Al-Najai | Uhlsport | |
| Najran | Gjoko Hadžievski | Saheb Al-Abdullah | Adidas | |
* $^1$ On the back of the strip.
* $^2$ On the right sleeve of the strip.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al-Ettifaq | Branko Ivanković | Sacked | 29 April 2012 | Pre-season | Sameer Hilal (caretaker) | 29 April 2012 |
| Al-Faisaly | Zlatko Dalić | End of contract | 30 April 2012 | Pre-season | Marc Brys | 2 June 2012 |
| Al-Taawoun | Khalid Kamal (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 30 April 2012 | Pre-season | Gjoko Hadžievski | 6 May 2012 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Sameer Hilal (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 1 May 2012 | Pre-season | Ammar Souayah | 1 May 2012 |
| Najran | Gjoko Hadžievski | Signed by Al-Taawoun | 6 May 2012 | Pre-season | Miodrag Ješić | 31 May 2012 |
| Al-Hilal | Ivan Hašek | Sacked | 11 May 2012 | Pre-season | Antoine Kombouaré | 28 June 2012 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Ammar Souayah | End of contract | 30 May 2012 | Pre-season | Alain Geiger | 7 June 2012 |
| Al-Wehda | Bashir Abdel Samad | Resigned | 30 August 2012 | 14th | Badr Hawsawi (caretaker) | 30 August 2012 |
| Al-Nassr | Francisco Maturana | Sacked | 2 September 2012 | 6th | Alejandro Dutra (caretaker) | 2 September 2012 |
| Al-Nassr | Alejandro Dutra (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 15 September 2012 | 6th | José Daniel Carreño | 15 September 2012 |
| Al-Wehda | Badr Hawsawi (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 18 September 2012 | 14th | Wajdi Essid | 18 September 2012 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Alain Geiger | Sacked | 19 September 2012 | 10th | Maciej Skorża | 19 September 2012 |
| Hajer | Ednaldo Patricio | Sacked | 29 September 2012 | 11th | Luiz Neto (caretaker) | 29 September 2012 |
| Hajer | Luiz Neto (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 4 October 2012 | 12th | Tarek Yehia | 4 October 2012 |
| Al-Shoulla | Mohamed Salah | Sacked | 31 December 2012 | 13th | Ahmad Al-Ajlani | 1 January 2013 |
| Najran | Miodrag Ješić | Sacked | 2 January 2013 | 8th | Khemais Labidi | 6 January 2013 |
| Al-Wehda | Wajdi Essid | Sacked | 27 January 2013 | 14th | Khalil Obaid | 27 January 2013 |
| Al-Hilal | Antoine Kombouaré | Sacked | 31 January 2013 | 2nd | Zlatko Dalić | 31 January 2013 |
| Al-Raed | Ammar Souayah | Resigned | 1 February 2013 | 9th | Vlatko Kostov | 2 February 2013 |
| Al-Taawoun | Gjoko Hadžievski | Sacked | 21 February 2013 | 11th | Taoufik Rouabah | 25 February 2013 |
| Al-Ittihad | Raúl Caneda | Sacked | 23 February 2013 | 7th | Beñat San José | 23 February 2013 |
| Al-Ahli | Karel Jarolím | Sacked | 28 February 2013 | 5th | Aleksandar Ilić | 28 February 2013 |
| Najran | Khemais Labidi | Sacked | 1 March 2013 | 9th | Alhassan Al-Yami (caretaker) | 1 March 2013 |
| Najran | Alhassan Al-Yami (caretaker) | End of caretaker period | 6 March 2013 | 8th | Gjoko Hadžievski | 6 March 2013 |

### 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 | Bruno César | Victor Simões | Jairo Palomino | Amad Al-Hosni | Diego Morales |
| Al-Ettifaq | Carlos | Prince Tagoe | | Ahmed Kano | Cássio Júnior Xuxa |
| Al-Faisaly | Christophe Grondin | Naby Soumah | Yaseen Al-Bakhit | Ismail Al-Ajmi | |
| Al-Fateh | Élton Arábia | Doris Fuakumputu | Kemekho Cissokho | Shadi Abu Hash'hash | |
| Al-Hilal | Ozéia | Wesley | Gustavo Bolívar | Yoo Byung-soo | Adil Hermach Kader Mangane |
| Al-Ittihad | Bill | Modeste M'bami | György Sándor | Anas Sharbini | Diego Souza Faouzi Abdelghani |
| Al-Nassr | Rafael Bastos | Hosny Abd Rabo | Angelos Charisteas | Mohamed Husain | Damián Manso Jaime Ayoví Shavkat Mullajanov |
| Al-Raed | Xuxa | Yves Diba Ilunga | Issam Erraki | Abdul Salam Al-Mukhaini | |
| Al-Shabab | Sebastián Tagliabúe | Fernando Menegazzo | Marcelo Camacho | Kwak Tae-hwi | Server Djeparov |
| Al-Shoulla | Lassana Fané | Mamadou Kondo | Hassan Taïr | Abdulla Baba Fatadi | Philip Boampong |
| Al-Taawoun | Dario Jertec | Thierno Bah | Waheed Oseni | Abdul Aziz Al-Muqbali | Hadj Bouguèche Mohammad Al-Basha Dejan Rusič |
| Al-Wehda | Thiago Gomes | Vinícius Reche | Pa-Modou Kah | Ahmad Sharbini | Sékou Doumbia Mohamed Ahmed Bashir |
| Hajer | Ahmed Bakri | Ayman Abdel-Aziz | Oussou Konan Anicet | Abdelatif Bahdari | Moustapha Moctar Belbi Godwin Attram Hazem Jawdat |
| Najran | Farid Cheklam | Hamza Al-Dardour | Jehad Al-Hussain | Wael Ayan | |
* ^1 Anas Sharbini has Jordanian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player.
* ^2 Ahmad Sharbini has Jordanian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Fateh (C) | 26 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 52 | 23 | +29 | 64 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 62 | 26 | +36 | 56 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 56 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 50 | |
| 5 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 44 | |
| 6 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 33 | 38 | −5 | 35 | |
| 7 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 33 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 8 | Al-Raed | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 32 | Qualification for the GCC Champions League |
| 9 | Al-Shoulla | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 30 | Qualification for the GCC Champions League |
| 10 | Najran | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 52 | −21 | 25 | |
| 11 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 24 | |
| 12 | Al-Taawoun | 26 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 19 | |
| 13 | Hajer (R) | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 24 | 48 | −24 | 16 | Relegation to the First Division |
| 14 | Al-Wehda (R) | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 12 | Relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ Al-Ittihad qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage as 2013 King Cup of Champions winners.

## Results

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

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

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Sebastián Tagliabué | Al-Shabab | 19 |
| 2 | Wesley | Al-Hilal | 17 |
| 2 | Doris Fuakumputu | Al-Fateh | 17 |
| 4 | Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | 13 |
| 5 | Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | 12 |
| 5 | Hassan Taïr | Al-Shoulla | 12 |
| 7 | Élton Arábia | Al-Fateh | 11 |
| 8 | Mohammad Al-Sahlawi | Al-Nassr | 10 |
| 8 | Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | 10 |
| 8 | Hamza Al-Dardour | Najran | 10 |
| 8 | Yoo Byung-soo | Al-Hilal | 10 |
| 8 | Yves Diba Ilunga | Al-Raed | 10 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Sebastián Tagliabué | Al-Shabab | Al-Faisaly | 3–1 (A) | 7 August 2012 |
| Wesley | Al-Hilal | Najran | 6–0 (A) | 23 August 2012 |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | Al-Raed | 6–0 (H) | 28 September 2012 |
| Victor Simões | Al-Ahli | Al-Shoulla | 3–1 (A) | 4 December 2012 |
| Zamil Al-Sulim | Al-Ettifaq | Hajer | 3–2 (A) | 8 March 2013 |

##### Notes

(H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Khaled Naseer | Al-Shoulla | 7 |
| 1 | Abdullah Al-Enezi | Al-Nassr | 7 |
| 3 | Abdullah Al-Owaishir | Al-Fateh | 6 |
| 3 | Abdullah Al-Sudairy | Al-Hilal | 6 |
| 5 | Mabrouk Zaid | Al-Ittihad | 5 |
| 6 | Fayz Al-Sabiay | Al-Ettifaq | 4 |
| 6 | Mohammad Sharifi | Al-Fateh | 4 |
| 6 | Fahad Al-Thunayan | Al-Taawoun | 4 |
| 6 | Mustafa Malayekah | Hajer | 4 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 8
** Majed Ali (Najran)
** Abdelatif Bahdari (Hajer)
** Lassana Fané (Al-Shoulla)
* Most red cards: 1
** 22 players

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 60
** Hajer
* Most red cards: 4
** Al-Nassr

## Attendances
### By team

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Al-Ittihad | 115,892 | 25,026 | 1,077 | 8,915 | +26.9%$^†$ |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 95,402 | 28,188 | 1,884 | 7,339 | −33.5%$^†$ |
| 3 | Al-Fateh | 79,947 | 21,037 | 856 | 6,150 | +330.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Al-Hilal | 76,800 | 18,437 | 1,349 | 5,908 | −20.9%$^†$ |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 51,604 | 14,162 | 657 | 3,970 | −4.0%$^†$ |
| 6 | Al-Raed | 47,496 | 10,311 | 508 | 3,654 | −48.9%$^†$ |
| 7 | Al-Taawoun | 37,285 | 8,285 | 408 | 2,868 | −58.9%$^†$ |
| 8 | Al-Ettifaq | 35,221 | 9,740 | 111 | 2,709 | −33.1%$^†$ |
| 9 | Al-Shabab | 33,187 | 8,635 | 353 | 2,553 | −5.8%$^†$ |
| 10 | Hajer | 20,044 | 5,386 | 117 | 1,542 | +11.8%$^†$ |
| 11 | Al-Wehda | 15,279 | 3,914 | 120 | 1,175 | n/a$^†$ † |
| 12 | Najran | 14,040 | 3,500 | 107 | 1,080 | +25.7%$^†$ |
| 13 | Al-Faisaly | 13,867 | 2,167 | 215 | 1,067 | −11.4%$^†$ |
| 14 | Al-Shoulla | 8,858 | 3,455 | 60 | 681 | n/a$^†$ † |
| | League total | 644,922 | 28,188 | 60 | 3,544 | −19.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 27 April 2013 Source: Notes: $^†$ Teams played previous season in First Division.

## Awards

On 7 February 2014, it was announced that both Al-Riyadiya Awards and Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence would be merged and known as the Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence. The Arriyadiyah Awards for Sports Excellence were awarded for the seventh time since its inception in 2007. The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi sports network Al-Riyadiya. The awards were presented on 16 February 2014.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Élton Arábia Hamdan Al-Hamdan Ahmed Otaif | Al-Fateh Al-Fateh Al-Shabab |
| Young Player of the Season | Fahad Al-Muwallad Mustafa Bassas Ayman Ftayni | Al-Ittihad Al-Ahli Al-Nassr |
| Golden Boot | Sebastián Tagliabué | Al-Shabab |