Link:
It’s been six years since a Saudi Arabian club laid its hands on an Asian Champions League trophy.
Back in 2004, Al-Ittihad beat Seongnam Ilhwa 6-3 in an astonishing two-legged final before successfully defending their crown the following season against Emirate club Al-Ain.
In the subsequent five editions of the tournament the trophy has gone to East Asia but that isn’t for a lack of trying by the Saudi clubs, some of whom have made continental success a priority over domestic.
For the likes of Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, league and cup success is fairly regular, assured by the fact that expenditure per season can reach over €15,000,000.
Though this sort of figure is the exception to the rule in the Saudi Pro League, where only the top five clubs are able to draw upon sponsorship, television rights and the backing from powerful individuals described by Goal.com Saudi Arabia chief Mohammed Al Jalal as “honoured members”, it nonetheless is a significant one.
Al-Nassr for instance spent €3.5 million on Romania international Ovidiu Petre, while Al-Shabab spent €2 million on Brazilian defender Marcelo Tavares, two players who have had key roles in their recent Champions League campaigns.
When compared to the increasingly exorbitant fees paid by European clubs in modern football for player transfers, a couple of million euros might not seem a risky investment.
Within the context of Asian football however it is a large sum of money to spend on one player and contracts offered to foreign coaches often eclipse the money spent on players.
The thirst for success in the competition is understandable given the opportunity now afforded by winning the Champions League, a competition that has a rising profile beyond the borders of Asia and one which affords the victor a place at the FIFA Club World Cup.
For supporters and administrators of a club like Al Hilal, the prospect of facing Inter in front of a global audience as Seongnam Ilhwa did last season is a tantalising one.
Yet in the pursuit of such goals, youth development often falls by the wayside with relatively large amounts of money thrown at mercenaries – or at least they seem to be, given the constant exchange of managerial personell at club level – in an attempt to garner immediate success.
The lack of focus on actually producing players rather than trying to lure ready-made professionals to the club seems to be hurting not only the clubs themselves in the long-term but also the Saudi national team, which failed to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa before failing spectacularly at the Asian Cup earlier this year.
Though the administrators who run Saudi clubs are far more professional than those in charge of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation, the fortunes of the country’s domestic and international football are entwined.
In fact, the ability for club sides to sign big name coaches where the Saudi federation has been unable to has led to club coaches interfering with the national team in the past, creating friction and disruption.
As it stands, five of the eight groups in the Asian Champions League are led by either South Korean or Saudi Arabian clubs after two match-days.
Though they have made a bright start and will likely have a big part to play when the knockout stages eventually begin, one wonders what another failure on the continent will mean for Saudi clubs.
Reform perhaps? A realisation that the cash-heavy, stop-gap solutions that prevail in their part of the football world is merely a placebo?
To their detriment and the detriment of the national team, the answer is most probably no.
0 comments:
Post a Comment