The 2018–19 Saudi Pro League. was the 43rd edition of the top-tier Saudi football league, established in 1974, and the 10th edition since it was rebranded as the Saudi Pro League in 2008, the season started on 10 August 2017 and concluded on 12 April 2018.
Al-Hilal were the defending champions after winning the Pro League last season for the 14th time. Al-Fayha and Ohod have entered as the promoted teams from the 2016–17 Saudi First Division. Al-Hilal were crowned as league winners for the second season in a row on the 12 April, after defeating Al-Fateh 4–1 on the final day of the season. No teams were relegated at the end of the season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 14 to 16. In its place, relegation play-offs were held between the bottom 2 teams of the Pro League and the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the MS League. Both Pro League teams, Al-Raed and Ohod, won their respective matches and secured their top-flight status.
Al-Fayha's Ronnie Fernández won the Golden Boot with 13 goals. Al-Ittihad's Carlos Villanueva and Al-Faisaly's Vuk Rašović were named as Player and Manager of the Season respectively.
Teams
Fourteen teams will compete in the league – the top eleven teams from the previous season, the playoff winner and two teams promoted from the First Division.
Teams who were promoted to the Pro League
The first club to be promoted was Al-Fayha, following their 2–1 win at home to Ohod on 29 April 2017. Al-Fayha will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time in their history. They were crowned champions on 5 May 2017 after drawing Wej 1–1 away from home, coupled with Al-Tai's 0–0 draw against fellow promoted club Ohod.
The second and final club to be promoted was Ohod, following their 0–0 draw at home to Al-Tai on 5 May 2017. Ohod will play in the top flight of Saudi football for the first time since 2005.
Teams who were relegated to the First Division
The first club to be relegated was Al-Wehda, ending their 2-year stay in the Pro League after a 2–1 home defeat to Al-Fateh on 20 April 2017.
The second and final club to be relegated was Al-Khaleej, ending their 3-year stay in the Pro League following a 2–2 draw to Al-Faisaly on 4 May 2017.
Stadiums Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Team Location Stadium Capacity Al-Ahli Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Batin Hafar al-Batin Al-Batin Club Stadium Al-Ettifaq Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Al-Faisaly Harmah King Salman Sport City Stadium Al-Fateh Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Fayha Al Majma'ah King Salman Sport City Stadium Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Al-Ittihad Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Nassr Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Al-Qadsiah Khobar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Raed Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd International Stadium Al-Taawoun Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Ohod Medina Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Stadium 1: Al-Faisaly play their home games in Al-Majma'ah. 2: Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Shabab also use Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (22,500 seats) as a home stadium.
Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1 On the back of the strip. 2 On the right sleeve of the strip. 3 On the shorts.
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner ofdepartureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate ofappointment Al-Ettifaq End of caretaker spell 5 May 2017Pre-season 14 June 2017 Al-Faisaly End of contract 5 May 2017 29 May 2017 Al-Nassr Sacked 5 May 2017 14 June 2017 Al-Qadsiah End of caretaker spell 5 May 2017 16 June 2017 Al-Fayha End of contract 10 May 2017 20 May 2017 Al-Raed Resigned 14 May 2017 4 June 2017 Al-Batin End of contract 17 May 2017 24 May 2017 Al-Ahli Mutual consent 31 May 2017 21 June 2017 Al-Shabab Sami Al-Jaber Sacked 16 September 20179th Mike Newell (interim) 16 September 2017 Al-Nassr Ricardo Gomes 22 September 20174th Rogério Lourenço (interim) 22 September 2017 Al-Shabab Mike Newell Interim period ended 23 September 20176th José Daniel Carreño 23 September 2017 Al-Raed Sacked 1 October 201714th Ciprian Panait 4 October 2017 Al-Nassr Rogério Lourenço Interim period ended 3 October 20175th Gustavo Quinteros 3 October 2017 Al-Fayha Constantin Gâlcă Sacked 1 November 201712th Gustavo Costas 1 November 2017 Al-Qadisiyah Nacif Beyaoui Mutual consent 2 November 20177th Paulo Bonamigo 2 November 2017 Ohod Abdulwahab Al-Harbi Resigned 5 November 201714th Nabil Neghiz 10 November 2017 Al-Ettifaq Miodrag Ješić Sacked 10 December 201713th Saad Al-Shehri 10 December 2017 Al-Nassr Gustavo Quinteros 31 January 20184th Krunoslav Jurčić 31 January 2018 Al-Batin Quim Machado 4 February 201810th Ciprian Panait 6 February 2018 Al-Qadisiyah Paulo Bonamigo 5 February 201812th Bandar Basreh (interim) 5 February 2018 Al-Raed Ciprian Panait 5 February 201814th Aleksandar Ilić 5 February 2018 Ohod Nabil Neghiz 18 February 201813th Maher Kanzari 23 February 2018 Al-Hilal 20 February 20181st Juan Brown (interim) 20 February 2018 Al-Shabab José Daniel Carreño Mutual consent 8 March 201810th Khalid Al-Koroni 8 March 2018 Ohod Maher Kanzari Sacked 12 April 201814th Sadio Demba 12 April 2018 Al-Ahli 19 April 20182nd (caretaker) 19 April 2018
Foreign players The number of foreign players was increased from 4 players to 6 players, and for the first time in the history of the Pro League foreign goalkeepers are allowed. On January 11, 2018, SAFF increased the number of foreign players from 6 players to 7 players.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Former players Al-Ahli Mark Milligan Claudemir Leonardo Moamen Zakaria Giannis Fetfatzidis Omar Al Somah Mohamed Amine Ben Amor Mohamed Abdel Shafy Godfrey Oboabona Al-Batin Guilherme Schettine Jhonnattann Jou Silva Pitty Tinga Ousmane Diabaté Aymen Mathlouthi Valdo Alhinho Tarabai Alaa Mhawi Al-Ettifaq Raïs M'Bolhi Ahmed El Sheikh Hussein El Sayed Ahmed Ibrahim Khalaf Filip Kiss Liban Abdi Fakhreddine Ben Youssef Rodrigo Salinas Fahad Al Hajeri Juanmi Callejón Al-Faisaly Evson Igor Rossi Luisinho Rogerinho Zé Eduardo Saleh Gomaa Khaleem Hyland Mircea Axente Tendai Ndoro Al-Fateh Ibrahim Chenihi João Pedro Sandro Manoel Mohamed Abdel Shafy Abdelkader Oueslati Saith Sakala Mohamed Ali Yacoubi Al-Fayha Jonathan Gómez Gegé Ronnie Fernández Danilo Asprilla John Jairo Ruiz Alexandros Tziolis Emilio Izaguirre Al-Hilal Ezequiel Cerutti Carlos Eduardo Achraf Bencharki Ali Al-Habsi Omar Khribin Nicolás Milesi Gelmin Rivas Matías Britos Al-Ittihad Carlos Villanueva Mahmoud Kahraba Fahad Al Ansari Ahmed Akaïchi Al-Nassr Abdelmoumene Djabou Bruno Uvini Leonardo Junior Kabananga Mohamed Fouzair Saad Al-Mukhaini Ferjani Sassi Hossam Ghaly William Jebor Saad Lagrou Al-Qadsiah Bismark Élton Arábia Jorginho Paulo Sérgio Mohammed Fatau Hervé Guy Stanley Ohawuchi Mohammad Mothnani Al-Raed Daniel Amora Eli Sabiá Tarabai Mohamed Atwa Shikabala Ismaël Bangoura Issam Erraki Wander Luiz Kassim Abdallah Al-Shabab Djamel Benlamri Mohamed Benyettou Sebastián Ubilla Amr Barakat Saad Abdul-Amir Muaid Ellafi Farouk Ben Mustapha Marcos Pizzelli Jonatas Belusso Al-Taawoun Cédric Amissi Emad Moteab Essam El Hadary Mostafa Fathi Ricardo Machado Adrian Popa Jehad Al-Hussain Alhaji Kamara Ohod Azzedine Doukha Mohamed Boulaouidet Nacereddine Khoualed Isaac Vorsah Mamoutou N'Diaye Mohsin Al-Khaldi Hichem Essifi Dudu Ronaldo Carolus Andriamatsinoro
League table
Positions by round The following table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. If a club from the Saudi Professional League wins the King Cup, they will qualify for the AFC Champions League, unless they have already qualified for it through their league position. In this case, an additional AFC Champions League group stage berth will be given to the 3rd placed team, and the AFC Champions League play-off round spot will be given to 4th.
Results
Season progress
Relegation play-offs On March 7, 2018, the Saudi Football Federation announced that the number of teams in the Saudi Professional League will be increased from 14 teams to 16 teams. The relegation was removed and in its place, they announced a relegation play-off. The bottom 2 teams will face the 3rd and 4th place team in the Prince Mohammad bin Salman League.
Al-Raed won 5–1 on aggregate.
Ohod won 7–1 on aggregate.
Statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Ronnie Fernández Al-Fayha132 Jou Silva Al-Batin11 Omar Al Somah Al-Ahli4 Bismark Al-Qadsiah10 Leonardo Pereira Al-Nassr Leonardo Silva Al-Ahli Ismaël Bangoura Al-Raed Mohammad Al-Sahlawi Al-Nassr Ahmed Akaïchi Al-Ittihad10 Jhonnattann Al-Batin9 João Pedro Al-Fateh Luisinho Al-Faisaly Mahmoud Kahraba Al-Ittihad Giannis Fetfatzidis Al-Ahli
Top assists
RankPlayerClubAssists1 Jehad Al-Hussain Al-Taawoun92 Luisinho Al-Faisaly83 Carlos Villanueva Al-Ittihad74 Leonardo Al-Ahli6 Abdulfattah Asiri Al-Ahli Sultan Al-Sawadi Al-Raed Yahya Al-Shehri Al-Nassr8 Jhonnattann Al-Batin5 Mahmoud Kahraba Al-Ittihad Mansoor Al-Harbi Al-Ahli Nasser Al-Shamrani Al-Shabab Omar Khribin Al-Hilal
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Mostafa Fathi Al-Taawoun Al-Fayha 4–0
Clean sheets
RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Ali Al-Mazyadei Al-Fateh82 Mohammed Al-Owais Al-Ahli73 Essam El-Hadary Al-Taawoun6 Mustafa Malayekah Al-Faisaly5 Abdulrahman Dagriri Al-Fayha5 Waleed Abdullah Al-Nassr Farouk Ben Mustapha Al-Shabab8 Ali Al-Habsi Al-Hilal4 Abdullah Al-Mayouf Al-Hilal Faisel Masrahi Al-Qadsiah Mazyad Freeh Al-Batin
Discipline
Player
Most yellow cards: 11 Majed Kanabah (Al-Batin) Sami Al-Khaibari (Al-Fayha)
Most red cards: 1 17 players
Club
Most yellow cards: 60 Al-Ettifaq
Most red cards: 3 Al-Fateh
Attendances
By round + 2017–18 Professional League AttendanceRoundTotalAvg. Per Game Round 1 34,900 7 4,986 Round 2 36,791 7 5,256 Round 3 19,341 7 2,763 Round 4 66,932 7 9,562 Round 5 21,239 7 3,034 Round 6 25,431 7 3,633 Round 7 56,556 7 8,079 Round 8 28,010 7 4,001 Round 9 31,203 7 4,458 Round 10 37,546 7 5,364 Round 11 33,441 7 4,777 Round 12 25,655 7 3,665 Round 13 27,335 7 3,905 Round 14 21,611 7 3,087 Round 15 23,898 7 3,414 Round 16 34,767 7 4,967 Round 17 61,441 7 8,777 Round 18 39,973 7 5,710 Round 19 58,770 7 8,396 Round 20 59,291 7 8,470 Round 21 51,047 7 7,292 Round 22 34,328 7 4,904 Round 23 66,973 7 9,568 Round 24 42,595 7 6,085 Round 25 65,232 7 9,319 Round 26 37,765 7 5,395 Total 1,042,071 182 5,726 Source:
By team
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Awards For the first time in the history of the competition, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced annual awards for the best player in each position, the best young player and the perfect team.
Award Winner ClubManager of the Year Vuk RašovićAl-FaisalyBest Goalkeeper Mohammed Al-OwaisAl-AhliBest Defender Motaz HawsawiAl-AhliBest Full-back Yasser Al-ShahraniAl-HilalBest Midfielder Carlos VillanuevaAl-IttihadBest Attacker Ronnie FernándezAl-FayhaPlayer of the Year Carlos VillanuevaAl-IttihadYoung Player of the Year Turki Al-AmmarAl-ShababTop Scorer Ronnie FernándezAl-FayhaPerfect TeamAl-Hilal—
Team of the Season Team of the SeasonGoalkeeper Farouk Ben Mustapha (Al-Shabab)Defenders Mohammed Al-Breik (Al-Hilal) Mohammed Jahfali (Al-Hilal) Motaz Hawsawi (Al-Ahli) Mansour Al-Harbi (Al-Ahli)Midfielders Abdullah Otayf (Al-Hilal) Salman Al-Faraj (Al-Hilal) Leonardo (Al-Nassr) Danilo Asprilla (Al-Fayha)Forwards Omar Al-Somah (Al-Ahli) Ahmed Akaïchi (Al-Ittihad)
See also 2017–18 Prince Faisal bin Fahd League 2017–18 Second Division 2018 King Cup 2017–18 Crown Prince Cup
References