LONDON: Al-Hilal are into the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals for the third time in four years. Yes, Al-Hilal. Remember them?
Four-time Asian champions and three-time defending Saudi Pro League champions. That Al-Hilal. Ring a bell? For those just tuning their antennae to Saudi football for the first time over the past few months, there was only one club dominating the headlines, and it was not the reigning AFC Champions League winners.
It was, of course, Al-Nassr after their headline-grabbing signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, which catapulted them into the international consciousness like no club from Saudi Arabia had ever achieved.
Not even Al-Hilal. To highlight just how much the yellow half of Riyadh was dominating the narrative, one UK-based pundit even claimed Al-Nassr were the most successful Saudi side in recent years — despite Al-Hilal winning five of the past six Saudi Pro League titles.