Hellmann: Meticulous Brazilian plotting perfection at Al Raed

It was only a matter of months ago that Brazilian Odair Hellmann departed Al Riyadh after guiding them to safety in the first season back in the Roshn Saudi League in two decades.

But, when the capital club travel north to Buraidah this weekend, the Al Riyadh side that walks out onto Al Raed Club Stadium will look very different to the one he left just a matter of months ago. It’s been an off-season of transformation for the Panthers as they look to re-establish themselves in the top flight of Saudi football.

Having only just survived relegation themselves, that is also Al Raed’s mission this season with Hellmann at the helm.

With former coach Igor Jovicevic departing in the summer, the club turned to the ex-Al Riyadh man, who was an assistant coach for Brazil when they won gold on home soil at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

It’s no small feat ahead of Hellmann at Al Raed given the strength of opposition in the RSL, but one he will relish regardless. Hellmann, from the small village of Salete in southern Brazil, is no stranger to fighting. It’s what he prides himself, and his teams, on. Always fighting. Never giving up.

“In football the game only finishes when the referee blows the whistle,” he said when coaching Al Riyadh last season. “[Until then] we can play, we can try, we can give our best on the field and believe until the last second. This team - win, lose or draw - will fight until the last second.”

Despite Al Raed’s struggles last season, over the past decade they have had periods of relative success. They’ve finished in the top 10 four times, and concluded the 2016-17 campaign in fifth, coming home as “best of the rest” behind the big four of Al Hilal, Al Ahli, Al Nassr and Al Ittihad, respectively. In 2019-20, they were three points from AFC Champions League qualification.

With the good times, though, come the bad. Al Raed have flirted with falling out of the league on a number of occasions, featuring in the relegation play-offs in 2008-09, 2015-16 and 2017-18, but surviving on each occasion. By virtue, they have played in the RSL for every season of the Saudi Pro League era.

So, the burning question this campaign is what can Hellmann achieve in Buraidah? The early signs this season, it has to be said, look promising.

In the opening game, Al Raed held an Al Nassr side powered by Cristiano Ronaldo to a 1-1 draw in Riyadh, with a second-half penalty from Mohammed Fouzair earning the visitors a share of the spoils. It was the second straight game Al Raed had taken points from the capital giants having stunned them 3-1 at Al Awwad Park towards the end of last term.

A defeat to Al Qadsiah may have followed in Matchweek 2, but again Al Raed pushed their more-fancied opponents all the way; only a goal in the final 15 minutes saw Al Qadsiah prevail 1-0, when Turki Al Ammar’s attempted cross fortuitously sailed in at the back post.

However, it was in the 5-0 win last time out against Al Fayha in which Al Raed really impressed. While they were helped by a red card for former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling on RSL debut, by that stage Hellman's men were already three goals to the good. Their attack, featuring Karim El Berkaoui, Saleh Al Amri and Amir Sayoud, gave the Al Fayha defence a torrid time.

In the aftermath, Hellmann described his team’s performance as flawless.

“It’s the perfect match,” the 47-year-old said. “One match like this, like today, you cannot play every day. We try, we work for this, we want this, the fans want this, but it’s not like this. It’s difficult. But today I say thank you very much to the players because it was the perfect match.”

As it was at Al Riyadh, the secret to Hellmann’s success is, well, not much of a secret at all.

“Football is 24 hours to cry, or 24 hours to smile. And then work, work, work, work. Because the next game will be totally different,” he said.

It’s a message Hellman’s players are advocating as well.

“The secret is hard work and believing in ourselves,” Norwegian midfielder Mathias Normann underlined. “Play football and enjoy and smile and score goals… and run a lot and work hard.”

What is making Al Raed’s bright start to the season all the more impressive is their relative lack of activity in the transfer window. The club made a handful of moves during the summer, in stark contrast to a club like Al Riyadh, who had a complete overhaul of their playing staff. Whereas other RSL teams entered this season with vastly augmented squads, that was not the case at Al Raed.

It means Hellmann is largely having to work with what he has, but he has shown his mantra of dedication and discipline will pay off regardless of the strength of the roster. He is all about building a strong team, and the evidence so far is that message is resonating at Al Raed.

When Al Riyadh travel north for Saturday's match, they know they’ll be in for a tough fight with their former manager in the opposing dugout. Hellman, meanwhile, will be plotting another "perfect" game, this time against old employers familiar with his unrelenting focus.