Rivalry rekindled for 2024-25 RSL's Big Kick-Off

It is a personal-but-professional competition that took root in the United Arab Emirates but has now branched to Saudi Arabia.

Rodolfo Arruabarrena and Christos Kontis, the latest managers at Al Taawoun and Al Fayha respectively, may be new to the Roshn Saudi League, yet they are at least familiar with one another.

The pair were for some time Dubai residents and briefly UAE top-flight foes, initially when Kontis performed the role of assistant coach at Al Nasr to Serbian tactician Ivan Jovanovic from 2013 to 2016. Towards the conclusion of their tenure, the green shoots were just emerging for Arruabarrena of what would prove a stellar stint as Al Wasl manager.

It's worth noting that Al Nasr and Al Wasl are more than counterpart clubs in the Emirati Adnoc Pro League; separated by Sheikh Zayed Road, they consider themselves sworn enemies.

As fate would have it, Arruabarrena’s Al Taawoun host Kontis’ Al Fayha on Thursday, in the opening fixture of the highly anticipated 2024-25 RSL season.

For sure, you can guarantee there will be a warm embrace on the touchline, and most probably a wry smile shared between reacquainted rivals.

Perhaps, Arruabarrena will wear the broader grin. Then as manager of fellow Dubai side Shabab Al Ahli, the Argentine got the better of Kontis, at that time head coach at Hatta, twice in their two meetings during the 2019-20 Adnoc Pro League season.

Arruabarrena's team, considerably more resourced than Kontis’, would emerge 3-0 victors away before triumphing in the corresponding clash at home by a single goal to nil.

Rather unexpectedly, Kontis would last farther into 2020 at Hatta than Arruabarrena did at Shabab Al Ahli. The former Boca Juniors and Villarreal full-back was surprisingly dismissed that March, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. At the time, the club sat top of the UAE league.

In contrast, Kontis was in situ when the competition resumed, but by November 2020, and with Hatta languishing at the foot of the embryonic table, he was gone as well.

Now they are simultaneously sampling work life in Saudi for the first time. In another quirk, the duo’s first competitive encounter, back in the Emirates in September 2019, opened the top-tier campaign also. Five years on, they will kick-start another, albeit some 1,500 kilometres away, in Buraidah.

Connected by their UAE past, they are separated by presumably different assignments in the Kingdom. Arruabarrena has accepted the possibly unenviable task of following Pericles Chamusca at Al Taawoun; the colourful Brazilian masterminded the club’s hugely impressive fourth-place finish in last season’s RSL.

In doing so, Al Taawoun broke the anticipated stranglehold of the division’s traditional “Big Four”. With the 2024-25 RSL promising to be even more competitive – for example, Al Ittihad, fifth last term, have recruited brilliantly this summer - emulating or even bettering that ranking will demand all Arruabarrena’s obvious acumen.

He will be aided, for sure, but Al Taawoun’s work in the transfer market. The likes of Mohammed Al Kuwaykbi, whose loan from Al Ettifaq has been made permanent, and goalkeeper Abdulquddus Atiah are shrewd signings, while attacking midfielder Faycal Fajr has just joined from Al Wehda.

Also, Arruabarrena knows well the capabilities of star striker Joao Pedro; the Brazilian spent four years plundering goals in the UAE before his transfer to the RSL in September. Last season, Pedro struck a respectable 11 goals in 25 league matches.

For Kontis, improvement on the ninth place delivered by predecessor Vuk Rasovic, another managerial graduate of Emirati football, represents an understandable objective. However, he may be expected to do so why introducing the sort of intricate play he fought hard to implement at Hatta.

Fortunately, should the Greek’s philosophy begin to find foundation, Al Fayha have the perfect spearhead to reap reward. Fashion Sakala, the infectious Zambian, scored 19 goals in the 2023-24 RSL, a haul bettered only by Al Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic (28) and Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo (35). Last term constituted Sakala’s debut campaign in the Kingdom; like Pedro, the expectation is he should offer even more with a season under his belt.

Of course, definite answers will not come on Thursday, but the 2024-25 RSL ignites with an intriguing encounter between two teams seeking improvement and two debutants in the dugout intent on making their mark.

For Arruabarrena and Kontis, the match at Al Taawoun Club Stadium rekindles a rivalry and provides a familiar feel as they embark on fresh RSL adventures.