Remodelled Al Riyadh look to relive former glories

Riyadh is a vast city, home to more than seven million people and spanning an area in size greater than Rome, Madrid, and even London.

In a football sense, however, it can be hard to stand out in a place dominated by Al Hilal and Al Nassr. Even Al Shabab, the capital’s original football club, often play third fiddle to the two giants, that despite their history of success.

So, spare a thought for the city’s other professional club, Al Riyadh, as they try to make their mark having returned to the Roshn Saudi League last season for the first time in nearly two decades.

While success has been hard to come by in recent years, for a period in the mid-1990s, they threatened to break the stranglehold the other three Riyadh clubs had on the competition, with Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Shabab sharing every league title between 1987 and 1996.

Impressively, Al Riyadh breached the big three in the 1993-94 season, finishing the regular season in second place and only five points behind Al Hilal. Led by club legend Fahd Al Hamdan, who concluded the campaign with 14 goals, they fell agonisingly short against Al Nassr in the final of the play-offs, which was the format of the league at the time - but did lift the Crown Prince Cup that season.

The following campaign saw Al Riyadh finish even closer to the top, just two points behind Al Hilal, although that was good enough only for third as Al Ettifaq edged them into second on goal difference. Al Hamdan was a standout again with 15 goals, yet his side fell to near-neighbours Al Hilal in the semi-final, before dispatching Al Ettifaq 4-0 in the third-place play-off.

In what was something of a golden era for the club, Al Riyadh also achieved success on the continent and regionally, making the semi-final of the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 1995, and doing likewise in the Arab Cup Winners’ Cup both that year and the next. Their domestic thrive was recognised on the international stage: they had three players representing Saudi Arabia upon the Kingdom’s FIFA World Cup debut in 1994.

The good times eventually stopped rolling, however, with Al Riyadh dropping back to ninth in the 1995-96 season. Despite successive fifth-placed finishes at the turn of the century, the club were relegated at the end of the 2004-05 season. They remained absent from the top flight until winning promotion for the 2023-24 campaign.

Perhaps understandably, their first season back on the big stage was all about survival; Al Riyadh went about ensuring they stayed afloat and laid a foundation to build upon for this campaign and those that follow.

In truth, they only just achieved that. For the entirety of the second half of last season, Al Riyadh sat just above the relegation zone, knowing that one or two bad results would quickly put them in the drop zone. Ultimately, they survived, safe by three points and earning a second straight season in the RSL.

Having navigated the first hurdle, Al Riyadh approached the off-season and the recent transfer window with a more aggressive approach. It signalled an intent to more than just make up the numbers; evidently, they want to get back to the high-flying nineties.

It started with a coaching change, with former French international and Cardiff City manager, Sabri Lamouchi, taking the reins. Towards the conclusion of the summer transfer window, the elegant Frenchman oversaw an overhaul of the playing squad that has transformed its profile in one fell swoop.

Despite interest from other clubs, Al Riyadh were able to snare one of the standout players from last season, in Bernard Mensah. The Ghanaian was a revelation for relegated Al Tai, with 14 goals across the season, and his arrival in Riyadh was a significant coup for the capital club.

Their raid of the relegated teams didn’t stop there, though: they also grabbed Al Hazem’s exciting midfield duo of Faiz Selemani and Toze, two players who should excel under Lamouchi.

With an eye on improving their squad across the board, Lamouchi and the club hierarchy looked high and wide for new options across all the lines, making them one of the busiest and most active clubs in the window. Veteran Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan was brought in to add experience at the back, as was former Queens Park Rangers defender Yoann Barbet.

The stylish Lucas Kal brings both grunt and polish in midfield; so, too, promising Iraqi international Ibrahim Bayesh. Meanwhile, Burkina Faso international Mohamed Konate arrived after five seasons in Russia with Akhmat Grozny and should complement Mensah at the point of the attack.

The early signs, it has to be said, are positive.

In the opening round of the 2024-25 season, Kal’s wonder goal in the seventh minute of stoppage-time earned Al Riyadh a share of the points in a thrilling 3-3 draw away to Al Wehda. Next up, at home, they recorded a deserved 3-1 win against newly promoted Al Kholood, highlighting the potency of their attack. Bayesh got the goal to put the hosts 2-1 up and send them on their way to victory.

The fast start has Al Riyadh sitting sixth on the table - their highest position since the early 2000s - and while there is a long way to go, the early impressions are good.

Yet they return after the FIFA international break with their toughest test: a Riyadh derby against an Al Hilal side that hasn’t tasted defeat in the RSL 16 months. Can Al Riyadh show their big-town brothers that this city - their city - also has a touch of red and black?

Judging by a shrewd summer and the campaign’s opening two matchweeks, the portents are good.