Al Somah: RSL legend's Al Ahli reunion conjures memories of record-setting reign

What does the side that has scored the fewest goals in the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League do to solve their goalscoring woes?

Sign the competition’s all-time leading scorer, of course.

Syria international, Omar Al-Somah, made his return to the RSL earlier this month after signing with relegation-threatened Al Orobah on a six-month deal through until the end of the season.

"I'm delighted to be back in Saudi Arabia and back in the RSL,” Al Somah said. “It's an honour to put on the shirt of Al Orobah Football Club. I promise to do my best to live up to the expectations of everyone and add real value to the team.”

A marquee recruit, Al Somah debuted for the Al Jouf side in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Al Taawoun, earning a valuable point against a side that last year finished fourth and who, this term, are eyeing continental glory in the AFC Champions League Two.

Al Somah’s next runout in yellow, however, will be filled with much more emotion. For, on Thursday in Al Jouf as the second half of the campaign kicks off, they welcome his former side, Al Ahli, to town.

It was in Jeddah that the Syrian marksman made a name for himself, spending eight successful seasons in green and white during which time he smashed the existing all-time league record of Nasser Al Shamrani to become the Saudi Arabia top flight’s leading scorer, with 144 goals.

Few could’ve envisaged the success Al Somah would have when he arrived from Kuwaiti side Al Qadsia ahead of the 2014-15 season. But were it not for a bit of bureaucratic red tape in the UK, he might never have graced pitches in the Kingdom.

While Al Somah was still on the books of Al Qadsia, he had a trial with English side Nottingham Forest, who were then owned by Kuwaiti businessman Fawaz Al Hasawi.

The audition went well: Al Somah scored three goals in two trial matches, doing enough to convince Forest to sign him. However, earning a work permit to play in England proved problematic and the deal fell through.

“We are kicking ourselves about that one a bit,” former Forest recruiter, Omar Yabroudi, told Arab News in an interview in 2018.

And with good reason. In Al Somah’s first game in Saudi for Al Ahli, the then 25-year-old scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win against Hajer. It set the tone for a remarkable eight years at the club.

Al Somah concluded the 2014-15 season as the league’s top scorer, with 22 goals in 22 games, helping Al Ahli to a second-placed finish. Coming home only four points behind champions Al Nassr, it represented an improvement on third the previous campaign.

There was better to come, though, for both Al Somah and Al Ahli.

The frontman’s second season would represent the high-water mark of his time on the shores of the Red Sea. In 2015-16, he bettered his outlay to net 27 times to seal his second successive golden boot. The goals catapulted Al Ahli to a drought-breaking title success, their first league championship since the early 1980s.

Understandably, it sparked wild scenes of celebration around Jeddah.

It wasn’t just the sheer quantity of Al Somah’s goals – he notched 49 in his first two seasons – but the quality that really stood out. There were the typical tap-ins and penalties mixed in, the bread and butter of any top-line striker, but what set Al Somah apart were the goals outside of that.

Riffling volleys, long-range screamers, unstoppable free-kicks, and even acrobatic bicycle kicks; during his time at Al Ahli, he did it all.

Take his stunning bicycle kick to equalise for Al Ahli in the Sea Derby against Al Ittihad back in 2019. It went viral online long before the RSL came into the wider football public’s conscience.

There’s almost too many free-kicks from which to choose, but Al Nassr in 2014 and Al Hilal in 2016 were on the receiving end of two of Al Somah’s best.

It was in that 2016-17 season that he set a record as the first player to score 20-plus goals in three consecutive RSL seasons, with another 24 goals landing a third straight golden boot. The haul carried his league scoring record to a staggering 73 goals in 68 games.

When you take in other cup and continental competitions, Al Somah’s tally ballooned to 106 goals in 103 games across that period.

He would finish his time in Jeddah after eight seasons with the unrivalled record of having netted double figures in each. And that’s despite some of those campaigns being blighted by injury - particularly in 2017-18, when he featured only 14 times but still managed 11 goals - restricting the amount he could play.

For all the personal accolades Al Somah achieved with Al Ahli, it was the team success he valued the most - and there was plenty: the RSL title in 2015-16, the Crown Prince Cup in 2014-15, and the King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup in 2016.

“I played eight years with Al-Ahli,” he said after departing the club in 2019. “During that time, I helped win the league championship and was the league’s top scorer three times, but the most important thing is the collective achievement.”

And now he’s back, with an interesting subplot to his return - keeping his all-time goalscoring record.

Morocco’s Abderazzak Hamdallah, now with Al Shabab, has been quickly closing in on Al Somah’s record 144 goal haul; his brace against Al Fayha left him needing eight more goals to overtake his celebrated peer.

It sets up a fascinating head-to-head battle over the second half of the season to see whether Hamdallah can continue to close in on the magic number, or whether Al Somah can put more space between him and his nearest rival.

Yet, the 35-year-old says he is at peace, whichever way it should swing.

“I have said this before, if God wills it, I'll succeed in extending the record,” Al Somah said after his Al Orobah debut. “If not, I'll accept it. Whatever comes from God, I'll be content with it. Whoever it is - Abderazzak or anybody else - all players here are stars.

“I'll do my best on the field. If I score more, it's God's will. This will motivate me, but I'm already satisfied with my career. I've had great years in the Saudi League with Al Ahli. I've won championships. That's enough for me, regardless of being the all-time top scorer.”