2010–11 Saudi Professional League
| Season | 2010–2011 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Hilal (13th title) |
| Relegated |
Al Hazm Al-Wahda |
| Champions League |
Al-Hilal Al-Ahli Al-Ittihad Al-Ettifaq |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 534 (2.93 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Nasser Al-Shamrani (17) |
| Biggest home win |
Al-Wahda 8–1 Al Hazm (24 February 2011) |
| Biggest away win |
Najran 1–5 Al-Wahda (22 April 2011) |
| Highest scoring |
Al-Wahda 8–1 Al Hazm (24 February 2011) |
| Longest winning run | Al-Ittihad (7 games) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Al-Hilal (26 games) |
| Longest losing run | Al Hazm (14 games) |
| Highest attendance |
21,174 Al-Ettifaq 2–3 Al-Hilal |
| Lowest attendance |
6 (spectator ban) Al Hazm 1–4 Al-Ettifaq |
| Average attendance | 4,204 |
|
← 2009–10 2011–12 → | |
The 2010–11 Saudi Professional League (officially known as the Zain League, because of its sponsorship) was the 35th season of Saudi Professional League since its establishment in 1976.
Al-Hilal were the defending champions for this season, having won the previous 2009–10 season.[1] The season featured 12 teams from the 2009–10 and two new teams promoted from the 2009–10 First Division: Al-Faisaly and Al Taawon.
On 29 April 2011, Al-Hilal won the title again after a 2–1 home win over Al-Raed. It was their second league title in a row and their thirteenth league title overall. Al-Wahda and Al Hazm were relegated.
Qualification and Prize money
The Top three teams of the league plus the winner of Champions Cup qualified for the Champions League.
Saudi football federation announced that Saudi teams will not participate in the next Gulf Club Champions Cup.[2]
The Top six teams qualified for Champions Cup.
and The bottom two teams in the end of the season were relegated.
Prize money:
- First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals
- Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals
Stadia and locations
Members clubs
Managerial Changes
Pre-season
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Shabab |  Edgar Parreira |
Short term contract [3] |  Jorge Fossati |
| Al-Ahli | Sergio Farias |
Joined Al Wasl [4] |  Trond Sollied |
During the season
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Trond Sollied |
Sacked [5] |  Khaled Badra (Caretaker role) |
| Al-Ahli | Khaled Badra |
Full-time coach appointed [6] |  Milovan Rajevac |
| Al-Hilal | .svg.png){kind=small} Eric Gerets |
Joined Morocco National Team |  Gabriel Calderón [7] |
| Al-Raed | Luiz Nizzo |
 Eurico Gomes | |
| Al-Ittihad | Manuel José |
Resigned | Toni Oliveira |
| Al-Shabab | Jorge Fossati |
Resigned | Enzo Trossero |
| Al-Nassr |  Walter Zenga |
Sacked |  Dragan Skočić |
| Al-Wehda |  Jean-Christian Lang |
Sacked |  Mukhtar Ali Muktar |
| Al Taawon |  Gheorghe Mulţescu |
Sacked | Florin Motroc |
| Al-Ahli | Milovan Rajevac |
Resigned to coach Qatar national team | Aleksandar Ilic |
| Al-Ettifaq | Marin Ion |
Sacked | Youssef Zouaoui |
| Al-Ittihad | Toni Oliveira |
Sacked | Dimitri Davidovic |
| Al-Wehda | Mukhtar Ali Muktar |
Sacked | Lutfi Binzerti |
| Al-Nassr | Dragan Skočić |
Sacked last match day, replaced by Gomes for Kings Cup competition only | Eurico Gomes |
Final League table
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Hilal (C) | 26 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 52 | 18 | +34 | 64 |  AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Ittihad | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 51 | AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al-Ettifaq | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 48 | AFC Champions League qualifying play-off |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 42 | 30 | +12 | 46 | |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 43 | |
| 6 | Al-Ahli | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 371 | AFC Champions League group stage 1 |
| 7 | Al-Faisaly | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 35 | |
| 8 | Al-Taawon | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 322 | |
| 9 | Al-Fateh | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 31 | |
| 10 | Al Raed | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 30 | |
| 11 | Najran | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 33 | 52 | −19 | 26 | |
| 12 | Al-Qadisiyah | 26 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 23 | |
| 13 | Al-Wahda (R) | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 212 |  Relegated to First Division |
| 14 | Al Hazm (R) | 26 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 13 | 70 | −57 | 6 |
Source: , League Table, RSSSF
Rules for classification:
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1Al-Ahli secured qualification for the 2012 AFC Champions League through winning the 2011 King Cup of Champions
2Al-Taawon and Al-Wahda 3 points deducted
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Results
| Home \ Away[1] | ITT | HIL | AHI | SHB | NAS | ETT | WAH | HZM | NAJ | RAE | FAT | QAD | TWN | FSL |
| Al-Ittihad | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | |
| Al-Hilal | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | |
| Al-Ahli | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Al-Shabab | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | |
| Al-Nassr | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | |
| Ettifaq | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Wahda | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 8–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | |
| Al Hazm | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–5 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | |
| Najran | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | |
| Al Raed | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| Al-Fateh | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
| Al-Qadisiyah | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | |
| Al-Taawon | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | |
| Al-Faisaly | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
Updated to games played on 15 May 2011.
Source: FIFA.com
Rules for classification:
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals [8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nasser Al-Shamrani |
Al-Shabab | 17 |
| 2 | Victor Simões |
Al-Ahli | 16 |
| 3 | Yousef Al-Salem |
Al-Ettifaq | 14 |
| Muhannad Assiri |
Al-Wehda | 14 | |
| 5 |  Migen Memelli |
Al-Faisaly | 13 |
| 6 | Mohammed Al-Rashid |
Al Taawon | 12 |
| Naif Hazazi |
Al-Ittihad | 12 | |
 Yves Diba Ilunga |
Najran | 12 | |
| 9 | Sebastián Tagliabué |
Al-Ettifaq | 11 |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani |
Al-Hilal | 11 | |
Assist
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Assists [8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Christian Wilhelmsson |
Al-Hilal | 9 |
| 2 | Dario Jertec |
Al-Faisaly | 8 |
| 3 | Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani |
Al Nassr | 7 |
| Camacho |
Al-Shabab | 7 | |
| 5 |  Salaheddine Aqqal |
Al-Ra'ed | 6 |
| Marcinho |
Al-Ahli | 6 | |
 Wael Ayan |
Al-Faisaly | 6 | |
| 8 | Ahmed Al-Fraidi |
Al-Hilal | 5 |
See also
References
- ↑ Saudi Gazette. "Al-Hilal handed Saudi Professional League trophy". saudigazette.com.sa. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ Saudi Gazette. "Leagues to raise number of teams". saudigazette.com.sa. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Al Shabab put faith in Fossati". The AFC. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ↑ "Farias moves to UAE's Al Wasl". The AFC. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ "Al Ahli show coach Sollied the door". The AFC. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ↑ "Rajevac takes over Al Ahli reins". The AFC. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ↑ "Former Argentina International Gabriel Calderon Takes Over At Saudi Giants Al Hilal". Goal.com. 5 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- 1 2 "Saudi League Statistics". slstat.com. slstat.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.