Al-Hilal SFC: All you need to know about the Saudi Arabian football team
Al-Hilal SFC is a football club is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The team has won the domestic league title a record 19 times. Neymar signed with the club in 2023.
Football
Al-Hilal SFC is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which competes in the Saudi Pro League, the country’s premier football league.
Founded on October 16, 1957, Al-Hilal SFC is one of the most successful clubs in the Middle East, having won several domestic and international trophies over the years.
In 2023, Al Hilal SFC hit the headlines after it was rumoured that Lionel Messi might be joining the Saudi club after leaving French outfit Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The move, however, didn’t pan out eventually as the Argentinian football star opted for a move to America to play in Major League Soccer (MLS) instead.
Incidentally, Lionel Messi’s arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo currently plays for Al-Nassr, Al Hilal’s cross-city rivals.
Later in the year, Brazilian star Neymar left PSG and signed for Al Hilal SFC.
Al-Hilal SFC history
The original name of the team was Olympic Club. It was changed to Al-Hilal on December 2, 1958, by Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the then King of Saudi Arabia. The other two proposed names for Olympic Club were Al-Yamama and Al-Wahda. The location of the club headquarters changed several times within Riyadh before settling in Al Uraija. Al-Hilal SFC play their home games at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Al-Hilal SFC won their first title in the 1960-61 season when they claimed the Saudi Cup Trophy. They won their first domestic league title in 1976-77 and the club has won over 60 trophies over the course of time. This includes a record 19 Saudi Arabian domestic league titles, 13 Saudi Crown Prince Cup trophies and 10 Saudi King Cup titles. It is perhaps appropriate that the club is nicknamed Al-Za'eem, which means ‘leader’ or ‘the one who dominates.’
Al-Hilal SFC have found international success too. The club has won eight Asian titles, including the AFC Champions League a record four times. They were runners-up on another five occasions.
In recent years, Al-Hilal SFC have dominated Saudi Arabian football, winning six league titles between 2016 and 2024. Domestically, Al-Hilal have only been rivalled by Al Nassr and Al-Ittihad. In the last 11 years, Al-Hilal and Al Nassr have shared nine titles.
Al-Hilal SFC is currently coached by Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus.
Al-Hilal SFC: Records and stats
Former Saudi national team captain Yasser Al-Qahtani is the top goal scorer for Al-Hilal SFC with 122 goals in 271 matches. Frenchman Bafétimbi Gomis is next with 105 goals in 146 matches. Salem Al-Dawsari has also scored over a century of goals and is the top goal-scorer among those still playing for Al-Hilal.
Al-Hilal’s biggest victory margin was a 9-0 win over Al-Deraa in the first round of the 2018-19 King’s Cup. They matched the record in the Saudi Pro League 2023-24 season with a 9-0 win over Al-Hazem SC in the away contest,
Al-Hilal suffered their heaviest loss after they went down 0-5 to Al-Taawoun FC in the semi-finals of the 2018-19 King’s Cup.
At 17 years and three months, centre-forward Ahmed Al-Suwailh is the youngest player to represent Al-Hilal SFC.
At 39 years nine months, midfielder Mohammad Al-Shalhoub is the oldest man to play for Al-Hilal SFC.
Mohammad Al-Shalhoub is also the oldest goal-scorer for Al-Hilal SFC. At the age of 39 years, he netted one against Al-Jabalain FC during the second round of the 2019 King’s Cup.
Ahmed Al-Suwailh is the youngest goal-scorer for Al-Hilal SFC. He set the record at the age of 17 years and four months during the Saudi Pro League match against Al-Ahli SFC in September 2003.
From September 2023 to April 2024, Al Hilal went 34 matches without losing, creating what was the longest unbeaten streak in the club's history. It was finally broken by UAE’s Al Ain, who beat Hilal 4-2 in an AFC Champions League fixture.