Al-Hilal one step from being kings of Asia

Urawa Reds head coach Takafumi Hori (2nd L) shakes hands with Al-Hilal head coach Ramon Angel Diaz (2nd R) as Wataru Endo of the Urawa Reds (L) and Yasser al-Qahtani of Al-Hilal (R) look on, next to the AFC Champions League championship trophy during a photo session one day before the AFC Champions League football final in Saitama on November 24, 2017. (AFP / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA)

LONDON: Hope is a valuable commodity in football and thanks to Omar Khribin’s equalizer in Riyadh last week, Al-Hilal should have it in abundance going into the second leg of the AFC Champions League final.
A 1-0 defeat would have been hard to stomach and even harder to overturn but Khribin’s strike — the sort of poacher’s finish that may just see him crowned Asian Footballer of the Year — injected some much-needed belief. The players and supporters at a raucous King Fahd Stadium had hope again that this could be Al-Hilal’s year.
History, however, is not on their side. No team has ever drawn the first leg of the AFC Champions League final at home and gone on to win the trophy. Al-Ahli, FC Seoul, Sepahan and Al-Ain have all succumbed in recent years after a first-leg draw on home soil. And in both 2016 and 2015, Al-Hilal were eliminated from continental competition after tying with Lokomotiv Tashkent and Al-Ahli respectively in Riyadh.
Last Saturday’s draw with Urawa Red Diamonds was particularly tough to take given Al-Hilal’s imperious form on their turf in Asia. They have lost just one match there — a 2-1 group stage reverse to Tractor Sazi in 2016 — in four-and-a-half years, winning 17 games in that time.
Despite the frustration of the Urawa draw, hope springs eternal. Al-Hilal have only failed to score once in their past 12 away games in the Asian Champions League and have netted 11 times in six away games this year, with UAE outfit Al Ahli the only side to keep the Saudi Arabian’s at bay on their travels.
And should further inspiration be needed, Al-Hilal need only look toward the domestic rivals Al-Ittihad. In 2004, they famously lost 3-1 to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in Jeddah before producing a masterclass in resilience, romping to a 5-0 away victory in Korea to win the title. Al-Hilal have certainly shown a similar spine this year.
For starters, recovering against Urawa when others may have been left shellshocked by the early opener. It was not the first time in 2017, with the Saudi Arabian’s also fighting back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to earn a 2-2 semifinal second leg draw against Persepolis. In both legs of the quarter-final, too, Al-Hilal conceded first before eventually winning 2-1.
And in group stage visits to Persepolis, Al Wahda and Al Rayyan, deficits were overturned, resulting in two draws and a victory over the Qataris. This is an Al-Hilal side with fortitude in spades, a team that reflects the spirit of its coach. Ramon Diaz faced plenty of adversity during his career — notably being overlooked by Argentina for both the 1986 and 1990 World Cups — but never lost his desire. River Plate’s Copa Libertadores victory in 1996, masterminded by Diaz, was achieved despite a 1-0 first leg defeat to América.
A young Hernan Crespo was Diaz’s hero in the return leg two decades ago, his brace making River the toast of South America. Now Diaz will turn to another talented striker to lead his charge.
Khiribin gave Al-Hilal hope in Riyadh, now it’s up to the Syrian and his team-mates to produce another dogged display.
If they manage to dig deep once more, it may well be time for the Saudi Arabians to end their 17-year wait for the AFC Champions League title.