Al Clasico: Saudi Arabia’s fiercest football rivalry

Al-Hilal will always look over their shoulders at Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, while Al-Ittihad, the Kingdom’s oldest club, have to contend with Jeddah neighbors Al-Ahli.

On Saturday, Al-Hilal team achieved a major victory over its counterpart Al-Ittihad 3-1 in the fourth round of the Saudi League, at Prince Faisal bin Fahd City Stadium.

These two derbies are highlights of the Saudi Arabian football calendar. But even those epic rivalries have to take a back seat to the country’s biggest match: Al-Hilal against Al-Ittihad.

Derbies traditionally take place between rivals from within the same city, with historic animosity shrouding fixtures between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Cairo, Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow, and Boca Juniors and River Plate in Buenos Aires.

Some of the world’s biggest clashes, however, are between rival city clubs: Juventus versus Inter in Derby d’Italia, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s Der Klassiker, and, above all, Real Madrid against Barcelona in El Clasico.

And in Saudi, "Al Classico".

In the blue corner, the champions and the country’s most decorated club, one that sees itself as the best not only of Saudi Arabia, but also Asia. Few will argue. They are the proud holders of 19 Saudi league titles and four AFC Champions Leagues — both records.

In the yellow corner, the contenders. Nine titles and two AFC Champions League fall short of their rivals from the capital. But to Al-Ittihad fans, that is of little consequence. History is theirs. They are the people’s club, with qualities that cannot be measured in gold, such as history, tradition, and passion. Anyone who has been to an Al-Ittihad match, and witnessed their supporters’ displays of color and noise, would be hard pressed to dispute their claim.

The two first crossed swords in a 1962 friendly, a match won 2-0 by Al-Ittihad. Two years later, they clashed in their first official match, their first-ever meeting during a King’s Cup. Al-Ittihad won that one, too, 3-0. This early dominance, however, would gradually be diluted over the years.

Today, after 163 official meetings, Al-Hilal have claimed 76 victories, Al-Ittihad 42, while 45 have been drawn. 

Some of those matches might have been forgotten. Many more, however, are etched in the minds of Saudi football fans.

In 11 cup finals between the two, Al-Hilal have won six to Al-Ittihad’s five.

In 2010, Al-Ittihad beat Al-Hilal 5-4 on penalties in the King’s Cup final after the match had finished 0-0. It was the last time the two met in a major final.

Still, only rarely is the Classico an irrelevance in the Saudi Premier League, and these days the clash features more big-name players than at any time in its history.

Alongside hometown hero and World Cup champion-beater Salem Al-Dawsari, Al-Hilal can call on Aleksander Mitrovic, Malcom, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and, hopefully, Neymar.

Al-Ittihad roster includes Karim Benzema, Fabinho, Moussa Diaby and former Al-Hilal favorite Saleh Al-Shehri.

Matches between the two tend to have major bearing on the outcome of the league title, even when one of the clubs are not directly involved in the title race.

That was the case when the two met in the SPL for the second time last season. Al-Hilal, in the middle of a world record run of consecutive wins that would eventually extend to 34, were in danger of disappearing over the horizon in the race for the championship.

Only Al-Nassr stood a slim chance of catching them. Having drawn 4-4 against bottom Al-Hazem on Feb 29, 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates needed a big favor from Al-Ittihad — then still reigning Saudi Pro League champions — in the Classico following day.

It was not to be as Al-Hilal came from behind to defeat Al-Ittihad 3-1 and take a giant step toward the Saudi Pro League trophy. The journey was completed on May 11 when a record 19th title was secured after a 4-1 win over Al-Hazem.

But, once again, it was the Al-Classico matchday that had proven decisive.

On Saturday, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad met in the first Clasico of the 2024-25 season. The victory went to Al-Hilal, 3-1 winners in Riyadh.  A long season stretches ahead in which both will be vying for titles and bragging rights.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, the two clubs will resume hostilities in Jeddah.

Almost certainly, the Saudi Classico will once again, one way or the other, have a major impact on the result of the Saudi Pro League title.