2009–10 Saudi Pro League
Introduction The '''2009–10 Saudi Professional League''' (known as the '''Zain Professional League''' for sponsorship reasons) was the 34th season of the Saudi Professional League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976.The season began on 18 August 2009, and ended on 18 March 2010.Al-Ittihad were the defending champions.Al Hilal secured the title with a 2–0 win away to Al-Hazem on 24 January 2010.Al-Hilal won the league with three games to spare. Al Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al Shabab and Al Nassr all secured a berth for the 2011 AFC Champions League. No teams were relegated at the end of the season following the decision to increase the number of teams from 12 to 14.
Name sponsorship On 16 June 2009, the Saudi Professional League announced a sponsorship with telecommunication company Zain. As part of the sponsorship deal the Saudi Professional League would be known as the Zain Professional League for the next 4 seasons.
Qualification and Prize Money The League champions, runners-up and third-placed team, as well as the winners of the King Cup of Champions, qualify for the 2011 AFC Champions League.The top six teams, and the Crown Prince Cup winners and runners-up qualify for King Cup of Champions. * Prize money:** First place: 2.5 million Saudi Riyals** Second place: 1.5 million Saudi Riyals** Third place: 1 million Saudi Riyals
Teams Twelve teams competed in the league – the top nine teams from the previous season, the relegation play-off winner and the two teams promoted from the First Division. Al-Raed defeated Abha 4–3 on aggregate to confirm their top-flight status. The promoted teams were Al-Qadisiyah (returning after a season's absence) and Al-Fateh (playing top-flight football for the first time ever). They replaced Abha (relegated after a season's presence) and Al-Watani (ending their two-year top-flight spell).===Stadiums and locations=== Club Location Stadium Al-Ahli Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium Al-Ettifaq Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Al-Fateh Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Hazem Ar Rass Al-Hazem Club Stadium Al Hilal Riyadh King Fahd Stadium Al-Ittihad Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium Al Nassr Riyadh King Fahd Stadium Al-Qadisiyah Al Khubar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Raed Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Al Shabab Riyadh King Fahd Stadium Al Wehda Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium Najran Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium===Personnel=== Club Coach Nationality City Stadium Capacity 2008–09 season Notes Al-Ahli Sergio Farias  Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 3rd Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League Al-Ettifaq Marin Ion  Dammam Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium 30,000 6th Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup Al-Fateh Fathi Al-Jabal  Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium 20,000 First Division runners-up Al-Hazem Lula  Ar Rass Al-Hazem Club Stadium 11,000 8th  Al Hilal Eric Gerets  Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 2nd Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League Al-Ittihad Enzo Trossero  Jeddah Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium 24,000 '''1st''' Qualified to the 2010 AFC Champions League Al Nassr Jorge da Silva  Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 5th Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup Al-Qadisiyah Dimitar Dimitrov  Al Khubar Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium 10,000 First Division champions Al-Raed Edison Mario Souza  Buraydah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium 35,000 10th Al Shabab Edgar Parreira  Riyadh King Fahd Stadium 69,000 4th Qualified to the 2009–10 Gulf Club Champions Cup Al Wehda Eurico Gomes  Mecca King Abdul Aziz Stadium 28,550 7th  Najran Mourad Okbi  Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium 10,000 9th===Managerial changes=== Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Replaced by Date Al Hilal Georges Leekens Sacked Eric Gerets May 2009 Al-Ahli  Stoycho Mladenov Sacked  Gustavo Alfaro June 2009 Al-Raed  Luiz Antonio End of contract  Acácio Casimiro June 2009 Al-Hazem  Ammar Souayah End of contract  Mohsen Saleh July 2009 Al Nassr  Edgardo Bauza End of contract  Jorge da Silva July 2009 Al Shabab  Enzo Trossero End of contract  Jaime Pacheco July 2009 Al-Qadisiyah  Daniel Lanata Sacked  Ammar Souayah September 2009 Al-Raed  Acácio Casimiro Sacked  Edison Mario Souza October 2009 Najran  Marcelo Javier Zuleta Sacked  Samir Jouili October 2009 Al-Ettifaq  Stoycho Mladenov Sacked  Saber Eid (caretaker) October 2009 Al-Ettifaq  Saber Eid (caretaker) End of caretaker period  Marin Ion October 2009 Al-Ahli  Gustavo Alfaro Resigned  Alan Guido (caretaker) November 2009 Al-Qadisiyah  Ammar Souayah Resigned  Anas Al Zerqati (caretaker) November 2009 Al-Hazem  Mohsen Saleh Resigned  Emad Al Solami (caretaker) November 2009 Al-Hazem  Emad Al Solami (caretaker) End of caretaker period Lula December 2009 Al-Ahli  Alan Guido (caretaker) End of caretaker period Sergio Farias December 2009 Al-Qadisiyah  Anas Al Zerqati (caretaker) End of caretaker period  Dimitar Dimitrov December 2009 Najran  Samir Jouili Sacked  Mourad Okbi January 2010 Al-Ittihad  Gabriel Calderón Sacked  Hassan Khalifah (caretaker) January 2010 Al-Ittihad  Hassan Khalifah (caretaker) End of caretaker period  Enzo Trossero January 2010 Al Shabab Jaime Pacheco Sacked Edgar Parreira April 2010===Foreign players===The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries.Players name in '''bold''' indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window. Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player Former Players Al-Ahli  '''Marcinho'''  '''Victor Simões'''  '''Saïf Ghezal'''  Ahmed Kano  Sebastián Rusculleda Javier Toledo Josimar Mosquera Al-Ettifaq  '''Cristian Dănălache'''  '''Dorel Stoica'''  '''Jeremiah White'''  '''Badar Al-Maimani'''  Youness Mankari Khalifa Ayil José Luis Garcés Al-Fateh  Emmanuel Emmanuel  Ramzi Ben Younès  Naïm Berrabet   Al-Hazem  Salaheddine Aqqal  Hamad Ji  Mohamed Roubize  Bashar Bani Yaseen  Al Hilal  Thiago Neves  Mirel Rădoi  Christian Wilhelmsson  Lee Young-pyo  Al-Ittihad  '''Abdelmalek Ziaya'''  Hicham Aboucherouane  Amine Chermiti  Ahmed Hadid  Luciano Leguizamón Al Nassr  Víctor Figueroa  Hossam Ghaly  '''Pascal Feindouno'''  Lee Chun-soo  Éder Gaúcho Al-Qadisiyah  '''Nasigba John-Jumbo'''  Nelson Figueredo  Juan Cominges   Rubén Gigena Said Al-Shoon Al-Raed  '''Bruno Luiz'''  Felipe Campos  '''Sérgio Ricardo'''  Hatem Aqel  Mário Sérgio Sédonoudé Abouta Al Shabab  Flávio Amado  Marcelo Camacho  Tarik El Taib  '''Hussain Ali Baba'''  Adam Griffiths Al Wehda  '''Abdelkarim Benhania'''  Youssef Kaddioui  Abdessamad Rafik   Eli Felton Najran  '''Abdessamad Ouarrad'''  '''Yves Diba Ilunga'''  Moussa Soulaimane  Anas Bani Yaseen  Cédric Kisamba Ibrahim Kamara
League table
Results
Season statistics === Scoring ======= Top scorers ====RankScorerClubGoals1 Mohammad Al-ShalhoubAl Hilal122 Mohammad Al-SahlawiAl Nassr11 Thiago NevesAl Hilal4 Waleed Al-GizaniAl-Hazem105 Nasser Al-ShamraniAl Shabab9 Muhannad AssiriAl Wehda Yasser Al-QahtaniAl Hilal Ahmed Abo ObaidAl-Fateh Christian WilhelmssonAl Hilal Víctor FigueroaAl Nassr==== Hat-tricks ==== Player  For  Against  Result  Date  Ref  Flávio Amado  Al-Shabab  Najran  3–1 (A)     Naif Hazazi  Al-Ittihad  Al-Qadisiyah  7–1 (H)     Thiago Neves  Al-Hilal  Al-Ittihad  5–0 (H)     Hicham Aboucherouane  Al-Ittihad  Al-Hazem  5–2 (H)     Muhannad Assiri  Al-Wehda  Najran  5–0 (A)     Abdelkarim Benhenia4  Al-Wehda  Al-Fateh  6–0 (H)   ;Notes4 Player scored 4 goals(H) – Home team(A) – Away team==== Most assists ====RankScorerClubAssists1 Christian WilhelmssonAl Hilal102 Mohammed NoorAl-Ittihad7 Marcelo CamachoAl Shabab Thiago NevesAl Hilal Manaf AbushgeerAl-Ittihad6 Youssef KaddiouiAl Wehda67 Mohammad Al-ShalhoubAl Hilal5 Moussa SoulaimaneNajran=== Clean sheets ===RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Khalid RadhyAl Nassr82 Mohamed Al-DeayeaAl Hilal73 Mohammad KhoujaAl-Ettifaq5 Mohammed Al-KhojaliAl-Raed Waleed AbdullahAl Shabab Mohammad SharifiAl-Fateh7 Faisal Al-MerqebAl Wehda48 Mabrouk ZaidAl-Ittihad3 Jaber Al-AmeriNajran=== Discipline ======= Player ====* Most yellow cards: '''8'''** Ramzi Ben Younès (Al-Fateh)* Most red cards: '''2'''** Abdullah Al-Garni (Al-Nassr)** Zakaria Al-Hadaf (Al-Qadsiah)** Mansoor Al-Harbi (Al-Ahli)** Ahmed Menawer (Al-Hazem)==== Club ====* Most yellow cards: '''56'''** Al-Hazem* Most red cards: '''8'''** Al-Ittihad
Awards ===Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence===The '''Arriyadiyah and Mobily Awards for Sports Excellence''' were awarded at the conclusion of the season for the fourth time since its inception in 2007.The awards were sponsored by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication company Mobily. The awards were presented on 13 May 2010.Award Winner Club Player of the Season   Christian Wilhelmsson  Osama Hawsawi  Mohammad Al-Sahlawi Al-HilalAl-HilalAl-Nassr Young Player of the Season   Ibrahim Ghaleb  Nawaf Al-Abed  Khaled Al-Mutairi Al-NassrAl-HilalAl-Hazem Goldent Boot  Mohammad Al-Shalhoub Al-Hilal===Al-Riyadiya Awards===Another set of awards were awarded at the end of the season. It was announced that Al-Riyadiya were presenting their awards for the first time. The awards were known as '''Al-Riyadiya Awards''' and were presented on 8 May 2010. *'''Best Goalkeeper''':  Waleed Abdullah (Al-Shabab)*'''Best defender''':  Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal)*'''Best Midfielder''':  Christian Wilhelmsson (Al-Hilal)*'''Best attacker''':  Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr)*'''Player of the Year''':  Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal)
See also * 2010 King Cup of Champions* 2009–10 Crown Prince Cup (Final)* 2011 AFC Champions League
References
External links *  Saudi Arabia Football Federation*  Saudi League Statistics