It is a question being asked all around Asia as the AFC Champions League gets into gear: Who can stop Al-Hilal? Who can stop the title holders, who picked up a record fourth continental crown last November, from making it five this time around?
While there is still plenty of time for a challenger to step forward, there is no doubt that the Saudi Arabian powerhouse are the ones to beat.
If evidence was needed of the Riyadh club’s ascendancy, then there is the fact that after three games of the western zone, the team is the only one with the maximum haul of nine points. Al-Hilal have already defeated Sharjah of the UAE, Qatar’s Al-Rayyan, and Istiklol of Tajikistan and are five points clear at the top of Group A and strolling through the first round.
While the foreign stars at the club generally grab the headlines, it is striking that Al-Hilal’s six goals in Group A so far have come from six different players with only one, a winner in the opening game from Brazil’s Michael, coming from an import.
Saleh Al-Shehri started the new campaign off with Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Mohamed Kanno, Nasser Al-Dawsari, and Salman Al-Faraj getting in on the act since.
The defense has been solid with just one goal conceded in 270 minutes of football. There is a real strength in depth at the club and they are not reliant on one player. Odion Ighalo has yet to score in the Champions League and the same is true of Moussa Marega and Matheus Pereira, two of the best talents in the competition. Even with injuries in the first game to Al-Shehri and Jang Hyun-soo in defense, and then Marega coming down with a bout of flu, the team have barely missed a beat.
Now they are approaching the realms of history-making. The most recent win over Istiklol, more comprehensive than the 1-0 scoreline suggested, was an 11th in succession. The run stretches back to the first game under coach Ramon Diaz who arrived in February. It is fair to say that the reaction to the Argentine’s return at the time was underwhelming, but results have been perfect. Not only is it the best streak of any new coach in the history of Saudi Arabian football, but it is also closing on club records.
