LONDON: Alberto Botia has admitted he knew very little about the Saudi Pro League or Al-Hilal before he joined the Riyadh giants this summer.
The Spanish defender was new boss Jorge Jesus’ first signing and has penned a two-year deal with Al-Hilal with the option of a further year.
And now settled with the rest of the squad at the side’s Austrian training camp Botia is looking forward to a successful season and hoping for domestic and continental success.
“All is going well. I have been here for three weeks and it keeps getting better,” the 29-year-old said.
“I got to know the team and my teammates better and this has helped me feel more comfortable here. I am very happy for that and I hope it is going to be a good year for the team level as well as for the players individually.
“In fact I was not very familiar with the Saudi league until I knew that Al-Hilal team were interested in me joining their team. So I started searching for information about the team and I found very good news about them, this is why I am here with you today. I am playing for Al-Hilal now, and I hope we will have a good season together.”
Botia, who signed on a free from Greek giants Olympiacos, revealed that the fact Jesus was the coach was crucial in him signing for the Riyadh club — something Al-Hilal were hoping for when they persuaded the Portuguese boss to join the club.
“The head coach is one of the best coaches in Europe and it is exciting to be working with him, I am happy for that,” Botia said.
“When I arrived to the airport in Riyadh, I saw a lot of fans cheering for me and for the team and this got very happy. It motivates me to work hard and give all that I have, to make them happy at the end of the season. Ever since the first day, the coach was motivating us; he encouraged us to give our best. We have to work a lot this year and this will make us better on the individual and collective levels.”
Botia arrives at Al-Hilal with an impressive pedigree. He was schooled at Barcelona, playing for the club’s B team nearly 60 times and making one appearance for the first team in 2009. He went on to play for Sporting Gijon, Sevilla and Elche before moving to Olympiakos in 2014 for €2 million ($2.3 million). There he won the league title three seasons on the trot and the double in 2015. He was captain of Olympiakos and plays at the heart of the defense so he could be the successor to Osama Hawsawi at Al-Hilal.
Al-Hilal signing Alberto Botia excited at prospect of Saudi league, working with Jorge Jesus
Al-Hilal signing Alberto Botia excited at prospect of Saudi league, working with Jorge Jesus
Own goal enough for Al-Ahli as Matchday 24 win keeps pressure on Al-Nassr
- Al-Ahli eke out 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh to keep pressure on Al-Nassr
- Milan Borjan own goal separated the sides at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
RIYADH: Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League kicked off on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the delayed Matchday 10. With the FIFA Arab Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and FIFA World Cup sandwiching the 2025/26 campaign, resting periods have been few and far between outside the international breaks.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Al-Ahli opted to rest Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot for their clash with Al-Riyadh in the capital. Ramadan has further challenged the league schedule, with Matthias Jaissle’s side only arriving in Riyadh at 5:30pm — just hours before kick-off.
With their previous outing against Damac still dominating conversation, Jaissle was keen to ensure his players did not fall into the same trap — namely, being caught off guard by an opponent’s unexpectedly proactive style.
To his relief, Al-Ahli were largely in control this time. Yet the absence of Mahrez limited their creative spark. Relying heavily on Wenderson Galeno down the left, Al-Riyadh did well to crowd the Brazilian and deny him space to operate.
The bane of any expansive side is a compact 5-4-1, and that is precisely how Al-Riyadh’s recently appointed Brazilian manager Mauricio Dulac set his team up. A long-time assistant to former Al-Riyadh coach Odair Hellmann, this marks Dulac’s first managerial role.
Al-Ahli’s attacking routes were severely restricted throughout the first half. Al-Riyadh denied them the opportunity to press high, Mahrez’s trademark diagonals were absent, and finding Ivan Toney in the six-yard box proved a difficult task.
On the rare occasions the visitors broke the defensive line, Milan Borjan stood firm in goal — there was no getting past the Canadian.
That was until first-half stoppage time. Al-Ahli had one more weapon in their arsenal: set-pieces. A lofted delivery from Galeno’s free-kick met the head of Roger Ibañez, who nodded the ball towards goal. Borjan pushed it away, but it was too late — the ball crossed the line.
VAR intervened within seconds. Ibañez was a shoulder offside, and the opener was chalked off. It was a notable twist, particulary as the simultaneous fixture between Al-Fateh and Damac in Al-Ahsa featured a celebration aimed squarely at Al-Ahli and VAR.
Earlier in the week, Damac equalised late against Al-Ahli via Yakou Méïté, only for the goal to be overturned. Méïté reacted angrily and lashed out at referees, but Al-Ahli escaped with the three points. Méïté followed up with a goal against Al-Fateh, and celebrated by mimicking the referee’s VAR signal.
Back in Riyadh, Al-Ahli returned for the second half with renewed intensity. Zakaria Hawsawi grew more adventurous from left-back, threading lofted balls over the Al-Riyadh defence.
In the 53rd minute, he found Toney behind the last defender, but the Englishman’s volley was adeptly saved by Borjan. Five minutes later, Galeno latched onto Hawsawi’s cross and thought he had broken the deadlock — only for the linesman’s flag to rise once again.
Al-Ahli pushed, but as time ticked away, it seemed the coveted winner would elude them. However, once again, set pieces proved decisive.
In the 75th minute, a corner from Saleh Abu Al-Shamat was parried by Borjan, only for his effort to be bundled into his own net, sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy.
After last week’s scare, Al-Ahli knew they had to finish the job. Cue Ibañez, who surged forward from deep before slipping the ball through to Toney to seal the game with what would have been his 24th goal of the season. The run itself deserved a goal, but Toney was flagged inches offside.
Despite another difficult outing, Al-Ahli did enough to secure a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 victory to move top on 59 points — one ahead of Al-Nassr, who are yet to play this weekend.
Elsewhere, Méïté’s equaliser was later cancelled out by a 77th-minute Mourad Batna penalty, in a match that saw fans commemorate him for surpassing 100 goal contributions with Al-Fateh.
Batna had earlier missed from the spot to the frustation of the home fans, but Al-Fateh’s undefeated streak against Damac at home remains intact as the encounter ended 1-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hazem hosting Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad welcoming Al-Khaleej, and one of Riyadh’s top derbies in Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal. All games kick-off at 10:00pm, in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
