The devastating attacking threat and undoubted competence of their manager means Al Ahli have nothing to fear on the pitch in Tuesday’s historic AFC Champions League semi-final opener at Al Hilal.
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The challenge for the Red Knights is a psychological one, Riyadh’s imposing 68,752-capacity King Fahd International Stadium recently being a house of horrors for UAE sides.
At the same stage in the 2014 edition, a second-half blitz saw Al Ain’s dreams of making a first final in nine years left in ruins as their hosts raced to a 3-0 win.
Such pain is not exclusive to the Boss, Ahli’s sizeable national-team contingent suffering the pain of fighting back last November from two goals down to lose 3-2 at the death as hosts Saudi Arabia ended their Gulf Cup-defence in the semis.
Led by lethal new striker Lima, this is the unsettling environment they must master to bring something of value back for October 20’s return.
Boss Cosmin Olaroiu needs to utilise the experience gained during two trophy-laden years in the Al Za’eem hot seat to prepare his troops for what lies ahead.
Football in the Kingdom is defined by passion from the fans. They pile into the stadia in numbers seen nowhere else in the region.
The raffling of luxury cars is not required to fill grounds, unlike the scheme introduced this term by their Dubai-based rivals. Hilal home matches are an attack on the senses. Bile streams from terraces packed by ferocious partisans, the effect added to by the trademark choreography in the stand-wide banners regularly used.
This was apparent in May’s round-of-16 decider against Persepolis. Video game character SubZero of Mortal Kombat was shown as the teams lined up, before switching to a variation of the catchphrase he used prior to producing a brutal fatality – “Finish ’em”.
The King Fahd experience proved too much for the shellshocked Iranians, a 1-0 advantage degenerating into a 3-1 aggregate loss.
The challenge is not just in the mind. Giorgos Donis’ table toppers are the only side in the Saudi Professional League to open their campaign with three-successive victories, new Brazilian signings Ailton Almeida and Carlos Eduardo making impressive introductions.
Ahli’s exploits more than match this. Lima has seven goals in his first six games since he joined from Benfica, they thrashed Fujairah 8-1 in their top-flight opener and winger Ismail Al Hammadi and defensive midfielder Majed Hassan are two of Asia’s on-song footballers.
A taxing test of belief and maturity lies in store for a club who are making their first foray into the ACL’s knockout stages. If they pass it, anything is possible in the season ahead.
