Club World Cup team guide – Al Hilal: New coach Inzaghi, stars such as Cancelo, and 19 league titles

New York Times

3 hours ago

Someone call Shirley Bassey, we have some big spenders in the building.
Yes, even within the flush context of football in Saudi Arabia, Al Hilal are high rollers, responsible for four of the seven highest transfer fees ever paid by clubs from their country. Neymar alone cost an eye-watering €90million (£78m; $102.5m) in 2023.
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Their willingness to splash the cash is such that writing this team guide slightly ahead of time feels like a risky exercise. Al Hilal have already put in a colossal offer for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes this month — which he turned down.
Take the following, then, with a pinch of salt, because the squad could have a slightly different look to it when the Club World Cup begins. That Public Investment Fund won't spend itself…
Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer…
Al Hilal are the most successful club in the history of Saudi football, with 19 league titles to their name. They have also been a major force at continental level, winning the AFC Champions League on four occasions — more than any other team in Asia.
The 2024-25 season was a slight let-down, however. Al Hilal finished second to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League and were knocked out of the AFC Champions League by Al Ahli at the semi-final stage. To most Saudi clubs, that would still look like a decent season, but standards at Al Hilal are higher than they are elsewhere.
As winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
It is worth noting, too, that Al Hilal have some history with the Club World Cup in its old format: they participated in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and even reached the final in that final year thanks to a semi-final win over Brazilian giants Flamengo.
Al Hilal are under new big-name management: Simone Inzaghi, twice a UEFA Champions League finalist with Inter, including last month, was appointed at the start of June. That makes it hard to be too certain about how the team will line-up, not least because the squad does not look ideally suited to the Italian's favoured 3-5-2 system.
The smart move would probably be to build on the work of his predecessor, Jorge Jesus, whose attacking brand of football brought the best from wingers Malcom and Salem Al-Dawsari in particular.
Al Hilal probable line-up (4-3-3): Bounou; Cancelo, Al-Bulaihi, Koulibaly, Lodi; Kanno, Neves, Milinkovic-Savic; Malcom, Marcos Leonardo, Al-Dawsari
To the short-sighted, Inter's capitulation at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in Munich probably looked like a damning indictment of Inzaghi's ability as a manager. Really, though, it highlighted just how well he had done to get an ageing squad so far in the competition.
Inzaghi may not quite be on the level of the superstar coaches, but he is a canny tactician and, at 49, still has a lot of runway ahead of him. His arrival is undoubtedly a major coup for Al Hilal and Saudi football.
To call Al-Dawsari a fan favourite would be to undersell things. Al Hilal's captain is the embodiment of the club, a link between the past and the future. He has now been there for 14 seasons, with only a very brief — and forgettable — loan spell at Villarreal in the middle. His experience sets the tone both on and off the field.
Crucially, he has also improved with age. Al-Dawsari will be 34 in August, but the 2024-25 season was arguably his best yet: he scored 15 goals and set up 15 more in the Saudi Pro League, a remarkable return. If Al Hilal do spring a surprise in the U.S., expect the winger to play a key role.
A couple of years ago, Marcos Leonardo was seen as one of the rising stars of Brazilian football. A product of the Santos youth system, he racked up 50 senior goals before his 21st birthday, starred for his country at the Under-20 World Cup, and earned a transfer to Benfica.
It didn't really work out for him in Portugal, but he has looked a lot more like his old self since joining Al Hilal last summer. He managed 25 goals in all competitions in 2024-25 — a decent tally whichever way you cut it, but especially impressive because he was sharing game time with former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Al Hilal are known for roping pop stars in to create new songs about the team and its fans. Syrian singer Assala released one in 2020, which included lyrics such as 'Your place is the summit' and 'Your attention is on the sky above'.
Another, sung by Saudi artist Ayed, was a little more down-to-earth in its content. 'Play Al Hilal, your fans are behind you,' it went. 'The stadium shook for you tonight. Al Hilal, you won the league with heroism and action. Your love has been passed down from generation to generation, and every day that love grows stronger.'
The Riyadh derby against Al Nassr tends to be the match upon which fans place most importance. Al Hilal's 5-1 win over their neighbours in 2017 is still seen as one of the club's most memorable results, although there have been a few more big wins in the years since.
There is also a slightly more collegiate rivalry with Al Ittihad, who have provided the stiffest challenge to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League in recent decades.
Al Hilal have had no fewer than 19 Brazilian coaches over the years, many of whom went back for multiple spells. The roll call includes some big names, too, such as Mario Zagallo and Toninho Cerezo. Incredibly, there was a run of nine Brazilians in a row between November 1988 and June 1996.
It would be nice to see Inzaghi stick it to his critics. Premier League fans can enjoy the sight of Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo. And — let's cut to the chase here — there's every chance they sign an ageing European superstar for €140million about two hours after I type this final sentence.
(All kick-offs ET/BST)
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)