Saudi Super Cup: post-Ronaldo slump hits second semi-final, fans mix business with pleasure
What a difference a day makes.
Walking towards the stadium two hours before Wednesday's 8pm kick-off, you could easily be forgiven for not knowing there was a match going to take place. Al-Qadsiah were playing Al-Ahli Saudi in the second semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup, by the way.
Long gone was the sea of Ronaldo shirts and the carnival atmosphere, while the crowd-control barriers looked more like a hangover from the day before, when 10-man Al-Nassr beat Al-Ittihad 2-1.
This time little more than 100 fans, mostly from Saudi Arabia, had begun to congregate from around 6.30pm.
A smattering of fans watch the Al-Qadsiah v Al-Ahli match at Hong Kong Stadium. Photo: Elson Li
'I'm proud to see the Saudi football teams here in Hong Kong,' said Al-Qadsiah fan Waleed Alsheikh, 38, who travelled from Khobar for the match and planned to stay for Saturday's final.
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