Saudi Clasico: 5 Saudis to have crossed the great divide | OneFootball

Few matches in Saudi football get the juices flowing quite like the Saudi Clasico.

The clash between the two most successful clubs in the country - Al Hilal and Al Ittihad - from its two biggest cities, Riyadh and Jeddah, is one of the showpiece fixtures on the calendar every year.

Despite the competitive conflict between the two clubs, there is a select group of players that have been brave enough to play on either side of the divide.

Here are five of the most prominent to have worn both Al Hilal’s blue and Al Ittihad’s yellow and black.

Saud Abdulhamid (Al Ittihad 2018-22; Al Hilal 2022-24)

The current AS Roma full-back was plucked from relative obscurity by Slaven Bilic when he was just a teenager playing in the youth team at Al Ittihad, but he looked at home from the moment he stepped onto the pitch.

Abdulhamid quickly became an indispensable part of the Al Ittihad team across four years, establishing himself as one of the Kingdom’s most exciting and promising talents.

His performances prompted a move to the capital with Al Hilal in 2022, where the defender’s star only continued to shine.

Abdulhamid’s first experience of the Saudi Clasico came with Al Ittihad in February 2019, when he was on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline. In all, he feature in the encounter 10 times - an even five apiece for each club - scoring once for each side.

The first, for Al Ittihad, proved decisive in a 1-0 win in 2021. He was then on the scoresheet again last year, this time helping Al Hilal to a 3-1 victory.

Nasser Al Shamrani (Al Hilal 2013-17; Al Ittihad 2019)

The RSL’s all-time leading Saudi goalscorer, the firebrand striker is mostly associated with sides from the capital, with six years at Al Shabab and four at Al Hilal, in which he clinched five golden boots and an AFC Player of the Year award.

Less remembered, however, is a brief stint with Al Ittihad at the tail end of the 2018-19 season, with Al Shamrani featuring only twice before moving on at the campaign’s conclusion.

While he didn’t feature in a Saudi Clasico while at Al Ittihad, he had an impressive record in Al Hilal blue, scoring three goals in five appearances against their Jeddah rivals.

Saud Kariri (Al Ittihad 2003-13; Al Hilal 2013-16)

Saudi Arabia has produced its fair share of quality central midfielders over the past few decades, but few have been as impressive, or reliable, as Saud Kariri.

A traditional No.6, he controlled the midfield for not just his club sides, but the national team, too, earning a remarkable 133 caps across a stellar 15-year career for the Green Falcons. It places him eighth on Saudi Arabia’s all-time appearances list.

Having spent so long at both clubs, Kariri has seen all the flash points and final-day deciders this fixture has thrown up down the years. In fact, he was an integral member of the Al Ittihad side who pipped Al Hilal at the death to the league title in both the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons.

Saleh Al Shehri (Al Hilal 2019-24; Al Ittihad 2024-Present)

The most recent member of the Clasico-Clubs club, the striker joined Al Ittihad at the beginning of the current season after five successful years in the capital.

While often a back-up in Al Hilal’s attack, when called upon Al Shehri has proven himself to provide a reliable pathway to goal in both Riyadh and Jeddah.

When Karim Benzema was sidelined briefly in the early part of this season, the 31-year-old stepped into the void with three important goals to maintain the 2022-23 RSL champions’ title momentum.

Of course, Al Shehri’s first taste of the Saudi Clasico arrived at Al Hilal, when he came off the bench in a 1-1 draw back in 2020. Across six appearances in the fixture and barely 100 minutes of game time, he also managed to score twice.

If called upon this weekend, and now at Al Ittihad, the Saudi international will put old loyalties aside in a bid to add to that Clasico haul.

Abdullah Al Mayouf (Al Hilal 2016-23; Al Ittihad 2023-24)

The 38-year-old goalkeeper is a stalwart of Saudi football having first came through at Al Hilal in the early 2000s. However, after struggling initially to break into the senior side, he headed to Jeddah - only not to Al Ittihad, rather their rivals, Al Ahli.

Yet, returning to Al Hilal in 2016, Al Mayouf enjoyed an incredibly successful period as the clubs No.1, winning five RSL titles and two AFC Champions League crowns.

When Al Mayouf called time on his by-now-legendary Al Hilal career two years ago, it was back to Jeddah went, but this time to those in yellow and black.

Adding his name to those who have represented both storied clubs, the long-time Saudi international now at Al Shabab made 12 Clasico appearances overall: 11 for Al Hilal, and just the one for Al Ittihad.