Big signing Zouma can bring both quality and experience to Al Orobah | OneFootball

Al Orobah’s history in the Roshn Saudi League is a short one, with this their third season in the top flight of Saudi Arabian football.

Promoted more than a decade ago for the first time in their history after winning the 2012-13 Saudi First Division League, they finished an admiral eighth on debut, albeit in a campaign in which eighth and 13th were separated by only three points.

Second-year blues struck, however, in the 2014-15 season: Al Orobah finished bottom and thus were relegated back to the second tier. It’s where they stayed for the 10 years since until last season winning promotion back to the RSL for this term.

The landscape of Saudi football has changed significantly in that decade; the league has expanded from 14 teams to 18 and clubs are now graced by some of world football’s biggest names, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar.

Looking to make a splash of their own upon their return to the top tier, Al Orobah put their name on the map in August when they secured the signing - on loan - of French international Kurt Zouma.

Still only 30, the former Chelsea, Everton and West Ham defender swapped the bustling urban metropolis that is London for the more sedate surrounds of Sakakah in the north of Saudi Arabia. Undeniably, it represented a statement signing for Al Orobah.

While injuries have blighted his recent history, with persistent knee and hamstring injuries hampering his three seasons at West Ham, at his best Zouma was regarded an elite defender capable of playing at the elite level. To get his signature makes him by far the most credentialed player to wear green and yellow.

Despite his signing it was always going to be a battle for Alvaro Pacheco’s side in their first season back in the RSL for some time given the strength of the competition around them. And so, it is proving, with only three wins from their first nine and a worrying 19 goals conceded.

The importance of Zouma, who has featured in only four of the nine matches, can already be seen in the fact that they’ve had two wins and a draw in that quartet of fixtures, including two clean sheets, conceded only six goals.

In the five matches Zouma hasn’t featured this season, Al Orobah have lost four and conceded 13, including the past three he missed with injury. That said, in the most recent of those, a 4-0 defeat to Al Okhdood, Zouma was an unused substitute as he makes his way back to full fitness.

His return from injury, then, couldn’t be timelier ahead of the visit this week of the high-flying Al Ittihad, fresh off last Thursday’s 1-0 victory in the Sea Derby against Jeddah rivals, Al Ahli. The 2022-23 RSL champions sit second in the current standings, one point behind title-holders Al Hilal.

It’s a match that will see Zouma reacquainted with some of his former international teammates in Moussa Diaby and N’Golo Kante, with whom he shared a locker room with on many occasions while playing for Les Bleus. Another injury will prevent Zouma, however, from coming up against a third former international teammate, with Al Ittihad captain Karim Benzema still sidelined with injury.

Kante and Zouma were club teammates for a number of seasons at Chelsea also, winning the English Premier League together in 2016-17 and going even better in the 2020-21 season, helping the West London outfit lift the UEFA Champions League. That provides the pair a special bond that will last a lifetime, but this Thursday in the RSL, there will be no room for sentiment when the whistle blows at Al Jouf University Stadium.

Stopping Al Ittihad’s high-powered attack is no easy feat – Laurent Blanc’s men sit second for goals scored in the 2024-25 RSL (22) - and given the form of both teams, it could look like mission impossible for Al Orobah.

But the return of the decorated and vastly experienced Zouma gives the Sakakah club a timely boost of confidence, not to mention the quality and leadership he provides on the field.

Thursday marks the 62nd game Al Orobah will play in the Saudi top flight, with only 12 wins to show for it. However, if they can snatch an unlikely victory this weekend, with Zouma sure to be crucial to that if it transpires, there will have been none bigger.