Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
How they qualified: Winners - Saudi League and Crown Prince Cup 2011
Established 1957
Nickname Al Zaeem (The Boss)
Home stadium Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium (22,000)
Website www.alhilal.com
Club Honours
Saudi league champions 13 - 1977, 79, 85, 86, 88, 90, 96, 98, 2002, 05, 08, 10, 11
Crown Prince Cup winners 10 - 1964, 95, 2000, 03, 05, 06, 08, 09, 10, 11
Previous ACL appearances
2003 - Group stage
2004 - Group stage
2006 - Group stage
2007 - Quarter-finals
2009 - Round of 16
2010 - Semi-finals
2011 - Group stage
A dominant force in Saudi football in recent seasons with three league titles and five consecutive Crown Prince Cup victories, Al Hilal have seen their preeminent position challenged this year with the rise of Al Shabab and Al Ahli as legitimate challengers for their league crown.
But while they remain strongly in the hunt for a fourth league title in five years, the challenge of solving the enigma that is the AFC Champions League is likely to occupy the thoughts of the team as they make their eighth appearance in the competition.
While they are regarded as one of Asia's most successful clubs with a haul of six continental titles and a host of domestic honours, Al Hilal have so far flopped in the AFC Champions League, a competition in which they have yet to land the title or to even reach the final.
Al Hilal's early exits from the competition have been remarkably varied. They failed to get past the group stage in 2003, 2004 and 2006, went out on away goals to Al Wahda in the 2007 quarter-finals, lost on penalties to Umm Salal in the round of 16 in 2009, were stifled in both legs in a 2-0 aggregate loss to Zobahan in 2010 and were hammered 3-1 by Saudi rivals Al Ittihad last year.
They will hope to improve on that sorry record in 2012 and finally add the one major title that has been missing from their bulging trophy cabinet in recent years.
Expectations
With a squad that includes the cream of Saudi football talent and fine imported players including Korean forward Yoo Byung-soo and the Morrocan pair of Youssef El Arabi and Adil Hermach, Al Hilal have the quality to win the AFC Champions League. But in addition to overcoming their opponents, the team also have to overcome the huge psychological hurdle that has developed for them in the AFC Champions League after their frustrations in the competition over the past decade.
Coach
Ivan Hasek
Following the dismissal of Thomas Doll in January, Al Hilal appointed former Czech international midfielder Ivan Hasek as their new head coach. The well-travelled 48-year-old had coaching spells in France, Japan and United Arab Emirates before he became the Czech Football Association president and Czech Republic national team coach in 2009. He resigned from those positions last year and was briefly in charge of Al Ahli in Dubai before his appointment by Al Hilal.
Did you know?
Al Hilal were unbeaten in regulation time in 20 consecutive matches in the AFC Champions League from 2006 to 2010. However, they never won the title as they were eliminated on away goals by Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates in the 2007 quarter-finals and went out on penalties to Qatar's Umm Salal in 2009.
Key Player
Mohamad Al Shalhoub
An influential figure at Al Hilal since joining the club 11 years ago, Mohamed Al Shalhoub provides the club with a spark of creativity in midfield. But while the 31-year-old usually bosses the game from the middle of the park, he is also a good finisher as he showed by emerging as the top scorer in the Saudi league in the 2009-10 season with 12 goals.