“Saudi Super” between “old friendship” and “fierce competition”!

Amr Obaid (Cairo)

In light of the great historical competition between them, the Saudi Super Cup witnesses a strong, exciting struggle between the four teams, but the “four-way” confrontation also carries within it important “side duels,” bringing together former colleagues and friends, who have become fierce competitors today, and the confrontation seems “exciting.” Between the two Senegalese stars, Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly, during the big match in the “Riyadh Derby”, which is being held for the first time officially in Abu Dhabi, and the Al Hilal defender will have to deal strongly with the offensive capabilities of his compatriot, the Al Nassr striker, without considering that they are the leaders of the “Tiranga Lions”, who witnessed… Together, the best historical moments in the recent career of the Senegalese national team, whether during the crowning of the African Cup of Nations title for the first time in 2021, after runner-up in the “2019 edition”, as well as their prominent contribution to the “African Lions” reaching the previous World Cup finals in “Qatar 2022”.
That match also witnesses a Portuguese confrontation, between Ruben Neves, one of the most prominent players of “Al-Zaeem” that season, the one with 12 goalscoring contributions in the league and the best assisters, and his “leader” in the ranks of the “Sailors”, the “legendary” Ronaldo, and with him his colleague and compatriot Otavio, the “global” stars. », The trio was present with the Portuguese national team in the last World Cup as well, in addition to the fact that Neves was present during the “Seleção” crowning the 2018-2019 European Nations League title, under the leadership of “The Don”, despite the presence of a good number of Brazilian players in the ranks. Both teams, but each of them is missing the services of a big star due to injury, so the match loses a special duel between Neymar with Al Hilal and Talisca with Al Nasr.
In the second semi-final match, the Moroccan striker, Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah, Al-Ittihad’s top scorer, challenges his compatriot Mounir Mohammadi, Al-Wahda’s goalkeeper. Mounir will not be alone against his compatriot, the top scorer Hamdallah, but Moroccan defender Jawad Al-Yamiq joins next to him, defending the “Knights of Mecca” goal, as well as Their “veteran” compatriot, Faisal Fajr.
Aside from the two semi-final matches, the final match also witnesses “exciting duels”, according to the two teams that qualified for the final stage for the coronation, perhaps the most prominent of which is the confrontation between Ronaldo and Benzema if Al-Nasr and Al-Ittihad qualify for the final, which is the “brilliant duo” who previously excelled with Real Madrid and won Many titles in Spain and Europe, and many words were scattered between the lines about their relationship within the “Royal Castle”, between Benzema remaining in the shadows throughout the period of Cristiano’s presence, and the glow of the French star and his leadership of the “Merengue” ably after the departure of “The Don”.
Also, the qualification of Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad to the final opens the way for a “rare” confrontation between Frenchman N’Golo Kante and Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly, who were together for only one season, 2022-2023, in the ranks of English Chelsea, which applies to an unusual confrontation between Italian Luiz. Felipe, Al-Ittihad defender, and Serbian Savic, Al-Hilal’s star, played together for 5 seasons in Lazio, during which they contributed to crowning “Al-Samawi” with 3 titles, 2 in the Italian Super Cup and 1 in the Cup. However, if Al-Hilal and Al-Wahda are present in the final, the Moroccan appearance will be present. Strongly, especially the goalkeeper duel between Yassine Bounou and Mounir Mohammadi, who team up on the current roster of the “Atlas Lions.”