From promotion to RSL trophy? How Al Qadsiah have mounted late title challenge | OneFootball

A lot can change in 12 months.

This time last year, Al Qadsiah might’ve been top of their division, but that was the Saudi First Division League rather than the Roshn Saudi League, as they battled to return to the top flight for the first time in four years.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, meanwhile, was enjoying a renaissance on the French Riviera with Olympique Marseille after a difficult few seasons at Barcelona and Chelsea. Eventually, he concluded the 2023-24 campaign with 30 goals across 51 games in all competitions.

Decorated Spanish defender Nacho was captaining Real Madrid to what would ultimately be his fourth La Liga title and sixth UEFA Champions League crown, while Julian Quinones was playing a starring role in Mexico’s biggest club, Club America, marching to a record 16th top-tier title.

Of course, they were all a long way from where they are now. Twelve months on, Al Qadsiah are challenging for silverware in the RSL on the back of a stellar run of form that reads 12 wins, one draw and only two losses from their past 15 league matches.

It’s a sequence that has taken the promoted club from eighth, where they sat after a 3-1 defeat to Al Ittihad in Matchweek 7 in October, all the way to third. With 11 rounds of the season remaining, they are within touching distance of the Jeddah giants at the top of the table.

It makes this weekend’s return fixture against Al Ittihad, the league leaders, all the more fascinating. A win would draw Al Qadsiah to four points from the summit - and a step closer to what would represent a remarkable success at the first time of asking back in the RSL.

So how has manager Michel managed to mastermind this resurgence that has them on the cusp of not only a return to continental competition, but unexpected silverware?

Well, let’s take a look.

Striking brilliance

If goals win matches, and defences championships, then that describes Al Qadsiah to a tee.

They are far from the most prolific side in the league; in fact, they have scored the fewest goals of any side in the top six. But they score enough. A return of 36 from 23 games is hardly a paltry return, coming in at about 1.5 goals per game.

And, in Aubameyang and Quinones, Al Qadsiah boast one of the best strike partnerships of any club in the RSL, with the pair combining for 25 goals this season. With 15 of those, Quinones has been a revelation and is so far outshining his more high-profile strike partner.

The forward arrived in Al Khobar to less fanfare, despite being the first Mexican to play in the RSL. However, his 19 goal contributions sets him third overall in that statistic for the 2024-25 campaign - and only one behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Shrewd signings

Quinones is typical of one of the major reasons for Al Qadsiah’s success this season: recruitment.

Their work in the market has been first class, whether that be at the starry end with Aubameyang and Nacho, or in less-heralded players such as Quinones and Cameron Puertas.

For example, the latter leads the way for the club this season in assists, with six. Overall, Puertas ranks third in the league for chances created (54).

Looking back to last summer, Al Qadsiah built upon winning promotion by undergoing a vast recruitment drive to overhaul their squad ahead of the new season.

Led by technical director Carlos Anton, in the majority they targeted  a specific type of player with a certain age profile; most notably, players in their 20s in the prime of their careers. Quality was prioritised over profile.

So, in came Quinones, Nahitan Nandez from Cagliari, Ezequiel Fernandez from Boca Juniors and Gaston Alvarez from Getafe. They are players from Spanish-speaking backgrounds that could immediately connect with Michel and his Spanish coaches. And, crucially, also with one other on the pitch.

When added to their other signings, it represented almost an entirely new team compared to the one that had earned Al Qadsiah their top-flight status.

Rock-solid rearguard

While their attack is effective, the defence is top class. Led by none other than Nacho, who played more than 360 matches for Real Madrid, and marshalled by Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels, Al Qadsiah possess the measliest backline in the league. They have conceded only 19 goals all season.

Casteels, who arrived from VfL Wolfsburg after leading Belgium at last summer’s 2024 UEFA European Championships, is on track to break the RSL’s single-season record for most clean sheets.

With 11 games to play, the Belgian has 13 and is on track to perhaps even crack 20 for the campaign. The current high mark is held by former Al Ittihad goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, who recorded 19 clean sheets in the 2022-23 season.

As a unit, Al Qadsiah feel at times close to impenetrable in Michel’s preferred 3-4-1-2 formation. Nacho takes up the central position, flanked either side by reverted Saudi midfielder Jehad Thikri and Alvarez.

The trio perform an excellent job of winning back the ball before the opposition can get a shot on goal, with Al Qadsiah conceding the second-fewest shots in the league and the three players amassing more than 200 clearances between them.

When rivals do get through, they face a brick wall in Casteels, who holds the second-best save percentage in the division of goalkeepers to have played more than eight matches, at 76.5%. He has made 14 Big Saves out of a total of 63 shots to rank joint-sixth in the league.

Super-talented Saudis

For all the star foreign recruits at the club, Al Qadsiah have some serious local talent in their ranks, too.

That contingent is headlined by midfielder Turki Al Ammar, who has excelled this season alongside those star-name additions. The former Al Shabab man, once voted the RSL’s Young Player of the Year, has three goals and five assists thus far this campaign.

Al Ammar’s 21 appearances from a possible 23 is matched by midfielder Mohammed Abu Al Shamat, who has chipped in with five assists already this term.

The aforementioned Thikri, meanwhile, has started 20 league games while fellow defender Mohammed Qasem has been a dependably substitute, making 18 of his 19 appearances from the bench.

Up front, 21-year-old Abdulaziz Al Othman has been excellent when called upon also. The Saudi forward has four goals from 17 RSL outings – 12 as substitute – including the winner in matches against Al Khaleej, in Matchweek 25, and Al Riyadh on Sunday.

To emphasis the significance of Al Othman’s contribution, both match-deciding goals came in injury-time.