Al-Shabab

Full name	Al-Shabab Football Club
Nickname(s)	Al Leith (White Lion)
Founded	1947 (1947)
Ground	Al-Shabab Club Stadium, Riyadh
Capacity	15,000[1]
Chairman	Kholaif Al-Hweshan
Manager	Saad Al-Subaie (Caretaker)
League	Pro League
2022–23	Pro League, 4th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Al Shabab active departments
Football (men's)	Football (women's)

Al-Shabab Football Club (Arabic: نادي الشباب; lit. 'The Youth Football Club') is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Riyadh that competes in the Saudi Professional League. Founded in 1947 as Shabab Al Riyadh (شباب الرياض; lit. 'Riyadhi Youth'), it was renamed Al Shabab in 1967.

History

Al Shabab was the first football club in Riyadh. The club began before 1947, with many conflicts before with its numerous members, but it was settled in 1947 and Abdulrahman Bin Saeed was the president. Five years later, Al Shabab won its first tournament beating Sakit Al Hadeed (Railway Club) in Riyadh. In 1955 Al Shabab beat the Military College to win the King Saud Cup. Two years passed, and a new conflict arose in 1957. The player, Saleh Jaber, was assigned captain, but then was fired, and the new captain was Ahmed Lmfoon. This did not please some members of the club. Soon the conflict was impossible to solve, and Abdulrahman Bin Saeed and some members, left Al Shabab and took the best players that played for the club back then in an injustice way leaving Al Shabab to a chaos, The club stopped for half a year due to financial weakness, a new football club was born from the conflicts and separation with Abdulrahman Bin Saeed as the president which is the club known today as Al-Hilal. Then in the beginning of 1959 another problem began, Abdullah Bin Ahmed, the president then, was all alone taking care of the club. He could not take the pressure of handling the club alone, and decided to take a vacation abroad. Before traveling, he disbanded the first team, and most of the players signed for other clubs mainly Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal. What was left was the youth team, and the player Abdulrahman Bin Ahmed decided to take care of the youth, and from that they got there name Shabab Al Riyadh which means Riyadh's youth. Soon Abdullah Bin Ahmed returned, and many members returned and supported the club. Then Abdullah Bin Ahmed announced the return of forming the first team, and some players returned, but some stayed at Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal. Also in 1959 was the formation of the Saudi Football Federation, and all football clubs were announced official. In 1960 in the first official tournament called King Saud Cup for the Central Province, Al Shabab faced Al Hilal in their first official games between the two, and won 3–0 to win their first cup.

In the 1960s, everyone wanted to play and be part of the club, and after the request of Al Najmah FC and Al Marekh in 1967, they were united as one club and changed their name from Shabab Riyadh, to simply Al Shabab. The colors of the team were at first white and green, then they were changed after the unification to orange and blue, but in 1977 it was changed to white, gray, and black, the current colors. In 1975 Al Shabab was relegated to 1st Division, but the following season it was able to gain 1st place and came back to the Premier League in 1976. In 1993, Al Shabab became the first club in Saudi Arabia to win 3 premier leagues in a row. In 2007, Al Shabab became the first club in Saudi Arabia to build projects to increase the club's revenue, and began a 200 million dollar project which contains a 5 star hotel, and a shopping mall. During a visit to the club in January 2008, Al Shabab's main supporter, Khalid bin Sultan, announced the launch of two new projects, Al Laith TV Channel, and Al Shabab Museum.

Achievements

• Saudi Premier League:
  • Champion (6): 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12
    • Runner-up (6): 1981–82, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2020–21
• Saudi King's Cup :
  • Champion (3): 2008, 2009, 2014
    • Runner-up: 2013
• Crown Prince Cup:
  • Champion (3): 1993, 1996, 1999
    • Runner-up (4): 1992, 1994, 2000, 2009
• Saudi Super Cup:
  • Champion: 2014
• Asian Cup Winners Cup:
  • Champion: 2001
• Arab Champions League:
  • Champion (2): 1992, 1999
• Arab Super Cup:
  • Champion (2): 1996, 2001
• Gulf Club Champions Cup:
  • Champion (2): 1993, 1994
• Saudi First Division (Division 2):
  • Champion: 1978–79
• Saudi Federation cup:
  • Champion (4): 1988, 1989, 2009, 2010

Records

• First Saudi club to win three Saudi Premier League in a row (1991, 1992, and 1993).^[2]
• First Saudi club to win the professional and new Saudi Premier League, in 1991.
• Largest margin win was against Al Shoalah during a friendly tournament in 2007, 8–0. Largest margin win in an official game was against Al-Ta'ee in the Saudi Premier League in 2003, 7–0. Largest margin win against a high-ranked club was 6–1 against Al Nassr in the Saudi Premier League 2004.

Current squad

As of 6 October 2023^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  KSA Hamad Al-Yami (on loan from Al-Hilal) 3 DF  KSA Khalid Asiri 4 DF  BRA Iago Santos 6 MF  COL Gustavo Cuéllar 8 MF  KSA Fahad Al-Muwallad 10 MF  ARG Éver Banega 11 MF  KSA Hattan Bahebri 12 MF  KSA Majed Kanabah 13 FW  BRA Carlos Júnior 14 DF  MAR Romain Saïss (on loan from Al Sadd) 15 MF  KSA Hussain Al-Qahtani 16 DF  KSA Hussain Al-Sibyani 18 GK  KOR Kim Seung-gyu 19 DF  KSA Mohammed Eisa 20 FW  SEN Habib Diallo

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  KSA Nawaf Al-Sadi 22 GK  KSA Fawaz Al-Qarni 23 MF  BEL Yannick Carrasco 24 DF  KSA Moteb Al-Harbi 27 DF  KSA Fawaz Al-Sqoor 28 FW  KSA Nasser Al-Bishi 29 MF  KSA Abdullah Al-Jouei 37 MF  KSA Abdullah Matuq 38 DF  KSA Mohammed Harbush 49 FW  KSA Abdullah Radif (on loan from Al-Hilal) 50 GK  KSA Mohammed Al-Absi 60 GK  KSA Hamed Al-Shanqiti 88 DF  KSA Nader Al-Sharari 89 MF  KSA Riyadh Sharahili

Unregistered players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 42 DF  KSA Abdulmajeed Al-Enezi

No. Pos. Nation Player 43 MF  KSA Muaiad Al-Showaifey

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 DF  KSA Saeed Al-Rubaie (on loan to Al-Okhdood) 32 FW  KSA Saad Al-Muwallad (on loan to Al-Faisaly) 34 FW  KSA Fares Al-Garzae (on loan to Al-Najma) 41 FW  KSA Dhidan Al-Mutairi (on loan to Al-Batin)

No. Pos. Nation Player 85 MF  KSA Hamad Al-Ghamdi (on loan to Al-Entesar) — DF  KSA Sultan Al-Enezi (on loan to Al-Zulfi) — DF  KSA Abdullah Al-Rubaie (on loan to Al-Jabalain) — MF  ARG Cristian Guanca (on loan to Al Wahda Dubai)

Management

Current technical staff

Position	Name
Caretaker Manager	Saad Al-Subaie
Assistant manager	Damiën Hertog
First-Team coach	Nawaf Al-Abaid
Fitness coach	Saqr Al-Maqbool
Goalkeeping coach	Abdulelah Al-Mubayed
Club doctor	Hassan Al-Mubadallah
Club doctor	Misael Rivas
Physiotherapist	Salman Al-Khamis
Team manager	Allisa Fahad Issa
Youth coach	Juan Brown
U 23 team coach	Turki Al-Gabr
U 20 team coach	Waleed Al-Muslim
U 17 team coach	Omar Islam
Sporting director	Domenico Teti

Recent seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Al Shabab in various competitions since 2000.

Managers

Asian competitions

Record by country

Country	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win%
Bahrain	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
China	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	100.00
India	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9	100.00
Indonesia	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
Iran	19	7	4	8	15	18	−3	036.84
Iraq	4	3	1	0	8	2	+6	075.00
Japan	3	0	3	0	3	3	+0	000.00
Jordan	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Kuwait	4	3	0	1	14	6	+8	075.00
Lebanon	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Qatar	15	9	3	3	24	15	+9	060.00
Saudi Arabia	3	0	0	3	2	6	−4	000.00
South Korea	8	2	1	5	9	16	−7	025.00
Syria	6	4	1	1	12	4	+8	066.67
United Arab Emirates	19	11	3	5	35	20	+15	057.89
Uzbekistan	4	3	1	0	9	4	+5	075.00

Asian record

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1992–93	Asian Club Championship	Quarter-finals	Yomiuri	0–0		2nd
			Al-Muharraq	1–1
			Arseto	3–0
		Semi-finals	Al-Wasl	2–2 (4–3 p)		2–2 (4–3 p)
		Final	PAS Tehran	0–1		0–1
1993–94	Asian Club Championship	First round	Al-Arabi	5–2	7–1	12–3
		Quarter-finals	–			Withdrew
1994–95	Asian Club Championship	Second round	Al-Ansar	3–0	0–3	3–3 (4–5 p)
2000–01	Asian Cup Winners' Cup	Second round	Hutteen	2–0	0–1	2–1
		Quarter-finals	Al-Wehdat	2–2	1–0	3–2
		Semi-finals	Esteghlal	3–2		3–2
		Final	Dalian Shide	4–2		4–2
2001	Asian Super Cup	Final	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–2	2–2	3–4
2001–02	Asian Cup Winners' Cup	Second round	Al-Sadd	0–0	2–3	2–3
2005	AFC Champions League	Group B	Sepahan	1–1	0−1	3rd
			Al-Wahda	3–1	2–1
			Al-Ain	1–0	0–3
2006	AFC Champions League	Group D	Al-Sadd	0–0	3–2	1st
			Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2–1	2–0
			Al-Arabi	2–0	0–3
		Quarter-finals	Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	0−1	0−6	0–7
2007	AFC Champions League	Group D	Al-Ain	2–0	2−0	2nd
			Sepahan	0–1	0–1
			Al-Ittihad	4–0	1–1
2009	AFC Champions League	Group B	Al-Gharafa	1–0	3–1	2nd
			Persepolis	0–0	0–1
			Sharjah	5–0	3–1
		Round of 16	Al-Ittihad	–	1−2	1–2
2010	AFC Champions League	Group C	Sepahan	1–1	0–1	1st
			Pakhtakor	2–1	3–1
			Al-Ain	3–2	1–2
		Round of 16	Esteghlal	3–2	–	3–2
		Quarter-finals	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0–1	2–0	2–1
		Semi-finals	Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma	4–3	0–1	4–4 (a)
2011	AFC Champions League	Group D	Al-Rayyan	1–0	1–1	2nd
			Zob Ahan	0–0	1–0
			Emirates	4–1	1–2
		Round of 16	Al-Sadd	–	0−1	0–1
2013	AFC Champions League	Group A	El Jaish	2–0	0–3	1st
			Al-Jazira	2–1	1–1
			Tractor Sazi	1–0	1–0
		Round of 16	Al-Gharafa	3–0	2−1	5–1
		Quarter-finals	Kashiwa Reysol	2–2	1–1	3–3 (a)
2014	AFC Champions League	Group A	Esteghlal	2–1	1–0	1st
			Al-Jazira	1–3	2–1
			Al-Rayyan	4–3	2–0
		Round of 16	Al-Ittihad	1–3	0−1	1–4
2015	AFC Champions League	Group B	Al-Ain	0–1	0–0	4th
			Pakhtakor	2–2	2–0
			Naft Tehran	0–3	1–2
2022	AFC Champions League	Group B	Mumbai City	6–0	3–0	1st
			Al-Jazira	3–0	2–0
			Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	3–0	1–1
		Round of 16	Nasaf Qarshi

AFC Club ranking

Rankings are calculated by the AFC[7] Rank Club Points 8 Esteghlal 38.768 9 Al-Ain 67.608 10 Al Shabab 30.537 11 Al-Ittihad 90.000 12 Bunyodkor 20.990

Rankings are calculated by the Football Alphabet[8] Rank Club Points 15 Shandong Taishan 505.87 16 Pakhtakor FK 480.24 17 Al Shabab 460.69 18 Al Wahda FC 459.74 19 Sepahan SC 441.55

See also

• List of football clubs in Saudi Arabia

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Al-Shabab (football).

• Official website
• نادي الشباب | أخر الأ | NADY ALSHBAB Archived 20 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine