Jeddah nationals "can't do more than three"! The champion of the AFC Champions League, Saudi football takes its first step towards the world

The reporter reported coldly Relying on the goals of Brazilian striker Galeno and Ivory Coast midfielder Kessie in the first half, the Jeddah National at home defeated Kawasaki Frontale 2-0, and the team's dream of entering the AFC Champions League final for the third time in its history finally came true.

The Saudis left the final stage of the first AFC Champions League Elite League in Jeddah, and the three giants Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory and Jeddah National formed a group advantage in the semi-finals, and in the end, the real home team Jeddah National won the cup as they wished.

At this point, the first Asian Champions Elite League has officially come to an end, and Saudi football has won all the awards of champion, best player, best scorer and best goalkeeper. The next step is for the Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

For Jeddah Nationals, one of the four giants of Saudi Arabia, this is a great triple jump achievement in three seasons for the club. In the 2022/23 season, the team won the Saudi second division and returned to the top flight; In the 2023/24 season, they finished third in the league and entered this season's AFC Champions League Elite League, and entered the AFC Club Cup/AFC Champions League final for the third time in the history of this season to win the AFC Champions League, filling the gap in the team's history without a continental major championship.

In this AFC Champions League elite league final, Jeddah Nationals is still the starting 9 foreign players, in addition to the famous players Firmino, Mahrez and Senegalese goalkeeper Mendy who have played for Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, there is also former England center Toney. The Jeddah Nationals' starting lineup is worth as much as 130 million euros, while the Kawasaki Frontale starting from Brazil's twin strikers Marsinho and Erisson, is only worth 8.3 million euros, only 1/15 of Jeddah Nationals.

Although the Jeddah Nationals, who started nine foreign starts, had a 17-7 shot on goal and a 7-0 shot on target, the game was not as one-sided as the statistics suggested. The Jeddah nationals, who were playing at home, were a little restrained after the opening, and the tactical choices were a little simple and crude, but the visitors took advantage of the semi-final upset to boost their morale, but Marsinho slid out of the goal after being blocked in the penalty area in the 10th minute.

The visitors missed a good chance and Jeddah Nationals got better. In the 35th minute of the first half, after Galeno broke the ball on the left side of the front, he completed a pass with his compatriot Firmino, and then scored a shocking world wave with an inward shot. In the 42nd minute, Jeddah National took advantage of the opportunity of Kawasaki left wingback Sata Miura to retire from treatment and Kawasaki Frontale to play one less player, and scored twice with an assist from Firmino's cross from the right, and captain Kessie, who stepped forward into the penalty area, scored another header.

Kawasaki Frontale replaced the underperforming Brazilian striker Erisson with Arata Yamada at the start of the second half, and then Tatsuya Ito, who opened the scoring for the team in the semi-finals, and although the latter created two great chances after coming on the field, the unlucky Kawasaki Frontale did not repeat the efficient performance in the semi-finals, and the brutal reality of zero shots on target proved that even if they did not seem to be down on the field, they did not cause much trouble for Jeddah Nationals. Jeddah Nationals, who led by two goals, contracted their formation in the second half, and in the last 10 minutes, they replaced Brazilian foreign player Alexandre and played against Kawasaki Frontale with a lineup of 10 foreign players, and finally maintained the score of 2-0 until the end.

This is Jeddah National's third AFC Club Cup/AFC Champions League final after the 1985/86 AFC Club Cup and the 2012 AFC Champions League. The first two defeats to South Korea's Daewoo Royal (the predecessor of Busan idol) and Ulsan Hyundai were also at Jeddah 39 years ago, only to be defeated by Daewoo Royal in extra time with two goals in a row. This time, the 11 foreign players who made the Jeddah National did not disappoint the full King Abdullah Stadium.

Jeddah Nationals became the third club to win the AFC Champions League trophy among the four giants of Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh Crescent and Jeddah United. Since 2019, Saudi Arabian teams have reached the final four times in six AFC Champions League games and won three championships - only in 2022, Riyadh Crescent lost to Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds.

Kawasaki Frontale, who reached the AFC Champions League final for the first time in the team's history, was unable to resist the overly strong home advantage of Jeddah Nationals, who were full of top foreign players, despite their victories over the two West Asian giants of Kessard and Riyadh. Since 2017, the Japanese team has reached the AFC Champions League final six times in eight years and won the trophy three times, which is the second consecutive final for the Japanese team after last season's Yokohama Marinos. In 2000 and 2001, the Japanese team also reached the AFC Champions League final and lost back-to-back, and the first defeat was also in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Iwata lost to Riyadh Crescent.

This year's AFC Champions League Elite League has no limit on the number of foreign aids, and the Saudi giants, which are full of top foreign aid, can be said to have an advantage. The competition has been the monopoly of the Saudis from the league stage, with Riyadh Crescent, Jeddah National and Riyadh Victory taking the top three places in West Asia with a cliff-like lead, with Riyadh Crescent and Jeddah National still unbeaten in qualifying.

Entering the final stage of the top 8, Jeddah National defeated Buriram United, Riyadh Crescent and Kawasaki Frontale in a row, and the difference in goals scored and conceded in three games was also 8-1 - in the end, Jeddah United won the championship with an undefeated record of 12 wins and 1 draw, becoming the fifth undefeated team in the history of the AFC Champions League.

The Saudi club swept all the AFC Champions League elite league honors: Firmino was named the tournament MVP with six goals and seven assists in 12 games this season, Riyadh Crescent Saudi international winger Salim al-Dosari won the Golden Boot (10 goals), Algerian winger Riyad Jeddah Mahrez followed with nine goals, and Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was named the best goalkeeper. The final stage of the first Asian Elite League Top 8 has almost become a carnival for Saudi football to show its superior strength to Asia.

Kawasaki Frontale coach Mori Hasebe also had to sigh after the game that although the goal conceded was an individual mistake, there was still a significant gap between the overall strength of the team and the Jeddah Nationals. He said that he has seen the results of Saudi Arabia's heavy investment in football, and hopes that Japanese football can also get more investment and make greater progress. This Asian championship is also the first continental championship trophy won by Saudi Arabia in two and a half years of heavy investment in football.

Saudi football is hoping for more breakthroughs in the future, with Riyadh Crescent playing in the 2025 Club World Cup in June, while AFC Champions League winners Jeddah will compete in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup at the end of the year and then the 2029 Club World Cup. The 2022 Riyadh Crescent Club World Cup semi-finals defeated Flamengo 3-2 to reach the final, becoming the third Asian team to reach the Club World Cup final after Kashima Antlers and Al Ain.

Ahead of hosting the 2027 Asian Cup and the 2034 World Cup, the 2025 AFC Champions League is the first step for Saudi football to show the world its strength. In June and December, Riyadh Crescent and Jeddah Nationals will compete in the Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup respectively, aiming to challenge for the title with an unprecedented squad.