A 2-0 defeat to historical rivals might not seem ideal preparation for Asia\u2019s premier club competition.
\nYet Al Hilal\u2019s competitors in the West should not get carried away. There are reasons why a tricky\u00a0Saudi Professional League\u00a0title defence can bolster AFC Champions League hopes, beginning with Thursday\u2019s Group A kick-off versus Tajikistan powerhouse Istiklol.
\nA neck-and-neck title race with Ever Banega\u2019s Al Shabab\u00a0certainly contrasts with 2019\/20\u2019s commanding run to top-flight domination. This intense competition with a Riyadh rival has all the hallmarks of 2018\/19\u2019s run-in against Al Nassr.
\nHilal, narrowly, lost out on Saudi supremacy in 2018\/19. But channelled this competitive spirit into ending an insufferable 19-year wait for Asian success, during November 2019.
\nThese contrasting campaigns covered their cherished run to ACL glory.
\nThe 2019 group stage was less demanding than 2021\u2019s expanded version. A rampant coronavirus outbreak\u00a0would then put paid to 2020\u2019s defence at the same juncture during September\u2019s abridged running in Doha.
\nThe previous format witnessed a top-two finish guarantee progression. It was also, pandemic aside, played out over several months in a familiar home-and-away fashion.
\nNow only top spot, or being one of three-best runners-up from five four-team pools, will do. Everything will be decided within 16 frantic days at one location, fortunately for the three Saudi sides they\u2019ve all been decreed home-turf advantage.
\nThis feeling of intense action, though, should be familiar for Rogerio Micale\u2019s men. No matter the debatable merits of Tajikistan\u2019s first-ever group-stage entrants or the 2021 Uzbekistan Super League\u2019s sixth-best club in AGMK.
\nRogerio Micale has recorded four wins and two defeats in the SPL (EPA).
\nA stern examination, though, can be expected from Carlos Eduardo\u2019s Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club who made it 21 games unbeaten with victory in last week\u2019s Arabian Gulf Cup showpiece. Senses must be fully honed in pursuit of first place \u2013 it shouldn\u2019t be readily attained.
\nImportant lessons have, also, been learned along the way.
\nMicale\u2019s six SPL fixtures\u00a0have produced four wins and two, chastening, losses. All were attained with a 4-4-1-1 system.
\nWith only four foreigners allowed in the ACL from the six on Hilal\u2019s books, deadweight cannot be carried.
\nEx-Italy maestro Sebastian Giovinco shone in 2019\u2019s double-headed final versus Japan\u2019s Urawa Red Diamonds. He\u2019s now, though, enduring a 19-match scoreless spell.
\nTrust has been earned by\u00a0improving Argentine Luciano Vietto, who has recorded two goals and one assist from his previous five matches, that he can replace injured Saudi Arabia winger Salem Al Dawsari.
\nThe merits of Micale compared to celebrated predecessor Razvan Lucescu can be debated. So, too, the relative form and function of this Hilal squad in relation to its immediate predecessors.
\nInsights should have been gleaned among the current struggle. They must be heeded in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 2-0 defeat to historical rivals might not seem ideal preparation for Asia\u2019s premier club competition.
\nYet Al Hilal\u2019s competitors in the West should not get carried away. There are reasons why a tricky\u00a0Saudi Professional League\u00a0title defence can bolster AFC Champions League hopes, beginning with Thursday\u2019s Group A kick-off versus Tajikistan powerhouse Istiklol.
\nA neck-and-neck title race with Ever Banega\u2019s Al Shabab\u00a0certainly contrasts with 2019\/20\u2019s commanding run to top-flight domination. This intense competition with a Riyadh rival has all the hallmarks of 2018\/19\u2019s run-in against Al Nassr.
\nHilal, narrowly, lost out on Saudi supremacy in 2018\/19. But channelled this competitive spirit into ending an insufferable 19-year wait for Asian success, during November 2019.
\nThese contrasting campaigns covered their cherished run to ACL glory.
\nThe 2019 group stage was less demanding than 2021\u2019s expanded version. A rampant coronavirus outbreak\u00a0would then put paid to 2020\u2019s defence at the same juncture during September\u2019s abridged running in Doha.
\nThe previous format witnessed a top-two finish guarantee progression. It was also, pandemic aside, played out over several months in a familiar home-and-away fashion.
\nNow only top spot, or being one of three-best runners-up from five four-team pools, will do. Everything will be decided within 16 frantic days at one location, fortunately for the three Saudi sides they\u2019ve all been decreed home-turf advantage.
\nThis feeling of intense action, though, should be familiar for Rogerio Micale\u2019s men. No matter the debatable merits of Tajikistan\u2019s first-ever group-stage entrants or the 2021 Uzbekistan Super League\u2019s sixth-best club in AGMK.
\nRogerio Micale has recorded four wins and two defeats in the SPL (EPA).
\nA stern examination, though, can be expected from Carlos Eduardo\u2019s Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club who made it 21 games unbeaten with victory in last week\u2019s Arabian Gulf Cup showpiece. Senses must be fully honed in pursuit of first place \u2013 it shouldn\u2019t be readily attained.
\nImportant lessons have, also, been learned along the way.
\nMicale\u2019s six SPL fixtures\u00a0have produced four wins and two, chastening, losses. All were attained with a 4-4-1-1 system.
\nWith only four foreigners allowed in the ACL from the six on Hilal\u2019s books, deadweight cannot be carried.
\nEx-Italy maestro Sebastian Giovinco shone in 2019\u2019s double-headed final versus Japan\u2019s Urawa Red Diamonds. He\u2019s now, though, enduring a 19-match scoreless spell.
\nTrust has been earned by\u00a0improving Argentine Luciano Vietto, who has recorded two goals and one assist from his previous five matches, that he can replace injured Saudi Arabia winger Salem Al Dawsari.
\nThe merits of Micale compared to celebrated predecessor Razvan Lucescu can be debated. So, too, the relative form and function of this Hilal squad in relation to its immediate predecessors.
\nInsights should have been gleaned among the current struggle. They must be heeded in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58397"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58397"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58398,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58397\/revisions\/58398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}