Al Qadsiah, the club coached by José Miguel González Martín del Campo, and defended on the pitch by Nacho Fernández, continues to grow… and today (6:00 p.m., live on MARCA.com) will have a good opportunity to demonstrate it on the visit to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, whom he can tie for third place in the Pro Saudi League if he beats him in Riyadh.
Al Qadsiah, a newly promoted team, is trying to climb into the elite of Saudi football. It is the current fifth place, nine points behind Hilal, current champion and the winningest club in the country; and eight from Ittihad, one of the three teams that has beaten Qadsiah in the 10 rounds that have been played. The objective in this first year of Míchel in the elite is to get into international competition (the first four in the table) and sneak into the country’s ‘Big Four’ (currently occupied by Hilal, Nassr, Itttihad and Ahli, the four teams’ doped’ by the Saudi Government).
The Al Khobar entity, on the shores of the Persian Gulf, opposite Bahrain, renewed Míchel when he achieved promotion last summer, and Saudi media tell us that a new renewal is in the making after the stability that the Madrid native is achieving in a club that does not have any League (it does have seven other titles), and that is being revived by Aramco, owner of the team and the largest oil company in the world (10% of world production), although controlled by the Saudi Government.
The ‘Knights of the East’ (their nickname) have not lost since October 19 (3-1 against Ittihad) and have won four in a row in all competitions, with well-known players such as goalkeeper Casteels; Gastón Álvarez (ex-Getafe); the aforementioned Nacho; the Argentine Equi Fernández; the Uruguayan Nández; the Spaniards Camerón Puertas and Iker Almena; Aubameyang (formerly of Barça and who has four goals); or the Colombian-Mexican Quiñones, who will not be able to play against Nassr today.
“We are in a moment of great stability,” tells us one of the numerous Spaniards who work at the club and that reflects the great moment as an institution that Al Qadsiah is experiencing under the ‘umbrella’ of Míchel. Along with him, Juan Carlos Mandía (assistant coach) takes care of the club; Adrián González (assistant and son of the coach); goalkeeping coaches Monchi and José Luis Silva; Kike Sanz (physical assistant); the physical trainer Miguel Ángel García; the readapter Jesús David Arco; the physio Álvaro Astolzi… and all under the supervision of Carlos Antón, sports director of the entity, and even Carlos Hugo Bayón, director of grassroots football. The entity continues to grow, and not only at a professional level, but also in grassroots football with teams from the Under 13 level.
In short, an entity hungry for glory that today will face the ‘monster’ of Cristiano in its own home in Riyadh.
