Saudi

El Clásico El Clásico (in Spanish, also in lowercase letters; ) or El Clàssic (in Catalan, ), both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions he ...

() is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Al-Hilal and

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

. It is contested at least twice a year in the

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

competition and often in other competitions. The rivalry comes about as

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

are the two largest

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

History

The first-ever match between these two teams was in 1957. The two teams played a friendly match in Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah which ended in a 8-0 for Al-Ittihad. 1961 The two sides played again in a friendly match which ended 7-1 for Al-Ittihad. In 1964, both teams met in the final of the King Cup in what would be the first final between these two teams and the first official match. Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Hilal 3–0 in the Al-Sayegh stadium in

to lift their fourth title.

Ahmed Bahja Ahmed Bahja (; born 21 December 1970, in Marrakech) is a retired Moroccan footballer. He played for several clubs, including KAC Marrakech and Raja CA. He has also played for the famous UAE club, AlWasl of Dubai. In addition, he played for A ...

and

Salem Al-Dawsari Salem Mohammed Shafi Al-Dawsari (; born 19 August 1991) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, which he captains, and the Saudi Arabia national team. Early and personal life Al-Da ...

are the top scorers of the fixture with 10 goals each. The clubs have met each other in 11 finals, with Al-Hilal winning 6 and Al-Ittihad winning 5.

Statistics

''Statistics as of 22 February 2025.''

Top scorers

Below is the list of players who have scored at least four goals in official meetings.

Official match results

''As of 21 September 2024.'' Source: ''Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form.'' * SF = Semi-finals * QF = Quarter-finals * R16 = Round of 16 * R32 = Round of 32 * GS = Group stage * R1 = Round 1 * R2 = Round 2 * PO = Play-offs

Friendlies

Honours

The rivalry reflected in "El Clásico" matches comes about as

and Al-Hilal are the most successful football clubs in Saudi Arabia. As seen below, Al-Hilal leads the count in official titles won with 70 trophies, while

has won 37 trophies. Only official trophies are counted.

References

{{Ittihad FC Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) Al-Hilal Saudi FC Football rivalries in Saudi Arabia 1960 establishments in Saudi Arabia Nicknamed sporting events