New trophy unveiled for 2023 King Salman Club Cup

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The Arab Club Champions Cup was unveiled at Terra Mall in Taif on Aug. 10, 2023. (Supplied)
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Updated 11 August 2023
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New trophy unveiled for 2023 King Salman Club Cup

  • Specially created for the tournament, also known as the Arab Club Champions Cup, the trophy was revealed during an event at Tera Mall in the western Saudi city of Taif
  • The design includes elements inspired by the headscarf that is one of the symbols of formal Saudi attire, and is topped by a golden soccer ball

RIYADH: The Union of Arab Football Associations on Thursday unveiled the new trophy that will be presented this weekend to the winners of the 2023 King Salman Club Cup.

The brand new trophy, specially created for the tournament, which is also known as the Arab Club Champions Cup, was revealed during a special event at Tera Mall in the western Saudi city of Taif.




The brand new trophy was specially created for this year's Arab Club Champions Cup. (Supplied)

Made by Sports Partners International, the trophy’s design includes elements inspired by the headscarf that is one of the symbols of formal Saudi attire. It is topped by a golden soccer ball, and an inscription at the bottom includes the name of the tournament. Made from bronze-coated copper, plated with 24-carat gold, it weighs 6.1 kilograms and stands 39.5 centimeters tall.

Special guests at the unveiling included tournament director Mu’eed Al-Shahri and Abdullah Al-Zayedi, the director of the Ministry of Sports in Taif. Afterwards, fans had a chance to have their photo taken with the trophy.

Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr will battle it out for the trophy in the final of the competition, which kicks off at 7pm on Aug. 12 at King Fahd Stadium in Taif.

 

 


Casteels stands tall as Al-Qadsiah continue to rise in the Saudi Pro League

Updated 24 February 2025
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Casteels stands tall as Al-Qadsiah continue to rise in the Saudi Pro League

  • Belgian goalkeeper speaks to Arab News about the King’s Cup, superstar colleague Aubameyang and coach Michel’s motivation

LONDON: Something special is happening at Al-Qadsiah this season. Since returning to the Saudi Pro League after a five-year absence, coach Michel’s side — emboldened by a host of new summer arrivals — is defying expectations and stands on the brink of a historic campaign.

Currently third in the Saudi Pro League table after a 2-0 win over Al-Okhdood on Friday and with a King’s Cup semi-final against Al-Raed to come in April, Qadsiah have been one of the Kingdom’s most consistent sides in 2024-2025. Just as he did when winning the Saudi First Division title last season, Michel has built a team that is defensively sound, but sprinkled liberally with attacking stardust.

Providing Qadsiah’s solidity between the posts this time around is Belgium national team goalkeeper Koen Casteels, who ended a nine-year stint at Wolfsburg to move to the Kingdom last summer.

Casteels was one of several new arrivals, joining the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Julian Quinones and Nacho Fernandez in seeing Qadsiah’s potential to be more competitive than most normal newly-promoted sides.

“I think it was very clear from how the club talked to me before I signed, but also in the way they recruited other players, that there were big ambitions,” Casteels told Arab News. 

“But simply getting good players is not enough in football. I think the recruitment was very smart in every position — not only big names but smart decisions.

“Now we have a team that fits together very well and I think that’s one of the main reasons why we are now up there (at the top end of the table).”

Casteels admitted that seeing the exodus of talented players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema from Europe to Saudi Arabia piqued his interest in a move to the Kingdom, although he is keen to highlight the increasing depth in quality throughout the Saudi Pro League.

“It’s very nice to play against these big names but I think it’s far more than only these big names,” Casteels said. “I think there are also a lot of players who maybe don’t have the name of Ronaldo or Benzema but are just quality-wise very good; this is what you see in teams throughout the league — they all have good players.

“You see every transfer window that there are big names and good players coming to the league. That was also the point that made me say ‘OK, why shouldn't I go?’ Because the quality is improving and the league is getting better and better.”

Casteels was one of Qadsiah’s first summer acquisitions, announced before his participation in Euro 2024 with Belgium. It was followed by the marquee signings of Real Madrid stalwart Fernandez and former Barcelona and Arsenal forward Aubameyang, which really signalled Qadsiah’s intent for the 2024-2025 campaign.

“On the pitch they bring a lot of quality, experience and know-how in certain situations,” Casteels said of Nacho and Aubameyang. “Especially for me as a goalkeeper, it’s great to have a guy like Nacho in front of me who knows exactly what to do in different situations — making smart decisions and positioning himself.

“It’s very nice to play with those guys and obviously Auba is also scoring for us and doing well. Apart from the hard work that he does for us as a team, he’s entertaining too. It’s also nice to have a guy who is also speaking French. He’s a really great guy.

“Some people maybe would think he’s 35 and he’s just ending his career in Saudi Arabia, but he’s so hardworking. Every day I see him in the gym, still putting the work in. That’s also very important because we want to evolve as a team and we want to grow as a team and therefore we need everybody on their top level. These guys are doing that.”

With quality now running through the backbone of Qadsiah’s team, the club is enjoying its best season in more than 30 years. Qadsiah won the Crown Prince’s Cup in 1992, before adding the Saudi Federation Cup and Asian Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994; they remain the club’s only major trophies.

But with a convincing 3-0 victory over Al-Taawoun last month, Casteels and Co. put Qadsiah into the King’s Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1989. Now only Al-Raed stand in the club’s way of a first final — in which either Al-Ittihad or Al-Shabab would await.

“If you’re into the last four, I would lie if I say, ‘let’s only see in the next game’,” Casteels said. “Of course, if you’re into the last four, you want to win the tournament. But it also depends on a lot of factors and it is really the next game we have to win to get into the final. Then everything is possible.

“I have had some experiences in Germany where you face a team which on paper is maybe not the biggest. But it’s the cup and it’s the semi-final of the cup so you have to take it as an extremely difficult game. I think when there are still four teams left, there are no easy games anymore.

“It’s still a long way off so we will focus on the league and then the cup can come. But of course we are very hungry for it. I think all the players want to go into the final to see what happens there.”

Whether or not Michel’s side wins the King’s Cup, their league form may still be enough to carry Qadsiah to qualification for their first AFC Champions League Elite campaign. Casteels, however, is keen to take it one game at a time.

“I think if you focus on trying to get better every game or every training then maybe this (AFC Champions League qualification) will come automatically if you’re good enough. We are not thinking a lot about that to be honest at the moment — it’s not a big talking point in the dressing room.”

Casteels has been playing at the top level for his entire career — spending 13 years in Germany with Hoffenheim, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. Before that, he came through the academy of four-time Belgian Pro League winners Genk.

The goalkeeper is in illustrious company, with fellow Belgian national team players Yannick Carrasco, Christian Benteke, Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois also on Genk’s impressive list of academy graduates. Casteels is the same age as Courtois, but played a year ahead of the Real Madrid goalkeeper as both players emerged at Genk.

“We both had games on the weekend, which was very important for our development,” Casteels recalled. “I think he played one game for the Genk first team when he was 16 but then a few months later I went to Hoffenheim so we went our separate ways and had our own careers. 

“It was nice to have him with me at Genk. We were friends — going to the same school, sitting in the same class. We grew up together in Genk and played in two different youth teams so there was not really competition. We trained together a few times and obviously it’s nice to have quality goalkeepers because this also elevates you.”

When it comes to world-class goalkeepers, however, there was one name who stood head and shoulders above the rest as a role model for Casteels growing up.

“I always looked up to Edwin van der Sar because he was doing his job in a very easy way,” Casteels said. “He was always in the right position, good with his feet — and there was never too much show or shouting a lot.

“He was maybe not like the typical footballer — quite shy and with his feet on the ground. He would just do the job and I think this was something I could relate to.”

At Qadsiah, Casteel has quickly built a reputation as a reliable No. 1 whose solidity has helped his team have the meanest defence in the Saudi Pro League this season. The Belgian has conceded just 15 goals, and kept 11 clean sheets, although he is quick to credit the contributions of others.

“One of our strengths this season and why we kept so many clean sheets is that the whole team is defending,” he says. “The defence is doing well and they rely on the midfielders — then the midfielders rely on the attackers to press and run.”

Casteels also believes the guidance from Michel has been key to the club’s success so far this season and says that with the Spaniard at the helm, Qadsiah’s players believe that anything is possible.

“He is a very good coach tactically but also a very good people manager,” Casteels said. “He has a lot of experience and knows exactly what a team needs. He’s a guy who you can always go to talk to about something. He's very open-minded — like a father to us.

“This team fits well together and tactically I have to say every time when we followed the plan of the coach that we trained for in the week, we felt that we were at the right pace, even if we didn’t win. I can say that technically he was not wrong in any games — this is a great quality for any coach.”

 


Salah-inspired Liverpool beat Man City to open up 11-point Premier League lead

Updated 23 February 2025
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Salah-inspired Liverpool beat Man City to open up 11-point Premier League lead

  • Just days after exiting the Champions League to Real Madrid, this was another sobering defeat for the dethroned English champions, who are now 20 points adrift of the leaders

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Liverpool took a giant stride toward the Premier League title on Sunday as a 2-0 win over Manchester City opened up an 11-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the table.
Mohamed Salah was again Liverpool’s star performer as he opened the scoring with his 30th goal of the season before setting up Dominik Szoboszlai to double the lead before half-time.
“It is special. Especially when you are in the title race, it is incredible,” said Salah after Liverpool’s first league win at the Etihad for a decade.
“Me and the big guys in the team, we need another title.”
Just days after exiting the Champions League to Real Madrid, this was another sobering defeat for the dethroned English champions, who are now 20 points adrift of the leaders.
So often during Pep Guardiola’s glorious reign, Liverpool have come up just short in English football’s great rivalry of recent years.
However, their time to match Manchester United’s record of 20 English top-flight titles now appears just months away in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.
“We work every single day to achieve this and it is three months of very hard work (ahead) to maintain this,” said Slot.
“It is important to understand why we are where we are.”
Arsenal’s shock 1-0 home defeat to West Ham on Saturday had eased the pressure on Liverpool, that had built after dropping points in two of their last three games at Everton and Aston Villa.
A trip to the Etihad has for so long been the stiffest test of all, but City’s defensive frailties were easily exposed and they also badly missed the presence of the injured Erling Haaland in attack.
Liverpool, by contrast, had their talisman fit and firing as Salah took his staggering tally this season to 25 goals and 16 assists in 27 Premier League appearances.
The Egyptian fired the visitors in front on 14 minutes thanks to a brilliantly executed set-piece routine.
Alexis Mac Allister’s corner was flicked by Szoboszlai into Salah’s path and his shot deflected off Nathan Ake past the despairing dive of Ederson.
At the other end, City’s own Egyptian international showed his ability to finish, but Omar Marmoush had strayed offside before being played in by Phil Foden.
City winger Jeremy Doku was skipping past Trent Alexander-Arnold at will, yet the Belgian consistently failed to deliver a telling cross or shot.
Salah was not so forgiving as he raced onto a long ball over the top and teed up Szoboszlai to wrong-foot Ederson.
The final outcome could have been much more humiliating for City had Liverpool had been as accurate on the counter-attack after the break.
Curtis Jones had a third goal ruled out by a VAR review for offside after Szoboszlai just failed to time his run through the heart of the City defense.
Ederson was forced into a stunning save from Luis Diaz and only a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Abdukodir Khusanov denied Szoboszlai a second.
Marmoush scored a hat-trick in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Newcastle and remained a lively threat as he flashed another effort across the front of Alisson Becker’s goal.
But City lacked the end product to make nearly 70 percent possession count.
Despite an eighth league defeat of the season, Guardiola’s men remain in fourth and will be confident of securing their place in the Champions League next season with a top-five finish likely to be enough.
However, after an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles, City look like yesterday’s team with Liverpool now champions in waiting.


Impressive Bayern beats Frankfurt 4-0 to stay eight points clear of Leverkusen in Bundesliga

Updated 23 February 2025
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Impressive Bayern beats Frankfurt 4-0 to stay eight points clear of Leverkusen in Bundesliga

BERLIN: Bayern Munich substitute Serge Gnabry grabbed a late goal to cap a 4-0 win over third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt that consolidated the Bavarian powerhouse’s Bundesliga lead on Sunday.
Gnabry fired the ball through Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp’s legs in the second minute of stoppage time, almost 10 minutes after Jamal Musiala ran past a host of defenders and got a fortunate bounce of the ball before firing it past Trapp for Bayern’s third goal.
Without top scorer Harry Kane, who only played the final half hour or so, Bayern stayed eight points clear of defending champion Bayer Leverkusen with 11 rounds remaining.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany opted against starting Kane, who sustained a facial injury in the draw against Leverkusen last weekend. Altogether he made six changes to the team that drew with Celtic 1-1 in the Champions League playoffs on Tuesday, with Bayern veteran Thomas Müller leading the attack.
Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitiké had the best chance early on after a mistake from Hiroki Ito, before Musiala had Bayern’s first opportunity cleared off the line.
The home team dominated proceedings and duly took the lead through Michael Olize before the break.
Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich had to go off injured just before the goal, after clutching the back of his left thigh.
Ito was left free at a corner to score the second goal in the 61st. It was the Japan defender’s first goal for Bayern.
Leipzig’s Champions League qualification hopes were dealt a blow earlier Sunday in a 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Heidenheim.
It left Freiburg fourth in the last place for Champions League qualification, followed by Mainz, ahead of Leipzig on goal difference.
Stuttgart had the chance to move above Leipzig with a win at Hoffenheim in the late game Sunday.


Nottm Forest felled by Isak as Newcastle bolster top four bid

Updated 23 February 2025
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Nottm Forest felled by Isak as Newcastle bolster top four bid

  • Eddie Howe’s side recovered from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s early opener to run riot

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle blew Nottingham Forest away with four goals in 11 minutes as Alexander Isak’s double inspired a vital 4-3 win in the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four.
Eddie Howe’s side recovered from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s early opener to run riot with a first half goal spree at St. James’ Park on Sunday.
Lewis Miley bagged Newcastle’s equalizer, sparking an astonishing spell of dominance as Jacob Murphy put the hosts ahead.
Isak netted twice in less than two minutes to reach 50 Premier League goals and leave Forest in tatters.
The Sweden striker has 19 league goals this season, taking him level with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in second place behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in this season’s scoring chart.
Nikola Milenkovic and Ryan Yates scored for Forest in the second half, but it was too late for an incredible escape act.
After three defeats in their previous four league games, fifth-placed Newcastle are back in the hunt to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish.
The Magpies are behind fourth-placed Manchester City on goal difference, with third-placed Forest just three points above them.
“I’m trying to control my thoughts and stay positive. We won the game and that’s what we needed to do,” Howe said.
“It was a great performance in the first half, then a couple of frailties showed in terms of defending set plays.
“We can reflect on that. There are things we can do better. We pride ourselves on getting the details right.”
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo added: “In the first half I didn’t recognize our team. In the second half we were much better.
“We made mistakes. It was two totally different halves. We started well and then they just rolled over us.”
Newcastle keeper Nick Pope made his first league start since early December in place of Martin Dubravka.
But Pope was partially at fault as Newcastle gifted Forest the lead in sloppy style after just six minutes
Jacob Murphy lost the ball in his own half as Hudson-Odoi pressured the Newcastle midfielder into conceding possession.
Hudson-Odoi wasn’t closed down quickly enough by Dan Burn and the winger unloaded a powerful low drive that caught Pope out of position as it flashed into the net.
Miley ensured Newcastle’s strong response to that early setback was rewarded in the 23rd minute.
With Forest’s usually rock-solid defense slow to react, Miley had time to control Lewis Hall’s pass inside the penalty area and drill his shot through a sea of legs past unsighted keeper Matz Sels.
Murphy made amends for his earlier mistake to put Howe’s team ahead two minutes after Miley’s equalizer.
Hall’s driving run was the catalyst as the defender took Isak’s return pass and hit a deflected cross that looped over Sels for Murphy to bundle home from virtually on the goal-line.
Newcastle were firing on all cylinders and they struck again in the 33rd minute.
Ola Aina used his arm to block Hall’s cross, conceding a penalty that Isak dispatched past Sels with an audacious lofted effort that left the keeper sprawled on his back as he tried in vain to claw it out.
Forest had no answer to Newcastle’s intensity and it was no surprise when they conceded a fourth just 60 seconds later.
Joe Willock raced unchecked through the Forest midfield and slipped his pass to Isak, whose shot from 12 yards took a deflection on its way past the wrong-footed Sels.
Newcastle eased up in the second half and Milenkovic reduced the deficit in the 63rd minute, flicking Chris Wood’s cross past Pope from close-range.
When Yates steered home in the 90th minute, a nervous hush descended on St. James’ Park, but Newcastle held on by their fingernails.


Olmo helps Barcelona grind out win at Las Palmas and keep La Liga league

Updated 24 February 2025
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Olmo helps Barcelona grind out win at Las Palmas and keep La Liga league

  • Barcelona avenged a shock home loss to the Canary Islands club in November as it ensured it will spend another week atop the standings

BARCELONA, Spain: Dani Olmo scored after coming off the bench to help Barcelona win 2-0 at Las Palmas on Saturday and stay top of the Spanish league.
Lamine Yamal linked up with Olmo to find a seam in the hosts’ defense in the 62nd minute. Olmo took Yamal’s threaded pass, shifted the ball to his left foot to open an angle around a defender, and fired the ball in off the underside of the bar.
While Olmo went on at halftime, Ferran Torres only played the final minutes and drilled in a second goal from angle in stoppage time.
Barcelona avenged a shock home loss to the Canary Islands club in November as it ensured it will spend another week atop the standings.
The team coached by Hansi Flick is one point ahead of Atletico Madrid, which won 3-0 at Valencia earlier on Saturday. Real Madrid is three points back before facing Girona on Sunday without the suspended Jude Bellingham.
Barcelona plays the first leg of its Copa del Rey semifinal against Atletico on Tuesday.
Álvarez nets double
Julián Álvarez scored twice to lead Atletico to a comfortable win at Mestalla Stadium.
Antoine Griezmann played a part in both of Álvarez’s first-half goals with a pair of finely placed lobs inside Valencia’s box.
Álvarez finished off a move in the 12th inside Valencia’s area that started with a lifted pass from Griezmann that Samuel Lino volleyed off the bar. Guiliano Simeone was first to the rebound and tapped it to Álvarez to ram into the net.
Griezmann was again left with space and time to think inside the area before he landed a perfectly placed pass between Valencia’s center backs for Álvarez to gently nod off the turf and inside the post on the half-hour mark.
Ángel Correa completed the scoring with four minutes remaining.
“We are still in the fight,” Álvarez said.
Valencia remained in the relegation zone.
Villarreal stays in the fight for fourth
Villarreal striker Ayoze Pérez netted his 11th league goal of the campaign in a 1-0 victory at 10-man Rayo Vallecano.
The result kept Villarreal in fifth place and challenging for a Champions League berth that go to the top four finishers. Athletic Bilbao is fourth and just one point ahead.
Rayo played with 10 men after Jorge de Frutos saw a red card for a studs-first foul just before halftime. The Madrid-based club also lost top midfielder Isi Palazón early in the game to an apparent leg injury. Pérez scored in the 66th.
First away win
Espanyol won its first away game of the season thanks to a header by Fernando Calero and the goalkeeping of Joan García to beat Alaves 1-0 on the road.
The loss left Alaves coach Eduardo Coudet under added pressure with his team in danger of the drop.