The story of Al-Taawoun: Can they go the distance and win Saudi title?
The surprise package of this Saudi Pro League season so far, Al-Taawoun, showed again on Friday night that it is ready to mix it with the Kingdom’s biggest clubs as it held reigning champions Al-Ittihad to a 1-1 draw.Less than a third of the way through the season, it is with a degree of caution that Al-Taawoun can be talked about as potential Saudi Pro League champions, but the side from Al Qassim province has done little so far to dissuade that it will challenge for the title.
The club’s rise in recent years in an unlikely story. Hailing from the city of Buraidah in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, equidistant from the Red Sea in the west and the Arabian Gulf in the East, Al-Taawoun shares its King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with rivals Al-Raed, with whom it contests the Qassim Derby.
Neither side had made a major impact on Saudi football until 1990, when Al-Taawoun became only the second First Division club to reach the King’s Cup final. It lost to favorites Al-Nassr and it would be almost 30 years until it had another chance to claim its first major trophy.
Under the stewardship of Portuguese coach Pedro Emanuel, the year 2019 proved to be Al-Taawoun’s annus mirabilis. A highest ever Saudi Pro League finish of third place was achieved and the King’s Cup was finally conquered, with Al-Hilal destroyed 5-0 in the semi-final before Al-Ittihad was dispatched 2-1 in the final. The celebrations went on and on – perhaps a little too long.
The following season was a disaster. Unable to cope with the dual demands of domestic and continental competition in the AFC Champions League, Al-Taawoun fell apart and almost found itself relegated, only surviving thanks to a goal in the final minute of the final game of the season.
The club regrouped in 2020-21 and looked on course to win another King’s Cup but twice threw away a lead in the final to succumb to underdogs Al-Faisaly, led by charismatic Brazilian Pericles Chamusca.
Fast forward two years and Chamusca is now at the helm of Al-Taawoun. Just as he inspired Al-Faisaly to achieve well beyond their means, so Al-Taawoun is now also defying expectations. Chamsuca is performing minor miracles on a budget the fraction of his rivals.
For Neymar, read Gambia forward Musa Barrow; for Cristiano Ronaldo, read Spaniard Álvaro Medrán. While their rivals are fielding increasingly star-studded line-ups, Al-Taawoun has favored a collective approach that puts the team first.
Still, there are plenty of talented players in this team. Barrow scored goals for Bologna in Serie A, while Medran is a Real Madrid academy graduate who made his Los Blancos debut as a substitute for Croatian maestro Luka Modric back in 2014.
There is a strong Brazilian core too, with Chamusca packing his squad with compatriots. Goalkeeper Mailson, defender Andrei Girotto, midfielders Mateus Castro and Flavio Medeiros and forward Joao Pedro may have never played internationally for Brazil, but they are helping put Al-Taawoun on the map this season.
Of the Saudi contingent, midfielder Saad Al-Nasser made his international debut for the Green Falcons earlier this year, while 21-year-old left-back Muath Faqeehi has been a revelation since joining on-loan from Al-Hilal. There has also been a warm welcome home for former hero Abdulfattah Adam, who rejoined the club in September after failing to make an impact at Al-Nassr, to whom he departed four years ago.
“The team is now in a period of technical and administrative stability,” Mohammed Al-Sarrah, former Al-Taawoun president and lifelong fan, told Al Arabiya English. “You can see there are no problems with the players, they play well and achieve good results so far.
“Coach Chamusca is increasingly considered one of the most distinguished coaches in Saudi football. He plays with a high tactical approach and is in tune with the capabilities of his players. They are defensively well-organized and control the midfield.”
Like most Al-Taawoun fans, Al-Sarrah has been impressed with what Chamusca’s side has produced on the pitch so far this season – particularly given the club does not operate on the same financial level as the likes of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.
“Football is about money, though and patience,” says Al-Sarrah, who was club President between 2007 and 2012 and has also been a board member of the Saudi Football Federation. “It doesn’t matter if you are defective in one of these areas as the presence of the others can mean success.
“With Al-Taawoun, we can see how a healthy environment, well-though out tactics and only a little money does not need to be a barrier to competition.”
As the season goes on, the strength of Al-Taawoun’s squad will be tested to its limit and there is no question that coaches of other clubs at the top of the table have more depth at their disposal than Chamusca.
Fortunately, football has a habit of throwing up fairytale stories and the Brazilian will be hoping he can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Leicester City in the Premier League, Montpellier in Ligue 1 and Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga as some of the sport’s unlikely champions in recent history.
