| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 September 2008 – 12 April 2009 |
| Champions | Al-Ittihad (8th title) |
| Relegated | Abha Al-Watani |
| AFC Champions League | Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal Al-Ahli Al-Shabab |
| Gulf Club Champions Cup | Al-Nassr Al-Ettifaq |
| Matches | 134 |
| Goals | 371 (2.77 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Hicham Aboucherouane Nasser Al-Shamrani (12 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Hilal 7–0Najran (20 December 2008) |
| Biggest away win | Al-Raed 0–4Al-Shabab (30 November 2008) Al-Shabab 0–4Al-Ittihad (28 January 2009) |
| Highest scoring | Al-Ittihad 7–2Al-Watani (15 December 2008) Al-Raed 6–3Al-Wehda (8 April 2009) |
| Longest winning run | Al-Ittihad (5 games)[1] |
| Longest unbeaten run | Al-Hilal (18 games)[1] |
| Longest winless run | Abha (12 games)[1] |
| Longest losing run | Al-Raed (5 games)[1] |
2009–10 → | |
The2008–09 Saudi Professional League was the 33rd season ofSaudi Pro League since its establishment in 1976 and first after rebranding to the Saudi Pro League.Al-Hilal were the defending champions, having won their 11th title in theprevious season. The campaign began on 13 September 2008 and ended on 12 April 2009. A total of 12 teams contested the league, 10 of which already contested in the 2007–08 season, and two of which were promoted from theFirst Division.
On 12 April 2009, in the final round of the season,Al-Ittihad won the title after a 2–1 victory overAl-Hilal.[2] It was their eighth league title overall.Al-Ittihad,Al-Hilal,Al-Ahli andAl-Shabab all secured a berth for the2010 AFC Champions League, whileAl-Nassr andAl-Ettifaq qualified for theGulf Club Champions Cup.Al-Watani andAbha were relegated to theSaudi First Division League.[3]
On 26 May 2008, theSAFF announced that the league would be rebranded asSaudi Pro League. The changes were based on the criteria introduced byAFC PresidentMohammed bin Hammam to improve the football standards in Asia.[4] The changes also included a website dedicated to recording statistics of the league for the first time. It was also announced that the website would be run by the Saudi Pro League board rather than the SAFF.[5]
The league champions, runners-up and third place as well as the winner of theKing Cup of Champions qualified for the2010 AFC Champions League.
The top eight teams qualified forKing Cup of Champions.
Prize money:
Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from theSaudi First Division League. The promoted teams wereAl-Raed (returning to the top flight after an absence of five years) andAbha (returning to the top flight after an absence of two years). They replacedAl-Tai (after seven consecutive years in the top-flight) andAl-Qadsiah (after six consecutive years in the top-flight).
| Club | Head coach | 2007–08 season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abha |  Idris Obeis | First Division runners-up | |
| Al-Ahli |  Stoycho Mladenov | 8th | Qualified to the2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup |
| Al-Ettifaq |  Ioan Andone | 4th | Qualified to the2009 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Hazem |  Ammar Souayah | 7th | Qualified to the2008–09 Arab Champions League |
| Al-Hilal |  Georges Leekens | 1st | Qualified to the2009 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Ittihad |  Gabriel Calderón | 2nd | Qualified to the2009 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Nassr | Edgardo Bauza | 5th | Qualified to the2008 Gulf Club Champions Cup |
| Al-Raed |  Luis Antônio Zaluar | First Division champions | |
| Al-Shabab | Enzo Trossero | 3rd | Qualified to the2009 AFC Champions League |
| Al-Watani | Hélio Vieira | 9th | |
| Al-Wehda |  Theo Bücker | 6th | Qualified to the2008–09 Arab Champions League |
| Najran | Mokhtar Tlili | 10th |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Replaced by | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abha | Abdelkader Youmir | Sacked[6] |  Saad Al-Beshri (caretaker) | October 2008 |
| Al-Watani |  Moussa Saïb | Sacked[7] | Habib Ben Romdhane (caretaker) | October 2008 |
| Al-Watani | Habib Ben Romdhane | Caretaker period ended[8] | Hélio Vieira | November 2008 |
| Abha | Saad Al-Beshri | Caretaker period ended | Idris Obeis | November 2008 |
| Al-Shabab | Nery Pumpido | Sacked[9] | Enzo Trossero | December 2008 |
| Al-Nassr |  Rodion Gačanin | Sacked[10] | Edgar (caretaker) | December 2008 |
| Al-Raed | Mohammed Aldo | Sacked[11] | Luis Antônio Zaluar | December 2008 |
| Al-Ettifaq |  Toni | Sacked[12] | Ioan Andone | December 2008 |
| Najran | Costică Ștefănescu | Sacked[13] | Mokhtar Tlili | January 2009 |
| Al-Nassr | Edgar | Caretaker period ended[14] | Edgardo Bauza | January 2009 |
| Al-Hilal | Cosmin Olăroiu | Sacked[15] | Cătălin Necula (caretaker) | March 2009 |
| Al-Hilal | Cătălin Necula | Caretaker period ended[16] | Georges Leekens | April 2009 |
The number of foreign players was limited to 3 per team, and should not be a goalkeeper. For the January transfer window, theSAFF added an additional slot for a player from one of theAFC countries.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ittihad(C) | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 21 | +36 | 55 | Champions and qualified for2010 AFC Champions League |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 9 | +32 | 50 | Qualified for2010 AFC Champions League |
| 3 | Al-Ahli | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 40 | |
| 4 | Al-Shabab | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 35 | |
| 5 | Al-Nassr | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 34 | |
| 6 | Al-Ettifaq | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 29 | |
| 7 | Al-Wehda | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 26 | |
| 8 | Al-Hazem | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 25 | 31 | −6 | 25 | |
| 9 | Najran | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 42 | −20 | 21 | |
| 10 | Al-Raed | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 19 | |
| 11 | Abha | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 40 | −21 | 19 | Relegated |
| 12 | Al-Watani | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 48 | −26 | 12 |
| Home \ Away | ABH | AHL | ETT | HAZ | HIL | ITT | NSR | RAE | SHB | WAT | WHD | NAJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abha | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Ahli | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| Al-Ettifaq | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | |
| Al-Hazem | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Hilal | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | |
| Al-Ittihad | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 7–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | |
| Al-Nassr | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Raed | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 6–3 | 0–1 | |
| Al-Shabab | 5–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Watani | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | |
| Al-Wehda | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | |
| Najran | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
Al-Raed, who finished 10th, facedAbha, who finished 11th for a two-legged play-off. The winner onaggregate score after both matches earned entry into thePro league next season while the loser were relegated to theFirst Division. Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate and retained their place in the next edition.[17]
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abha | 3–4 | Al-Raed | 1–1 | 2–3 |
Al-Raed won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hicham Aboucherouane | Al-Ittihad | 12 |
| Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | ||
| 3 |  Emad Moteab | Al-Ittihad | 10 |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani | Al-Hilal | ||
| 5 |  Boris Kabi | Al-Raed | 9 |
| Hassan Al-Raheb | Al-Ahli | ||
| Naif Hazazi | Al-Ittihad | ||
| Amir Akrout | Al-Wehda | ||
| 9 | Mohammad Al-Anbar | Al-Hilal | 8 |
| 10 | Essa Al-Mehyani | Al-Wehda | 7 |
| Sultan Al-Nemri | Al-Ittihad |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nei4 | Al-Shabab | Al-Wehda | 4–2 (H) | 4 October 2008 | [19] |
| Nasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Shabab | Abha | 5–0 (H) | 4 December 2008 | [20] |
| Hicham Aboucherouane | Al-Ittihad | Al-Watani | 7–2 (H) | 15 December 2008 | [21] |
| Yasser Al-Qahtani4 | Al-Hilal | Najran | 7–0 (H) | 20 December 2008 | [22] |
4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammed Noor | Al-Ittihad | 11 |
| 2 | Abdoh Otaif | Al-Shabab | 7 |
| 3 | Ahmed Al-Fraidi | Al-Hilal | 6 |
 Christian Wilhelmsson | Al-Hilal | ||
| 5 |  Hamad Ji | Al-Hazem | 5 |
| Saleh Al-Saqri | Al-Ittihad | ||
 Tarik El Taib | Al-Hilal | ||
| Hicham Aboucherouane | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 9 | Al Hasan Al-Yami | Najran | 4 |
| Hassan Al-Raheb | Al-Ahli | ||
| Essa Al-Mehyani | Al-Wehda |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Al-Deayea | Al-Hilal | 14 |
| 2 | Yasser Al-Mosailem | Al-Ahli | 7 |
| 3 | Mabrouk Zaid | Al-Ittihad | 6 |
| Waleed Abdullah | Al-Shabab | ||
| 5 | Saeed Al-Harbi | Al-Hazem | 5 |
| Salem Asiri | Abha | ||
| 7 | Adnan Al-Salman | Al-Ettifaq | 3 |
| Assaf Al-Qarni | Al-Wehda | ||
| Jaber Al-Ameri | Najran |
Harison (Al-Ahli/Al-Wehda)Abdullah Al-Dossari (Al-Wehda)Abdullah Huwais (Al-Watani)Ahmed Al-Fraidi (Al-Hilal)Ahmed Menawer (Al-Hazem)Basem Al-Sherif (Al-Raed)Ibrahim Al-Kaabi (Al-Watani)Ibrahim Hazzazi (Al-Ahli)Taisir Al-Jassim (Al-Ahli)Naif Al-Qadi (Al-Shabab)Redha Tukar (Al-Ittihad)Sultan Al-Balawi (Al-Watani)The following awards were given following the conclusion of the season. The awards were known as theArriyadiyah andMobily Awards for Sports Excellence and were sponsored by Saudi newspaperArriyadiyah and Saudi telecommunication companyMobily. The awards were presented on 30 May 2009.[28]
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season |  Ahmed Otaif  Tarik El Taib Osama Hawsawi | Al-Shabab Al-Hilal Al-Hilal |
| Young Player of the Season | Hamad Al-HamadSalman Al-FarajMansoor Al-Harbi | Al-Ettifaq Al-Hilal Al-Ahli |
| Goldent Boot | Hicham AboucherouaneNasser Al-Shamrani | Al-Ittihad Al-Shabab |
