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Asia's Strikers (1): Is Naif Hazazi 'The One' For Saudi Arabia?
In the first of a series looking at some of the continent's best-known hitmen, Asia Editor John Duerden wonders whether a young Saudi Arabian will make it big...
| Bet: | Returns: | Al Ittifaq £11.25 | Draw £50.00 | Ittihad £290.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Al Ittifaq £30.00 | Draw £33.00 | Ittihad £21.00 |
|
Jul 27, 2009 4:03:10 AM
It has
been an up-and-down summer for Saudi Arabia fans. After a sticky period in
qualification for the 2010 World Cup, the Green Falcons recovered to take
third-place in the group and the play-off spot.
Now, Bahrain and New Zealand stand in the way of a fifth consecutive World Cup. After losing consecutive games at home to South Korea and then away to North Korea, fans in the Kingdom will be satisfied with that.
In the Asian Champions League group stage, Saudi league clubs were dominant, finishing top of their groups. Only one, however, survived the second round (it was an all-Saudi tie) to make it to the last eight.
Since then, Japanese fans have seen their very own Shunsuke Nakamura head to La Liga to be greeted by thousands of Espnayol fans at the airport. Park Ji-sung has been called the ‘Beckham of Korea’ after wild scenes of adulation as he visited his homeland with Manchester United, and Iranian fans, still desolate after elimination from the World Cup, at least know that a number of big clubs are interested in Javad Nekounam, one of their two Spanish-based stars.
Any regular reader of Goal.com will know that one of the recurring subjects of the Asia section is discussing the question of when we will see a player from Arabian Asian nations making a splash in one of the big leagues.
The Eredivisie isn’t quite that any more, but Iraq star Nashat Akram will be showing ex-England boss Steve McClaren what he can do at FC Twente next season. I chatted to the playmaker last month and he felt that the Dutch league is a good place to play in its own right as well as an excellent introduction into Europe. Many others would agree.
But while big salaries and little tax may tempt players from all over the world to the Saudi league, it also means that Saudi stars stay at home.
Fans are keen to support one of their own overseas. The list of candidates is not long. With Yasser Al-Qahtani showing no signs of venturing outside the borders after a fairly miserable time spent training with Manchester City last year and Mohammed Noor the wrong side of 30, the best bet is Al Ittihad striker Naif Hazazi.
Big Goals Equals Big Leagues?
This is a player who can usually be relied upon to catch your attention, and he wants to play in Europe too. Interest has been registered from clubs in Switzerland and Turkey.
At the tender age of 20, the question of whether he can handle life in the big leagues is, naturally, one that still has to be answered.
What most Saudi fans want is that the youngster keeps focused on the football and doesn’t fall into the trap of believing his own hype – something that other Saudi strikers have been guilty of in the past.
For Hazazi, the past may be short but it is impressive. In the big games, there is usually an incident involving the gangly striker that sticks in the memory. Fortunately for Saudi Arabian fans, these days, this is often a goal.
Direct when it comes to going for goal, Hazazi’s non-stop running and energy means that defenders have to be on their toes, and sometimes that is not enough as the 20 year-old is strong in the air.
Saudi Saviour, Daei Destroyer
He scored the goal that saved Saudi Arabia’s World Cup hopes and cost Ali Daei his job as Iran coach. With the Green Falcons 1-0 down in Tehran in March and staring a third consecutive defeat in the face, Hazazi broke free of Team Melli’s defence to shoot an equaliser past Madhi Rahmati.
Four days later, he did it again – heading home a late winner against UAE that put Saudi Arabia within touching distance of South Africa.
The team just needed to win against one of the Koreas in the final two games. It almost came in Seoul but the youngster, introduced as a substitute (the decision to start him on the bench earned Jose Peserio some of his first criticism as Saudi coach), headed over in the last minute when unmarked in front of goal. That would have sent the team to the World Cup and the player’s name into history.
There is still time for both to happen and with the confident star getting better all the time for club - he scored in the game that won the title for Al Ittihad in April - don’t bet against Naif Hazazi surfacing and succeeding in a league near you.
Will Naif Hazazi be the first Saudi Arabian player to become a star in Europe? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think? Please leave your comments below...
John Duerden
Asia Editor
john.duerden@goal.com
Now, Bahrain and New Zealand stand in the way of a fifth consecutive World Cup. After losing consecutive games at home to South Korea and then away to North Korea, fans in the Kingdom will be satisfied with that.
In the Asian Champions League group stage, Saudi league clubs were dominant, finishing top of their groups. Only one, however, survived the second round (it was an all-Saudi tie) to make it to the last eight.
Since then, Japanese fans have seen their very own Shunsuke Nakamura head to La Liga to be greeted by thousands of Espnayol fans at the airport. Park Ji-sung has been called the ‘Beckham of Korea’ after wild scenes of adulation as he visited his homeland with Manchester United, and Iranian fans, still desolate after elimination from the World Cup, at least know that a number of big clubs are interested in Javad Nekounam, one of their two Spanish-based stars.
Any regular reader of Goal.com will know that one of the recurring subjects of the Asia section is discussing the question of when we will see a player from Arabian Asian nations making a splash in one of the big leagues.
The Eredivisie isn’t quite that any more, but Iraq star Nashat Akram will be showing ex-England boss Steve McClaren what he can do at FC Twente next season. I chatted to the playmaker last month and he felt that the Dutch league is a good place to play in its own right as well as an excellent introduction into Europe. Many others would agree.
But while big salaries and little tax may tempt players from all over the world to the Saudi league, it also means that Saudi stars stay at home.
Fans are keen to support one of their own overseas. The list of candidates is not long. With Yasser Al-Qahtani showing no signs of venturing outside the borders after a fairly miserable time spent training with Manchester City last year and Mohammed Noor the wrong side of 30, the best bet is Al Ittihad striker Naif Hazazi.
Big Goals Equals Big Leagues?
This is a player who can usually be relied upon to catch your attention, and he wants to play in Europe too. Interest has been registered from clubs in Switzerland and Turkey.
At the tender age of 20, the question of whether he can handle life in the big leagues is, naturally, one that still has to be answered.
What most Saudi fans want is that the youngster keeps focused on the football and doesn’t fall into the trap of believing his own hype – something that other Saudi strikers have been guilty of in the past.
For Hazazi, the past may be short but it is impressive. In the big games, there is usually an incident involving the gangly striker that sticks in the memory. Fortunately for Saudi Arabian fans, these days, this is often a goal.
Direct when it comes to going for goal, Hazazi’s non-stop running and energy means that defenders have to be on their toes, and sometimes that is not enough as the 20 year-old is strong in the air.
Saudi Saviour, Daei Destroyer
He scored the goal that saved Saudi Arabia’s World Cup hopes and cost Ali Daei his job as Iran coach. With the Green Falcons 1-0 down in Tehran in March and staring a third consecutive defeat in the face, Hazazi broke free of Team Melli’s defence to shoot an equaliser past Madhi Rahmati.
Four days later, he did it again – heading home a late winner against UAE that put Saudi Arabia within touching distance of South Africa.
The team just needed to win against one of the Koreas in the final two games. It almost came in Seoul but the youngster, introduced as a substitute (the decision to start him on the bench earned Jose Peserio some of his first criticism as Saudi coach), headed over in the last minute when unmarked in front of goal. That would have sent the team to the World Cup and the player’s name into history.
There is still time for both to happen and with the confident star getting better all the time for club - he scored in the game that won the title for Al Ittihad in April - don’t bet against Naif Hazazi surfacing and succeeding in a league near you.
Will Naif Hazazi be the first Saudi Arabian player to become a star in Europe? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think? Please leave your comments below...
John Duerden
Asia Editor
john.duerden@goal.com
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