The 2014–15 Saudi Professional League (known as the Abdul Latif Jameel Professional League for sponsorship reasons) was the 39th season of the Saudi Pro League, the top Saudi professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1976. The season began on 8 August 2014 and ended on 18 May 2015. Al-Nassr were the defending champions having won their seventh title the prior season. The league was contested by the 12 teams from the 2013–14 season as well as Al-Khaleej and Hajer, who joined as the promoted clubs from the 2013–14 First Division. They replace Al-Ettifaq and Al-Nahda who were relegated to the 2014–15 First Division.
On 10 May, Al-Nassr secured their eighth league title and second one in a row with one game to spare after a 1–0 win against derby rivals Al-Hilal coupled with Al-Ahli's 2–2 draw with Al-Taawoun. Runners-up Al-Ahli ended the season without a single defeat becoming the third team to ever do so in a 26-game league season and the fourth team overall. They became the first team to end the season unbeaten and not be crowned champions.
Both Al-Orobah and Al-Shoulla were relegated on the final matchday on 10 May. Al-Orobah were relegated after a 1–0 home defeat to Najran. Al-Shoulla were relegated after a 2–2 draw with Al-Raed.
Teams Fourteen teams competed in the league – the twelve teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Hajer (returning after a season's absence) and Al-Khaleej (returning to the top flight after seven years). They replaced Al-Ettifaq (ending their thirty-seven-year top-flight spell) and Al-Nahda (who were relegated after one season in the top flight).
Stadiums and locations
Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. Team Location Stadium Capacity Al-Ahli Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Faisaly Harmah Prince Salman Sport City Stadium Al-Fateh Hofuf Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Al-Hilal Riyadh King Fahd International StadiumPrince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Al-Ittihad Jeddah King Abdullah Sports City Al-Khaleej Saihat Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium (Dammam) Al-Nassr Riyadh King Fahd International StadiumPrince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Al-Orobah Sakakah Al-Orobah Club Stadium Al-Raed Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Al-Shabab Riyadh King Fahd International StadiumPrince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium Al-Shoulla Al-Kharj Al-Shoulla Club Stadium Al-Taawoun Buraidah King Abdullah Sport City Stadium Hajer Al-Hasa Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium Najran Najran Al Akhdoud Club Stadium
Personnel and kits Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1 On the back of the strip. 2 On the right sleeve of the strip.
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointment Al-Khaleej Sameer HilalEnd of contract 6 April 2014 Pre-season Jalel Kadri 29 April 2014 Al-Faisaly Giovanni Solinas 1 May 2014 Stéphane Demol 21 May 2014 Al-Nassr José Daniel Carreño 1 May 2014 Raúl Caneda 3 May 2014 Al-Orobah Jameel Qassem 1 May 2014 Laurent Banide 25 May 2014 Al-Raed Marc Brys 1 May 2014 Vlatko Kostov 31 May 2014 Al-Shoulla Juan José Maqueda 1 May 2014 Hans van der Pluijm 9 May 2014 Najran Nizar Mahrous 1 May 2014 Denis Lavagne 8 June 2014 Al-Ahli Vítor Pereira Resigned 5 May 2014 Christian Gross 16 June 2014 Al-Shabab Ammar Souayah End of contract 15 May 2014 José Morais 3 June 2014 Al-Hilal Sami Al-Jaber Sacked 26 May 2014 Laurențiu Reghecampf 26 May 2014 Al-Fateh Fathi Al-Jabal End of contract 27 May 2014 Juan José Maqueda 27 May 2014 Al-Shoulla Hans van der Pluijm Sacked 26 July 2014 Eusebiu Tudor 26 July 2014 Najran Denis Lavagne Resigned 25 August 2014 11th Marc Brys 25 August 2014 Al-Ittihad Khalid Al-KoroniSacked 28 August 2014 4th Amro Anwar (caretaker) 28 August 2014 Al-Raed Vlatko Kostov 1 September 2014 13th Emad Al-Sulami (caretaker) 1 September 2014 Al-Taawoun Taoufik Rouabah 2 September 2014 10th José Manuel Gomes 4 September 2014 Hajer Nacif BeyaouiResigned 20 September 2014 8th Abdullah Al-Janoubi (caretaker) 20 September 2014 Najran Marc Brys 24 September 2014 11th Abdelhay Atiri (caretaker) 24 September 2014 Al-Fateh Juan José Maqueda Sacked 25 September 2014 10th Nacif Beyaoui 1 October 2014 Hajer Abdullah Al-Janoubi (caretaker) End of caretaker period 27 September 2014 8th Nebojša Jovović 27 September 2014 Al-Shabab José Morais Mutual consent 6 October 2014 4th Reinhard Stumpf 7 October 2014 Al-Raed Emad Al-Sulami (caretaker)End of caretaker period 7 October 2014 13th Marc Brys 7 October 2014 Najran Abdelhay Atiri (caretaker) 8 October 2014 11th Fouad Bouali 8 October 2014 Al-Ittihad Amro Anwar (caretaker) 16 October 2014 3rd Victor Pițurcă 16 October 2014 Al-Nassr Raúl Caneda Sacked 1 November 2014 1st Jorge da Silva 2 November 2014 Al-Orobah Laurent Banide Mutual consent 17 December 2014 12th Sofiane Kassabi (caretaker) 17 December 2014 Al-Shabab Reinhard Stumpf Sacked 21 December 2014 3rd Jaime Pacheco 8 January 2015 Al-Orobah Sofiane Kassabi (caretaker) End of caretaker period 2 January 2015 11th Valeriu Tița 2 January 2015Al-Hilal Laurențiu Reghecampf Sacked 15 February 2015 3rd Ciprian Panait (caretaker) 15 February 2015 Ciprian Panait (caretaker) End of caretaker period 28 February 2015 4th Georgios Donis 28 February 2015 Al-Faisaly Stéphane DemolSacked 14 March 2015 6th Toni Conceição 14 March 2015 Al-Raed Marc Brys 24 March 2015 11th Ammar Souayah 24 March 2015 Al-Shabab Jaime Pacheco 27 March 2015 5th Adel Abdel Rahman 28 March 2015 Al-Orobah Valeriu Tița 7 April 2015 13th Amro Anwar 7 April 2015
Foreign players The number of foreign players is restricted to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window. Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC player Former players Al-Ahli Bruno César Osvaldo Mohamed Abdel Shafy Omar Al Somah Jairo Palomino Moestafa El Kabir Isaac Promise Dani Quintana Al-Faisaly André Ndame Ndame Khalil Bani Attiah Macoumba Kandji Ashraf Nu'man Adriano Pardal Marcelo Nicácio Al-Fateh Elias Élton Arábia Doris Fuakumputu Hussain Ali Baba Abraham Kumedor Ahmad Deeb Al-Hilal Digão Thiago Neves Georgios Samaras Kwak Tae-hwi Mihai Pintilii Al-Ittihad Marquinho Łukasz Szukała Lucian Sânmărtean Saif Salman Didier Ya Konan Mohammad Al-Dmeiri Samba Diakité Al-Khaleej Aminou Bouba Habib Meité Hamza Al-Dardour Ibrahim Al-Zawahreh Shareef Adnan Al-Nassr Armando Wila Adrian Mierzejewski Fabián Estoyanoff Mohamed Husain Hernane Marquinhos Gabriel Al-Orobah Moussa Yedan Issac Osae Moussa Narry Musaed Neda Jhasmani Campos Emmanuel Banahene Khodr Salame Al-Raed Alexis Enam Amjad Radhi Hassan Taïr Anas Bani Yaseen Papa Waigo Al-Shabab Rafinha John Antwi Mohamed Awal Tareq Khattab Rogerinho Mbaye Diagne Park Chu-young Al-Shoulla Sadat Bukari Lassana Fané Bojan Božović Orestes Andrezinho Ahmed Adams Samuel Owusu Yaseen Al-Bakhit Al-Taawoun Paul Alo'o Shadi Abu Hash'hash David Ochieng Jehad Al-Hussain Hajer Jildemar Dario Jertec Đorđe Đikanović Alaa' Al-Shaqran Aloísio Naby Soumah Mansour Gueye Najran Farid Cheklam Jandson Winful Cobbinah Mussab Al-Laham Michaïlou Dramé Obinna Obiefule Orestes has East Timorese passport and was counted as Asian player.
League table
Results
Season progress
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Omar Al SomahAl-Ahli222 Mohammad Al-SahlawiAl-Nassr213 Paul Alo'oAl-Taawoun154 Naif HazaziAl-Shabab145 JandsonNajran13 Nasser Al-ShamraniAl-Hilal7 Élton ArábiaAl-Fateh10 Thiago NevesAl-Hilal Doris FuakumputuAl-Fateh Hassan TaïrAl-Raed
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Ref Omar Al Somah Al-Ahli Hajer 6–1 (H) Paul Alo'o Al-Taawoun Al-Ittihad 4–3 (H) Marquinho Al-Ittihad Al-Taawoun 3–4 (A) Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi Al-Ittihad Al-Faisaly 3–0 (A) Mukhtar Fallatah Al-Ittihad Al-Raed 3–1 (H) Omar Al Somah Al-Ahli Al-Nassr 4–3 (A)
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Abdullah Al-EneziAl-Nassr102 Abdullah Al-MayoufAl-Ahli93 Waleed AbdullahAl-Shabab84 Khalid SharahiliAl-Hilal75 Basem AtallahAl-Taawoun5 Ibrahim ZaidAl-Faisaly7 Hani Al-NahedhAl-Ittihad4 Mansoor Al-NajaiAl-Faisaly
Discipline
Player Most yellow cards: 10 Adnan Fallatah (Al-Taawoun)
Most red cards: 2 Mohamed Husain (Al-Nassr) Khalid Al-Ghamdi (Al-Nassr) Sultan Al-Yami (Al-Orobah)
Club Most yellow cards: 63 Najran
Most red cards: 7 Al-Shabab
Attendances
By round + 2014–15 Saudi Pro League Attendance RoundTotalGames Avg. Per Game Round 1 139,173 7 19,882 Round 2 34,802 7 4,972 Round 3 31,136 7 4,448 Round 4 86,586 7 12,369 Round 5 43,471 7 6,210 Round 6 29,017 7 4,151 Round 7 115,246 7 16,464 Round 8 27,127 7 3,875 Round 9 86,696 7 12,385 Round 10 78,823 7 11,260 Round 11 31,342 7 4,477 Round 12 63,776 7 9,111 Round 13 85,384 7 12,198 Round 14 23,436 7 3,348 Round 15 50,236 7 7,177 Round 16 122,641 7 17,520 Round 17 26,215 7 3,745 Round 18 71,086 7 10,155 Round 19 69,109 7 9,873 Round 20 52,536 7 7,505 Round 21 115,986 7 16,569 Round 22 23,998 7 3,428 Round 23 59,097 7 8,442 Round 24 47,950 7 6,850 Round 25 43,619 7 6,231 Round 26 105,164 7 17,527 Total 182 9,146
By team
† †
Awards On 5 August 2014, the SAFF announced a new set of awards that included six categories. The winners were announced on 14 June 2015.
Player of the Year: Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr) Young Player of the Year: Abdulfattah Asiri (Al-Ittihad) Goalkeeper of the Year: Abdullah Al-Enezi (Al-Nassr) Manager of the Year: Christian Gross (Al-Ahli) Top Scorer: Omar Al Somah (Al-Ahli) Perfect Team: Al-Ahli Team of the Season
Team of the Season Goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah (Al-Shabab) Defenders Digaô (Al-Hilal) Hassan Muath (Al-Shabab) Osama Hawsawi (Al-Ahli) Hussein Abdulghani (Al-Nassr) Midfielders Adrian Mierzejewski (Al-Nassr) Ahmed Atef (Al-Shabab) Elton Arábia (Al-Fateh) Thiago Neves (Al-Hilal) Forwards Mohammed Al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr) Omar Al-Somah (Al-Ahli)
See also 2014–15 Saudi First Division 2015 King Cup 2014–15 Crown Prince Cup 2015 Super Cup
References