SaudiNT (X) Oct 07, 2026 05:24+08:00
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20 coaching staffs and 27 tournaments: what has changed in Saudi football since the national team's last title?
Originals
Saudi Arabia vs UAE
Saudi Arabia
UAE
Gulf Cup
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia break a 23-year curse
Saudi Arabia ended a 23-year drought as outright champions, lifting the Arabian Gulf Cup "Gulf" 27 to top the podium for the first time in over two decades.
The Green Falcons beat the UAE 2-0 at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah on Tuesday to claim the final of the tournament's 27th edition.
It was their first title since 2003, when they last won the Arabian Gulf Cup. Nothing had followed in the years in between.
27 tournaments: without titles
Saudi Arabia have gone 27 tournaments without a trophy since their last title. The best they have managed in that spell is a runners-up finish, which they have achieved on five occasions.
Four of those tournaments were World Cups, in 2006, 2018, 2022 and 2026, and the group stage ended their campaign every time. They failed to even reach the 2010 and 2014 editions.
The AFC Asian Cup has brought six appearances since that last title. A second-place finish in 2007 stands as the high point, Iraq beating them in the final.
Elsewhere in that competition, the round of 16 proved the end of the road twice, in 2019 and 2023. Three group-stage exits followed in 2004, 2011 and 2015.
At Gulf level, Saudi Arabia played in 10 editions of the Arabian Gulf Cup before Gulf 27. They finished second four times, in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2019, and never did better.
Three West Asian Football Federation Championship campaigns, in 2012, 2014 and 2019, all ended at the group stage.
The Arab Cup tells a similar story across three appearances. Third place in 2025 is their best, with a fourth-place finish in 2012 and a group-stage exit in 2021.
Saudi Arabia's managers: 20 changes
The Netherlands' Gerard van der Lem was the architect of Saudi Arabia's last title, the head coach who steered them to the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2003.
Van der Lem left the Saudi job in 2004. Since then the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has changed the senior national team's head coach 20 times, running through 17 different men, the latest being Greece's Georgios Donis.
One name stands out among those changes: the local coach Nasser Al-Johar, who took the role on an interim basis three times, compared with a single stint for fellow Saudi Yousef Anbar.
Beyond that pair, every Saudi coach has been a foreigner. France's Hervé Renard leads the way, taking charge across two spells and guiding Saudi Arabia to the World Cup finals twice.
6 Asian club titles
Saudi Arabia's national team haven't won a title in 23 years. Their clubs, meanwhile, have been busy ruling Asia.
Twenty-two editions of the AFC Champions League have come and gone since Saudi Arabia's last triumph, and Saudi clubs have claimed six of them, with Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli each lifting the trophy twice.
Only South Korea's clubs have done better, winning on seven occasions. Japan's clubs sit on five titles, China on two, with Australia and the UAE picking up one apiece.
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The Saudi league: six champions for 23 editions
Since the national team's last title, Saudi Arabia have crowned 23 league champions. Six different clubs have got their hands on the trophy.
Al-Hilal led the way across that era with 10 league crowns. Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr managed four apiece, Al-Shabab claimed three, while Al-Ahli and Al-Fateh each picked up a single title.