Al Ahli Saudi F.C.–Ittihad F.C. rivalry
| Other names | Derby of the Mermaid |
|---|---|
| Location | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Teams | |
| First meeting | Al-Ahli 0–0 Al-Ittihad Friendly (1951) |
| Latest meeting | Al-Ittihad 2–0 Al-Ahli Pro League (31 October 2020) |
| Next meeting | Al-Ittihad v Al-Ahli Pro League (2 February 2021) |
| Stadiums | King Abdullah Sports City Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Al-Saban Stadium |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | Official matches: 183 Unofficial matches: 14 Total matches: 197 |
| Most wins | Official matches: Al-Ahli (70) Unofficial matches: Al-Ittihad (58) Total matches: Al-Ahli (73) |
| Top scorer | Saeed Ghurab (19) |
| Largest victory | Al-Ittihad 8–2 Al-Ahli Regional League (24 October 1966) |
The Jeddah Derby, also called the Derby of the Mermaid,[1] is the name given to football matches contested between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, both from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the longest running top-flight derby in Saudi Arabian football. The rivalry started in 1951 and is considered to be one of the strongest and most viewed matches in Asia and the Arab world.[2]
History
The first-ever match between these two teams was in 1951. The two teams played a friendly match in Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah which ended 0–0.[3] In 1958, both teams met each other in the final of the Crown Prince Cup in what would be the first final between these two teams. Over 12,000 fans attended the match at the Al-Saban Stadium in Jeddah. Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ahli 3–2 to lift their first Crown Prince Cup trophy. The first league match between the two sides was during the first season of the Saudi League, the 1976–77 season.[4] Al-Ahli won the match 2–0 thanks to goals from Saad Al-Harbi and Idris Adam. Saeed Ghurab is the top scorer of the derby with 20 goals, 17 for Al-Ittihad and 3 for Al-Ahli. The clubs have met each other in 12 finals, with Al-Ittihad winning 7 and Al-Ahli winning 5.
Official match results
As of 9 August 2020. Source:[5][6]
Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form.
- SF = Semi-finals
- QF = Quarter-finals
- R16 = Round of 16
- R32 = Round of 32
- GS = Group stage
- R1 = Round 1
- R2 = Round 2
Al-Ahli win Draw Al-Ittihad win
|
|
1 1987 King Cup Second Round match won 4–3 on penalties by Al-Ittihad after both teams were tied 0–0.
2 2005–06 Crown Prince Cup quarter-final won 4–2 on penalties by Al-Ahli after both teams were tied 1–1.
3 2011 King Cup Final won 4–2 on penalties by Al-Ahli after both teams were tied 0–0.
Records
Most goals in a match
- 10 goals on 24 October 1966 Al-Ittihad 8–2 Al-Ahli
- 8 goals on 5 October 1987 Al-Ahli 4–4 Al-Ittihad
- 7 goals on 2 May 1960 Al-Ittihad 7–0 Al-Ahli
- 7 goals on 15 October 1968 Al-Ahli 4–3 Al-Ittihad
- 7 goals on 10 April 1983 Al-Ahli 5–2 Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli biggest wins
* Four or more goals difference, OR Al-Ahli scored five or above
- Al-Ahli 5–1 Al-Ittihad on 13 November 1965
- Al-Ahli 4–0 Al-Ittihad on 18 October 1969
- Al-Ahli 4–0 Al-Ittihad on 3 July 1973
- Al-Ahli 5–0 Al-Ittihad on 28 May 1976
- Al-Ahli 4–0 Al-Ittihad on 8 June 1979
- Al-Ahli 5–2 Al-Ittihad on 10 April 1983
Al-Ittihad biggest wins
* Four or more goals difference, OR Al-Ittihad scored five or above
- Al-Ittihad 7–0 Al-Ahli on 2 May 1960
- Al-Ittihad 8–2 Al-Ahli on 24 October 1966
Highest Attendance
* 45,000 or above
- 59,026 – Al-Ahli 1–1 Al-Ittihad (19 December 2014) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 54,256 – Al-Ittihad 0–1 Al-Ahli (31 December 2015) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 52,909 – Al-Ittihad 1–4 Al-Ahli (3 February 2017) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 49,732 – Al-Ahli 1–1 Al-Ittihad (23 September 2019) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 47,223 – Al-Ittihad 3–2 Al-Ahli (27 December 2016) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 46,977 – Al-Ittihad 0–3 Al-Ahli (22 November 2015) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 46,527 – Al-Ittihad 1–3 Al-Ahli (25 November 2018) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 45,913 – Al-Ittihad 0–0 Al-Ahli (4 February 2018) (King Abdullah Sports City)
- 45,000 – Al-Ittihad 2–1 Al-Ahli (17 May 2000) (Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium)
Statistics
Statistics as of 9 August 2020.[7][8][9]
| Matches | Al-Ahli Wins |
Draws | Al-Ittihad Wins |
Al-Ahli Goals |
Al-Ittihad Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional League |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 15 |
| Saudi League |
92 | 30 | 33 | 29 | 127 | 126 |
| Total league matches |
99 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 144 | 141 |
| King Cup |
34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 55 | 43 |
| Crown Prince Cup |
14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 22 |
| Federation Cup |
30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 32 | 33 |
| Founder's Cup |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Asian Champions League |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Arab Champions League |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Total official matches | 183 | 70 | 56 | 57 | 265 | 246 |
| Al-Maseef Tournament | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Tournament | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Friendlies | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 20 |
| Total matches | 199 | 73 | 61 | 65 | 284 | 276 |
Top scorers
Below is the list of players who have scored at least four goals in official meetings.
| Position | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Saeed Ghurab
|
Al-Ittihad (16) Al-Ahli (3) | 19 |
| 2 | Hussam Abo Dawood
|
Al-Ahli | 14 |
| Talal Al-Meshal
|
Al-Ahli (12) Al-Ittihad (2) | ||
| 4 | Suleiman Mattar
|
Al-Ahli | 13 |
 Sérgio Ricardo
|
Al-Ittihad (10) Al-Ahli (3) | ||
 Omar Al Somah
|
Al-Ahli | ||
| 7 | Hamzah Idris
|
Al-Ittihad | 11 |
| 8 | Amin Dabo
|
Al-Ahli | 9 |
| 9 | Salah Al-Muwallad
|
Al-Ittihad | 8 |
| Mohammed Noor
|
Al-Ittihad | ||
| Abdullah Fawal
|
Al-Ittihad |
Players who played for both clubs
- Al-Ahli then Al-Ittihad
- 1960:
Saeed Ghurab - 1960: Turki Bafarrat
- 1963: Mubarak Abo Ghanam
- 1963: Saleh Kadour
- 1963: Abdulraouf Labbad
- 1979: Saeed Ghurab
- 1985: Mousa Marzouq
- 2000: Khaled Masaad
- 2001: Haitham Al-Johani
- 2001:
Sérgio Ricardo (via Al-Hilal) - 2002: Hussain Al-Qoozi
- 2003: Abdullah Al-Waked
- 2004: Ibrahim Al-Shahrani
- 2004: Khaled Gahwji
- 2005: Tisir Al-Antaif (via Al-Khaleej)
- 2008: Talal Al-Meshal (via Al-Nassr, then Al-Markhiya)
- 2011: Ibrahim Hazzazi
- 2015: Majed Al-Khaibari (via Najran)
- 2015: Saeed Al-Muwallad
- 2016: Ahmed Al-Aoufi
- 2018: Mansoor Al-Harbi
- 2019: Hamdan Al-Shamrani (via Al-Faisaly)
- Al-Ittihad then Al-Ahli
- 1957: Abdulaziz Hussam Aldin
- 1959: Abdulrahman Katlooj
- 1960: Ibrahim Ashmawi
- 1962: Ahmed Hammad
- 1962: Ghazi Nasser
- 1964: Mohammed Omar Rajkhan
- 1970: Saeed Ghurab (via Al-Nassr)
- 1972: Adel Rawas
- 1999: Salem Suwaid
- 2003: Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi (via Al-Arabi)
- 2015: Majed Kanabah
- 2016: Marquinho (via Udinese)
- 2016: Abdulfattah Asiri
- 2017: Saeed Al-Muwallad (via Farense, then Al-Raed)
- 2019: Sultan Mendash (via Al-Faisaly)
- 2020: Talal Al-Absi (via Al-Taawoun)
References
- ^ "دربي العروس».. بين عقدة وصدارة".
- ^ - Daralakhbar:Derby of Jeddah
- ^ "أرقام تاريخية من ديربي جدة بين الأهلي والاتحا".
- ^ "ديربي جدة.. الإتحاد يسعى لإنهاء السبع العجاف والأهلي يتمسك بالمنافسة".
- ^ "تاريخ لقاءات الاهلي والاتحاد".
- ^ "تاريخ لقاءات".
- ^ "Statistics".
- ^ "إحصائية مواجهات ( الاهلي و الاتحاد )". Archived from the original on 2017-10-22.
- ^ "أرقام ومفارقات ومعلومات لأول مرة عن ديربي جدة".
- ^ "24 لاعباً ارتدوا قميص الاتحاد والأهلي".
- ^ ""مكة" ترصد أبرز تنقلات اللاعبين بين الأهلي والاتحاد خلال 60 عاما".
