I also want to play Saudi football.
I think it's time to go somewhere else.
I'm a Muslim, it's a Muslim country.
There's the Mecca, which is very close.
It's true.
Last season, Etihad Club won the league.
In the summer, we had this opportunity to bring Karim Benzema to the club.
We are a club very close to Macca.
Bringing a player like him to Jeddah, being a Muslim, was extremely important.
This shows to the world that Hitiad can attract any player.
I want the fans to be with me.
Benzema is a very special player.
Benzema!
The fans were really happy.
Benzema is a world-class player.
What a great atmosphere.
60,000 fans are here for him.
We are in this process of changing the club to be ready to incorporate those kind of players, but it will take time.
Al-Ittihad, they're struggling this season.
They're seventh in the Saudi Pro League.
Benzema's camp strongly refuting that he's unsettled.
It's just not happening for him.
He's just not happy there.
He's a Ballon d'Or winner.
How can I explain this?
The United Nations is my forefather.
The United Nations has a very strong connection with this city and the United Nations team.
No one can point to Jeddah without the United Nations.
I met the Saudis on the football pitch.
The club was established in 1927 in Saudi Arabia.
The club was a team of fighters.
We wanted to win in a strong way.
The biggest achievement in 2004-2005 was when Dawoodi won the Asian Championship.
Last season we won the league.
When you win the league, the expectations will be much higher than the previous one.
Last year, new professionals came in.
It's about being able to attract the best players.
So Etihad brought in Fabinho, Luís Filipe, Jota, Kanté, and of course Karim Benzema.
I still want to do great things on the pitch.
All I can say, no matter who I am, is that I'm going to win.
This player, Karim Benzema, was the one who won the Golden Ball and won three European Championships in a row with the Spanish king, Real Madrid.
He's a star.
Honestly, it was a beautiful surprise for the whole team.
The stadium is filled with 60,000 spectators to welcome the best players in the world.
They welcomed me with open arms.
I felt their love for me right away.
Very, very happy, of course.
Of course, very happy, on the pitch, off the pitch.
At first, Benzema seemed like the perfect signing, the perfect investment.
He was settled, he seemed happy and started scoring goals.
The expectations were very high from the start of the championship because the team is the league champions.
Goal!
We play with what we have in our squad.
We have a good squad.
We work well together.
The most important thing is to win the matches.
Fabinho, excellent tackle.
Karim Benzema, thank God.
Then a pass from Karim to Koura.
Koura for Dazani and Roma for Benzema.
Goal!
Koura from Aubameyang.
So the series of victories will not continue.
And joining the federation in a series of losses and negative results.
Firas' header and it's a goal!
The people are ruling the derby.
A lucky goal for the federation in Clasico Yati here in Riyadh.
By early November, Atleti had dropped to sixth place.
And this is well below what's expected for a season champions.
A lot of things have changed, of course, especially the results.
There was an agreement with Nuno for him to leave.
Nuno had some difficulty in terms of adapting to new players.
The sporting results were not the best.
It's going to be Marcelo Gallardo's new home today at 2 p.m.
The game starts from 6 p.m.
on Via Italia, heading to Arabia.
He was the one that I felt could match our objectives.
The way he talks, the way he moves, the way he shares his experience.
you will feel that he is a strong leader.
I think this is a big risk for the club.
No team is affected by the dynamic changes in its management, both the manager and the players, and even the technical staff.
The results of the league didn't improve.
After Nuno Santo said, and the contract with Guardiola, the results were the opposite.
There was a state of stability, but the league lost.
Gagliardi arrived here a little before the Club World Cup, so we had little time to prepare for the World Cup, which was the competition that was most anticipated here.
The Club World Cup is a competition that defines the best team in the world.
It brings together the winners of each of the football confederations and also the winner of the league of the country that hosts the competition, which is Alentejad.
It's a very, very important trophy.
It's difficult to win, but not impossible.
So, in any case, we're going to do everything.
And I would like to be able to bring this trophy to the club and to the fans.
Can the United Nations return to the winning streak in front of the Egyptian people?
And get a place in the semifinals of the World Cup for India?
Just before the end of the first shot, Racket Algeria is considered to be the winner of the league after the touch of the ball.
Racket Algeria for the sake of the league.
Karim Benzema for the sake of Racket Algeria.
And the ball goes in.
All the reasons were the same.
I need these things.
Honestly, I don't know what to say.
We are frustrated about the results, like any other fan.
So what we are doing right now is to prepare the next season.
So right now, the focus is much more on developing the Saudi players and creating the right space for those who are under 18, trying to produce the best young players and to take those players to the first team.
Hello.
Come in, come in.
No problem.
Does anyone live with you in this room?
Yes, my brother.
This is a 17-year-old woman who was elected in Algeria.
This is an Asian woman who was elected.
At 16 years of age, Talal Haji from the Al-Ittihad club, making his debut.
Talal Haji is one of the most talented players in Saudi Arabia in the coming years.
His presence in the last Asian Cup, which was held in Qatar, made him the youngest player to participate in this championship at the age of 16.
It's a good ball in!
Oh, good save again.
He's a good, young, fast striker.
He's got technical skills, but he has to work hard because he's really young.
We never thought he'd be a star at home.
He'll get his chance.
I hope that when he gets his chance, he'll prove himself.
He'll convince the club, the fans, the management, and the whole street of Riyadh.
Don't close your mouth.
If we want to develop the Saudi young player, you need to have a reference.
So, Cristiano, Neymar, Karim, they are extremely important.
It's about building the future.
Investing in the youth is the way forward.
If you have top players and you have a top manager backed up by a lot of money, it's not always a guarantee of success.
The 6th-placed club faces the 2nd-placed club, Nasser, led by Ronaldo.
The club lost 3 days ago to Raed.
The fans are expecting more from Benzema and his team.
And here comes the celebration!
Is it Benzema?
He sends the ball, it goes to Abdurazal, he holds the ball, he shoots, it's a goal!
It's impossible, Kareem!
This is a goal!
I told you not to miss it at all, Kareem!
What happened today?
A leg injury, Fabinho, it's unbelievable!
As I said, it's been a tough season.
You're the champion, and you hire players like Benzema, Kanté, Fabinho.
So, since we got here, we felt that the expectation was very high, the pressure to win.
At the end of the match now, Otávio to Sancho!
5-0!
Today's victory is recorded!
And it breaks the record!
Benzema has deactivated his Instagram account, followed by 76 million people.
The ex-attacker has left Saudi Arabia.
It's not easy to accept by everyone, and I think Benzema felt that the stage was a little bit too small, that perhaps the conditions weren't as he imagined them.
After the first half of the season, the U.N.
heads to Dubai for intensive military training.
With the absence of the star, Karim Benzema, who is sick due to bad weather.
The question is, should the fans be worried about their commitment to the U.N.? ?
The fact that Karim also could not can create some kind of uncertainty the way we could count on Karim or not.
During the Dubai military coup, there was talk that Karim would not return to the regime, that his relationship with the United Nations had ended.
Who is it?
Come here.
Hello.
Oi!
And I understand that in football you want the results for yesterday, not for tomorrow.
But there are a lot of bad things that need to be improved.
Ramon will be our sporting director.
And Ramon will bring with him a full team of experts in football that will improve our ability to perform well.
There is something you need.
We are here to help.
We are here to help you and to demand it.
And in ArcelorBad, we also demand it.
In football, you can't win anything if not everyone goes in the same direction.
The players who were there, I think that's where a team spirit began to be generated.
They began to understand that they had to work twice as hard, that they had to start building something much more solid, beyond the difficulties we had.
Many important decisions for the club's future.
Solving situations with players who were out of the group.
Creating, above all, a spirit for the second half of the season.
I think it was a very, very, very important moment.
I think in Dubai it was a good moment there, that the group started to have a better relationship, started to communicate better, started to get along better.
After that, we were really hoping to get good results, show a much better football.
After the military of Dubai, which was established by the United Nations, it was clear that the team had changed its strategy and the targets that it was supposed to target this season.
So, Kassel Malik became the first priority.
The King's Cup is one of the oldest tournaments in Saudi Arabia.
Its value is also high in India, so our champion in this tournament holds a spot in the Asian Champions League.
I think it's one of the most important competitions here.
Everyone wants to win.
No one wants to lose a game like this.
We have a lot of injuries, we have a lot of casualties, we have a lot of things that we could have done better during this season.
God willing, this period will be better than this.
The long-awaited death of Karim Benzema returns next month to Captain Ahmed Hegazi, who is in charge.
The quarter-finals of the Champions League are an important opportunity for the team to bring back something from last season.
But the most important sign is that Benzema is still missing.
Abdel Salbi is still in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
It's a match that must be won by the federation and its coach, Marcelo Gallardo.
In every match, the pressure increases on the coach of the United Nations, Gallardo.
If the federation brings the King's Cup, I will throw all the negatives behind my back.
He's going to get it.
It's a great honour for anyone to be the captain of any team.
It's a huge responsibility.
It's a huge responsibility to be the captain of the club.
You put it on your mind and shoulders, the fans and the players.
We saw Benzema's leadership in the club.
We saw your leadership in the club.
I don't want a comparison.
First of all, this is a question that can't be asked in the club's room.
And it can't be asked by the club's captain.
And it can't be asked by a player about another player.
He's a great player on this team.
Of course.
He has his reputation and respect.
Of course.
He has his reputation and respect.
You can't ask me that question.
Wait a minute.
I won't let you ask me that question.
I'm not mad at you.
There's been a lot of talk in the United States and in sports in general that Kareem Benzema won't return to the United States.
Benzema was obviously the marquee signing in the summer.
How can I explain that?
Everything is different, not especially the pitch.
It's everything, everything around it.
Coming here means changing teams, changing places, adapting to the level of life, even if it's great.
You have to learn to play with other players, another footballer, another coach.
The last step before winning, but there is everything that is before and there is a lot of work to change.
I don't need a journalist to comment on my life.
I know who I am, I know the player I am, I know what I do, I know what I can do.
At my age today, with what I have won and what I represent, I don't need a journalist.
They can tell me anything they want.
because here it was another project, not especially football.
It also brings me closer to the Mec.
For me, it's the truth.
My life, quite simply, as a footballer.
Being close to God, the Mec, it's something else.
That's what's most important.
Oh, Salamat, how are you?
I'm fine.
I'm going to the gas station.
You're going to the gas station?
Yes.
Oh, my God, the gas station.
How are you?
I'm fine.
Thank God.
How are you?
I'm fine.
How are you?
Do you know each other, or are you like Karim?
Like Karim.
Okay.
Come on.
Like the gas station?
Yes.
Come on.
It's always a challenge when you bring a very talented player to a club because you need to be prepared to welcome this player and the club was not yet ready for Benzema.
It's a transformation process, and we are in the middle of it.
But it's not only about spending money.
It's very important for coaches, for managers, for players to adapt.
We all are in a very challenging journey.
Hello.
How are you?
What's your name?
Take a picture.
When you convince somebody like Benzema to come to your club, you better make sure that whatever happens, not just on the match day, but the rest of the days, has got the level that he's used to.
But the project of the Saudi Pro League is achieving what it's set up to achieve, as in attracting players,
And now we have a whole new generation of fans.
The growth of women's football in the last decade is one of the most wonderful things that have happened, because in Saudi they weren't that interested in letting them play.
Assalamu alaikum.
Imagine that 15 years ago, 16 years ago, a group of women, including myself, who are passionate about the game, gathered together and decided to establish a community league.
In Saudi, it wasn't recognized as an organized football.
We didn't have the support.
We did fund that league from our own pocket.
And fast forward until today.
Now we have a women's football department under the Saudi Arabia Football Federation.
The Saudi Women's Premier League is developing year by year.
It's new, it's fresh.
Now we have over 50 international players who are playing in our league from 24 different countries.
Well, the good thing is when you come in October, it will be really hot the way that you like it.
And humid.
Oh no, that's a shame.
My name is Ashley Plumter, player for Al Etihad and the Nigerian women's national team.
I remember when I sat with my head coach before I told him I was leaving, and it was a surprise to a lot of people.
One, surprise that I was leaving Leicester, and two, a surprise that I was coming to Saudi Arabia.
It's very different to what I've been used to, but, and I've always said this, but football for me is more than just playing, it's the experience of the culture as well,
I'm getting that a lot here.
I came here, I didn't want to have any expectation.
But even with the Saudi players, like, honestly, I look in the changing room sometimes and I think, how different?
Like, there's nobody that's the same.
But we're all connected through football.
Do you do gifts at Ramadan?
No.
Is there any, like, particular...
meal that you have you know like for christmas first we have christmas dinner we break our fast and that's and yeah yeah talking about fasting
You can't compare men's football to women's football.
Men's football started 90 years ago.
We need to focus on developing the youth, promoting women's football, having fans in the stadium.
It is back in the danger zone.
I get to be a part of the infancy of what football here will become.
I don't know what the end of this, what it will look like.
But we're all striving for something bigger that we've all kind of bought into.
And it's not something that happens overnight.
So happy to get all the goals and a win for the team.
Thank you.
Honestly, I didn't believe it when they said Cristiano was coming.
I thought it was a good start.
It was a good start, but we were sad that he stopped playing for Egypt.
Ronaldo, Benzema, Kante, Fabinho.
The league is going to change a million times.
I can't believe it.
We used to play here, there was a playground.
They say they're going to build a playground.
There are a lot of things that will change in Saudi Arabia in the next 10 years.
Saudi Arabia has officially stated its intent to host the 2034 World Cup.
Honestly, I welcome everyone here.
I started training and working hard.
I came here with my friends.
Thank God for everything.
We were born in Jeddah, and we know Jeddah.
Jeddah has a lot of landmarks, and it has a lot of beautiful things.
They build a playground there, and they play in the basketball court.
This happens by chance, to be honest.
It doesn't happen all the time.
I see myself as part of the development that is happening here in Saudi Arabia.
After ten years of playing, after ten years of participating in the World Cup, I'm proud of my future, God willing.
It's clear that from here to 2034, there are ten years, so he will reach the World Cup, which will be about 27 years, and in the fullness of his physicality,
of technical and tactical intelligence.
So, there's a chance.
I think that if he works hard, he can become a star in Saudi football.
Maybe the best.
Come on, let's go.
I hope to be the first attacker in Saudi Arabia in the United Nations.
I hope to take my chance and play.
Kareem Benzema is back to training with the team.
But he wasn't a part of today's match.
The reason for his absence is still unclear.
Kareem Benzema will be back.
He's better than before.
He's a big star.
We should be patient with him.
The match is a clash between Al-Hati and Al-Budalah.
Al-Budalah!
Yes!
Saad Al Moussa scores the first goal!
And the situation has changed!
And you've lost your strength!
You won't be defeated, Naber!
You won't be defeated, my son!
I tell him, when you see the crowd and the stadium full, Talal, do you get scared or do you get nervous?
He says, no, I get down.
I'm trying to improve more and more to be one of the best players in the world.
It's a one-on-one match.
It's 76 minutes.
Marcelo Gallardo faces Talal Haji, who is 16 years old.
Can he be the winner?
There will come a time when you will be eliminated.
May God grant you success.
I always give them advice.
He's a great bodybuilder.
He wants to work.
He has the talent to be one of the best strikers in Saudi Arabia in the near future.
He can play any game he wants.
He's not afraid.
He goes for it.
I think he has a bright future.
I remember when he came to train with us for the first time.
I was surprised by his potential, his physical strength.
He's only 16 years old.
Congratulations.
ETIAS is the people's club.
If you see our history, it's about fighting.
It's about defiance.
Going through the difficulties, being able to surpass the challenges and to achieve the result our fans expect.
Football can't always be at the top.
Stay focused, a lot of courage, that's what you need.
Let's say I'm starting a new chapter.
Everyone has their own destiny.
The first six months have been the most challenging I've experienced in football.
We need a wholesale change.
Jordan Henderson is leaving the Saudi Arabian club, Al-Edifak.
I've got no doubts that we can be more competitive at the top end of the league.
We will not accept bad results and we don't react.
Hi.