Abdullah Dossary

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Abdullah Dossary played for Al-Hilal during the 1980s, a decade when the club hired Saudi players like defender Saleh Al-Nu'eimeh, who captained both Al-Hilal and the Saudi National Football Team, and promoted playmaker Yousuf Al-Thunayan and forward Sami Al-Jaber. The club won four league titles and four King's Cup titles in ten years, two of those being season doubles. Al-Hilal were runners-up in the Asian Club Championship twice in this period: second after the round-robin in the final round in 1986, and reaching the final in 1987, where they were unable to field a team due to nine starting players being chosen for the Saudi team's preparation camp that clashed with the first leg date. Dossary's career coincided with this sustained success, and he was part of the squad that built the foundation for the club's later continental dominance in the 1990s.

In Their Own Story

In the 1987 Asian Club Championship final, Al-Hilal were set to face Yomiuri, but nine of the starting players were called up for the Saudi national team's preparation camp, which clashed with the date fixed for the first leg. As a result, Al-Hilal were unable to field a team for the final, and Yomiuri were crowned champions automatically. This moment, though a disappointment, highlighted the club's depth of talent that was also serving the national team. Dossary, as a defender in that era, was part of a squad that consistently challenged for titles domestically and continentally, helping secure four league titles and four King's Cup titles in the 1980s.

Reader's Guide

Abdullah Dossary played as a defender for Al-Hilal during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The club's 1980s squad included Saudi players such as Saleh Al-Nu'eimeh, Yousuf Al-Thunayan, and Sami Al-Jaber. Al-Hilal won four league titles and four King's Cup titles in ten years, two of those being season doubles. In continental competitions, Al-Hilal were runners-up in the Asian Club Championship in 1986 and 1987. The 1987 final was not played because nine Al-Hilal starters were selected for the Saudi national team's preparation camp that clashed with the first leg date. Dossary's era ended as the club entered a period of continental dominance from 1991 to 2002, winning the Asian Club Championship in 1991, the Asian Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 and 2002, and the Asian Super Cup in 1997 and 2000. His legacy is as a defender who contributed to the club's domestic success and its early steps in Asian competition.

Did You Know?

• Al-Hilal was founded on 16 October 1957 and is one of three teams to have participated in every season of the Saudi Pro League since its establishment in 1976.
• The club's name 'Al-Hilal' is Arabic for 'the crescent moon'.
• Al-Hilal were runners-up in the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first Asian club from outside the host nation to reach the final.
• In September 2009, Al-Hilal was awarded Greatest Asian Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS.
• Al-Hilal has a market value of €242.5 million as of 2024, the highest in Saudi Arabia.