Find the Cristiano in yourself

I’ve experienced my fair share of football traumas. My jaw did drop with that last minute Lucas Moura shot against the best underdog story in Amsterdam. I did run around in the office yelling when Salem took that wild shot at Qatar. My heart did skip a beat when Gerrard slipped. I did bring a ruler to measure Messi’s free kick goal against Liverpool and I sure was left in aw when Balotelli gently pushing the ball towards Aguero before that historic league-winning goal.

But I can confidently and comfortably say that last week’s King Cup Final between Alhilal and Alnasser dated May 31st was the best football match I have ever watched. Some even call it the best Saudi League football match ever. The story could not have been written better and watching Cristiano was simply majestic.

You'd think a team with the greatest player to ever set foot in a football stadium (yes, light years ahead of the Argentinian) would easily dominate any league. But this was not the case for CR7. His arrival in the Saudi Professional League triggered the league's ambition to become the fifth-best league in the world, immediately transforming it into a different beast. The league had ambitious plans to permanently change the football scene, and this was just the beginning.

This transformation saw clubs signing over 50 A class players from the best leagues worldwide, hired more than 100 coaches and staff members, built multi-million dollar facilities and invested in their clubs carefully and strategically. Alnasser's city rivals, Alhilal, were no exception.

So it’s the end of the season, Alhilal had won the Saudi Professional League and the Super Cup. Their final match against Alnasser for the King Cup was to complete a treble. This was Alnasser’s and Cristiano’s final chance to end the season with a trophy.

CR7 walked on the pitch with a do or die mentality. Like the leader that he is, he chased after every opportunity, challenged every ball, ran back and forth the pitch helping his teammates and took every shot he believed could count. And don’t get me started on that bicycle kick. The entire football world gasped.

He led by example - a true leader and absolute brilliance throughout the entire 120 minutes. Regardless the color shirt you had on that day, you couldn’t help but appreciate this man’s grit. It was art, walla it was art.

Now unfortunately for Alnasser & CR7, they were not victorious as the penalty shootout favored Alhilal. But the world was all left in sorrow watching the greatest player to ever set foot in a football stadium (Yes, light years ahead of the Argentinian) fall to his knees in tears. He was heartbroken and so were we. This meant so much to him.

They say, never meet your heroes because you’ll get disappointed, but not in this case. CR7 is a live embodiment of a true leader. A leader who will go to war for his team, push them into becoming the best version of themselves and never settle for mediocracy. A leader I will forever admire.

When asked about next season and whether he plans on hanging his boots, Cristiano responded, “I’ll see you next season”. At 39 years young, we will yet again have the privilege of watching him at the Saudi League next season.

It is no surprise the Saudi Professional League has a 30% expansion in broadcast reach, now reaching +170 countries on 48 global platforms with more than 750million viewers. The League is growing, and they are just getting started with more superstars expected to join, viewership expected to significantly increase and more full stadiums anticipated to get packed next season.

Thank you Cristiano for reminding us to always brush off loss and never give up. We truly all need “to find the Cristiano in ourselves” – thank you Khalid M. Sindi for the quote and inspiration.

NOTE, 20 hours after the King Cup, I was seated in the same living room with the same friends in the same seat watching the Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Not a single gasp.