Cancelo and Lodi: Al Hilal's flying full-backs pivotal to RSL title defence | OneFootball

It would seem churlish to suggest that a team that has gone through a season undefeated had room for improvement, but in the pursuit of sporting perfection and excellence, any manager will tell you they are always striving for betterment.

Even as Al Hilal were storming to an unbeaten, world-record-setting Roshn Saudi League title last season, Jorge Jesus and the club’s hierarchy identified the full-back position - particularly on the left-hand side - as one that still required strengthening.

That is, obviously, to take nothing away from club legend Yasser Al Shahrani, who will be remembered as one of his generation’s best talents and a man who gave everything to the cause in Saudi Arabia’s remarkable win over Argentina at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

But, as age catches up with the veteran, who turns 33 next year, Jesus had eyes on a different profile of full-back. And, in Renan Lodi, he found one who fitted his demands in the January transfer window almost 12 months ago.

At 26 years-old, the Brazilian was considerably younger than Al Shahrani, who still managed to feature in almost all matches last season. Yet Lodi came with vast experience in Europe having played in the English Premier League for Nottingham Forest, in La Liga with Atletico Madrid, and Ligue 1 at Marseille.

Then, in the summer, Al Hilal’s focus switched to the right-hand side of defence, after it became obvious that one of their star players, Saud Abdulhamid, would be going the opposite route travelled by Lodi. In August, the Saudi international made way to Europe, in an historic transfer to AS Roma in Italy’s Serie A.

Replacing the energetic 25-year-old was never going to be easy, so integral had he become to the success of Al Hilal. However, in Joao Cancelo, Al Hilal had found a player who could do just that.

The Portuguese right-back, 30, arrived in Riyadh late in the window but with a wealth of experience. He played at the top of the game in Europe for much of the past decade, with stops at Benfica, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

It’s a resume as impressive as any, with a trophy cabinet to match: Cancelo boasts league titles in Portugal, Italy, Germany and England – he was an integral part of Manchester City’s treble-winning team in the 2022-23 season – with a UEFA Nations League title with Portugal thrown in for good measure.

If anyone could fill the void left by Abdulhamid, it was Cancelo. It meant the end of an era at Al Hilal, with their long-time trusted full-back pairing of Al Shahrani and Abdulhamid replaced by the Portuguese-speaking duo.

Of course, Al Shahrani is still at Al Hilal, and is still playing a role this season, but it’s now clearly as the back-up to Lodi, who is now the preferred option at left-back.

This season, as Al Hilal look to go back-to-back RSL champions – they entered the winter break second, two points off leaders Al Ittihad - both Lodi and Cancelo have become pivotal to the fortunes of Jesus’ side.

Wide play has long been a feature of Al Hilal; even from before Jesus’ time at the club, they have always had attacking wide players. And that is no different this season.

While they are officially termed full-backs, in reality and extending back some time, those players at Al Hilal are deployed more as wingers than defenders. It helps that, often, Al Hilal control territorial possession, so they can force their line higher and squeeze the opposition in their own half.

The full-backs have always been an important part of this, and when you look at the average starting position of the Al Hilal side in their last encounter with Al Raed, Lodi’s is just inside his own half, while Cancelo occupies the space typically the domain of the right winger.

In this formation, the actual wingers, Salem Al Dawsari and Marcos Leonardo, invert and overload the attacking areas, playing off or alongside striker Aleksandar Mitrovic at the point of the attack.

It’s been the same story in so many of Al Hilal’s other fixtures this campaign and helps explain why Lodi and Cancelo have eight assists between them. With four apiece, they rank No.1 along with Al Dawsari for that metric at the club.

The full-backs are also tied for the number of big chances created at Al Hilal, with nine, placing them both No.1 at the club and second overall in the league, behind only Al Ittihad’s Moussa Diaby. Of course, Diaby is a winger by trade.

It all underlines the importance of Lodi and Cancelo to this Al Hilal side. As Jesus and his staff sat 12 months ago pondering how to improve that area of the pitch, it’s hard to imagine it working out any better than it has with the current incumbents.

As Al Hilal return to RSL action on January 11 with retaining their title their primary domestic focus, their enterprising and effective full-backs will for sure prove crucial in determining whether, ultimately, they achieve that feat or not.