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\n\tLONDON: Something special is happening at Al-Qadsiah this season. Since returning to the Saudi Pro League after a five-year absence, coach Michel\u2019s side \u2014 emboldened by a host of new summer arrivals \u2014 is defying expectations and stands on the brink of a historic campaign.<\/p>\n
\n\tCurrently third in the Saudi Pro League table after a 2-0 win over Al-Okhdood on Friday and with a King\u2019s Cup semi-final against Al-Raed to come in April, Qadsiah have been one of the Kingdom\u2019s most consistent sides in 2024-2025. Just as he did when winning the Saudi First Division title last season, Michel has built a team that is defensively sound, but sprinkled liberally with attacking stardust.<\/p>\n
\n\tProviding Qadsiah\u2019s solidity between the posts this time around is Belgium national team goalkeeper Koen Casteels, who ended a nine-year stint at Wolfsburg to move to the Kingdom last summer.<\/p>\n
\n\tCasteels was one of several new arrivals, joining the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Julian Quinones and Nacho Fernandez in seeing Qadsiah\u2019s potential to be more competitive than most normal newly-promoted sides.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think it was very clear from how the club talked to me before I signed, but also in the way they recruited other players, that there were big ambitions,\u201d Casteels told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBut simply getting good players is not enough in football. I think the recruitment was very smart in every position \u2014 not only big names but smart decisions.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNow we have a team that fits together very well and I think that\u2019s one of the main reasons why we are now up there (at the top end of the table).\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCasteels admitted that seeing the exodus of talented players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema from Europe to Saudi Arabia piqued his interest in a move to the Kingdom, although he is keen to highlight the increasing depth in quality throughout the Saudi Pro League.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very nice to play against these big names but I think it\u2019s far more than only these big names,\u201d Casteels said. \u201cI think there are also a lot of players who maybe don\u2019t have the name of Ronaldo or Benzema but are just quality-wise very good; this is what you see in teams throughout the league \u2014 they all have good players.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou see every transfer window that there are big names and good players coming to the league. That was also the point that made me say \u2018OK, why shouldn’t I go?\u2019 Because the quality is improving and the league is getting better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCasteels was one of Qadsiah\u2019s first summer acquisitions, announced before his participation in Euro 2024 with Belgium. It was followed by the marquee signings of Real Madrid stalwart Fernandez and former Barcelona and Arsenal forward Aubameyang, which really signalled Qadsiah\u2019s intent for the 2024-2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOn the pitch they bring a lot of quality, experience and know-how in certain situations,\u201d Casteels said of Nacho and Aubameyang. \u201cEspecially for me as a goalkeeper, it\u2019s great to have a guy like Nacho in front of me who knows exactly what to do in different situations \u2014 making smart decisions and positioning himself.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s very nice to play with those guys and obviously Auba is also scoring for us and doing well. Apart from the hard work that he does for us as a team, he\u2019s entertaining too. It\u2019s also nice to have a guy who is also speaking French. He\u2019s a really great guy.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSome people maybe would think he\u2019s 35 and he\u2019s just ending his career in Saudi Arabia, but he\u2019s so hardworking. Every day I see him in the gym, still putting the work in. That\u2019s also very important because we want to evolve as a team and we want to grow as a team and therefore we need everybody on their top level. These guys are doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWith quality now running through the backbone of Qadsiah\u2019s team, the club is enjoying its best season in more than 30 years. Qadsiah won the Crown Prince\u2019s Cup in 1992, before adding the Saudi Federation Cup and Asian Cup Winners\u2019 Cup in 1994; they remain the club\u2019s only major trophies.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut with a convincing 3-0 victory over Al-Taawoun last month, Casteels and Co. put Qadsiah into the King\u2019s Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1989. Now only Al-Raed stand in the club\u2019s way of a first final \u2014 in which either Al-Ittihad or Al-Shabab would await.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIf you\u2019re into the last four, I would lie if I say, \u2018let\u2019s only see in the next game\u2019,\u201d Casteels said. \u201cOf course, if you\u2019re into the last four, you want to win the tournament. But it also depends on a lot of factors and it is really the next game we have to win to get into the final. Then everything is possible.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI have had some experiences in Germany where you face a team which on paper is maybe not the biggest. But it\u2019s the cup and it\u2019s the semi-final of the cup so you have to take it as an extremely difficult game. I think when there are still four teams left, there are no easy games anymore.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s still a long way off so we will focus on the league and then the cup can come. But of course we are very hungry for it. I think all the players want to go into the final to see what happens there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWhether or not Michel\u2019s side wins the King\u2019s Cup, their league form may still be enough to carry Qadsiah to qualification for their first AFC Champions League Elite campaign. Casteels, however, is keen to take it one game at a time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think if you focus on trying to get better every game or every training then maybe this (AFC Champions League qualification) will come automatically if you\u2019re good enough. We are not thinking a lot about that to be honest at the moment \u2014 it\u2019s not a big talking point in the dressing room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCasteels has been playing at the top level for his entire career \u2014 spending 13 years in Germany with Hoffenheim, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. Before that, he came through the academy of four-time Belgian Pro League winners Genk.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe goalkeeper is in illustrious company, with fellow Belgian national team players Yannick Carrasco, Christian Benteke, Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois also on Genk\u2019s impressive list of academy graduates. Casteels is the same age as Courtois, but played a year ahead of the Real Madrid goalkeeper as both players emerged at Genk.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe both had games on the weekend, which was very important for our development,\u201d Casteels recalled. \u201cI think he played one game for the Genk first team when he was 16 but then a few months later I went to Hoffenheim so we went our separate ways and had our own careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt was nice to have him with me at Genk. We were friends \u2014 going to the same school, sitting in the same class. We grew up together in Genk and played in two different youth teams so there was not really competition. We trained together a few times and obviously it\u2019s nice to have quality goalkeepers because this also elevates you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen it comes to world-class goalkeepers, however, there was one name who stood head and shoulders above the rest as a role model for Casteels growing up.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI always looked up to Edwin van der Sar because he was doing his job in a very easy way,\u201d Casteels said. \u201cHe was always in the right position, good with his feet \u2014 and there was never too much show or shouting a lot.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe was maybe not like the typical footballer \u2014 quite shy and with his feet on the ground. He would just do the job and I think this was something I could relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAt Qadsiah, Casteel has quickly built a reputation as a reliable No. 1 whose solidity has helped his team have the meanest defence in the Saudi Pro League this season. The Belgian has conceded just 15 goals, and kept 11 clean sheets, although he is quick to credit the contributions of others.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOne of our strengths this season and why we kept so many clean sheets is that the whole team is defending,\u201d he says. \u201cThe defence is doing well and they rely on the midfielders \u2014 then the midfielders rely on the attackers to press and run.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tCasteels also believes the guidance from Michel has been key to the club\u2019s success so far this season and says that with the Spaniard at the helm, Qadsiah\u2019s players believe that anything is possible.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe is a very good coach tactically but also a very good people manager,\u201d Casteels said. \u201cHe has a lot of experience and knows exactly what a team needs. He\u2019s a guy who you can always go to talk to about something. He’s very open-minded \u2014 like a father to us.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis team fits well together and tactically I have to say every time when we followed the plan of the coach that we trained for in the week, we felt that we were at the right pace, even if we didn\u2019t win. I can say that technically he was not wrong in any games \u2014 this is a great quality for any coach.\u201d<\/p>\n
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