'We always believed we could be champions, and we've done it' - Al Ahli kings of Asia | OneFootball

Matthias Jaissle spoke of the club’s “crazy journey”, while Roberto Firmino highlighted his team’s “monster mentality”.

For Edouard Mendy, it was “the fire, the spirit” that got them over the line.

All three agreed on one thing, though: Al Ahli had etched their name in history.

The Roshn Saudi League now has three Asian champions, Al Ahli the most recent by defeating Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale 2-0 in the AFC Champions League Elite final in front of a jammed and jubilant Alinma Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday night.

In claiming a first continental crown at the third time of asking – they finished runners-up in 1986 and 2012 – Al Ahli join on that illustrious list fellow RSL sides Al Ittihad and Al Hilal – the top two teams in the current domestic standings.

“I am very happy and proud of the team, and of course very happy to make history here at this club,” said a beaming Firmino, Al Ahli’s captain on the night, following a man-of-the-match display in which he assisted both Galeno and Franck Kessie for the goals that secured the title.

“It is not easy to become champions. We fight every match, and I call it the 'monster mentality'. When you have the 'monster mentality' to win all the games, then you become champions.”

No one would argue Al Ahli weren’t deserving champions. The Jeddah giants, chasing a top-three finish in the RSL, went unbeaten through their entire Asian campaign, a run that persevered for 13 matches and included the semi-final victory against record four-time winners Al Hilal.

“I’m very happy and very proud of the team,” said Firmino, later named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and who, alongside teammates Mendy and Riyad Mahrez, became the first players to lift both the Asian Champions League and its European equivalent.

Firmino, of course, with Liverpool, Mendy with Chelsea and Mahrez at Manchester City.

“Happy to make history here and be able to repay the support of the club, family and friends," continued Firmino. "I’m very grateful and I feel privileged to be given this talent and opportunity. I always do my best to help my teammates and my team.

“This title is very special because we have never won it, the chance to win and be legends. We believed and we did a great job. We always believed we could be champions - and we have done it.”

For his manager, landing the continent’s most coveted club prize capped a remarkable turnaround in fortunes at the club. Three years ago, Al Ahli were relegated to the second tier of Saudi football for the first time in their history.

However, they rebounded by earning promotion at the first attempt and then, with Jaissle then appointed, finished third in last season’s RSL.

Now, they’re first. In the whole of Asia.

“I’m so proud of the players for how they were doing, how they were performing, how the journey went in this competition,” Jaissle said.

“Also, the fans who created an amazing atmosphere, which we never take for granted. Together we can achieve special things and that was tonight. It’s nice to give something back to the supporters. Almost speechless. Big chapeau to the players and the whole club."

The German added: “It’s been a crazy journey. Not that long ago, it looked completely different. Incredible how much support [the fans] bring to the club and the guys delivered today to bring something back that they deserve.”

Like Jaissle, Mendy joined Al Ahli upon their return to the RSL in the summer of 2023. Since, the former Chelsea goalkeeper has been integral to the club’s rise, with the joint-most clean sheets kept in last season's top flight.

And, now, a crucial cog in an Asian Champions League-winning side.

“We are so proud,” Mendy said. “Once we knew that the final eight would be in Jeddah [the inaugural AFC Champions League Elite Finals all took place in the port city], it was our goal to be champions in front of our fans. Since I came here 18 months ago, they supported us so much.

“As I said when I signed here, it’s to make history, to continue to win trophies and make this club as big as it was before.

“The secret is the team effort. If someone makes the effort it will make it easier for the one next to him. We just played like this; you saw the fire, you saw the spirit, so it’s good. And it will also be good for the next months.”