Mexico marksman Quinones shining bright to catapult Al Qadsiah's title bid | OneFootball

When your team recruits names such as former English Premier League star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Real Madrid captain Nacho, it can be a little hard for your own signing to stand out.

That could have been case for Colombian-born Mexican international Julian Quinones in the summer, when he also joined the revolution at Al Qadsiah after their promotion from the Saudi First Division League. In landing at the Al Khobar club, he became the first Mexican to play in the Roshn Saudi League.

The 27-year-old was making his first move outside of Mexico, where he had most recently impressed with both Atlas and Club America, the latter considered the biggest club in the Central American nation. In each of his final two Liga MX seasons, Quinones scored 18 goals.

It was an impressive piece of recruiting from Michel, the coach at Al Qadsiah, and Carlos Anton, the club’s sporting director, but one that, understandably, did not bring about the same fanfare of that came with “Auba” and Nacho.

But, halfway through the season, Quinones has proven how savvy his addition was, more than matching his more-credentialled strike partner in Aubameyang.

The former Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal star has attracted a large chunk of the headlines, especially for his brace in Al Qadsiah’s 2-1 win against RSL leaders Al Hilal earlier this week. The double took Aubameyang’s tally to nine goals and one assist through the first half of the campaign, more than living up to his billing as one of the genuine stars of the RSL.

However, don’t sleep on Quinones. The forward has been even more effective in the opening 17 fixtures, registering nine goals and four assists.

When it comes to total goal contributions across the league, he lies behind only the two absolute superstars of the Saudi Arabian top flight: Karim Benzema (18) and Cristiano Ronaldo (16).

Far from it being a competition, though, the two - Aubameyang and Quinones - are complementing each other at the head of the attack in Michel’s 3-5-2 formation, as evidenced by the fact that between them, they’ve scored 18 of Al Qadsiah’s 26 goals this season.

Arriving last June, Quinones was able to spend close to a full pre-season with the squad, settling into his new surrounds and becoming familiar with his teammates and the style of play under Michel, another Real Madrid great at the East Coast club.

The period of acclimatisation clearly worked, with Quinones hitting the ground running thanks to two goals on the opening weekend of the 2024-25 season in a 3-0 win against Al Fateh. It represented a result that set the tone for the campaign for both player and club.

It was the first of three braces Quinones has scored this season, the other two coming against Al Orobah and Al Kholood on either side of the recent winter break. Those have been the headline performances, but there have been plenty others.

Quinones starred in Al Qadsiah’s huge 2-1 win at Al Nassr back in November, inflicting Ronaldo’s side’s first league defeat this term. After Ronaldo opened the scoring at Al Awwal Park, Quinones equalised minutes later with a tidy finish in the penalty area after neatly controlling a cross from Saudi standout Turki Al Ammar.

Then, early in the second half, his acrobatic effort to flick the ball back onto the head of Aubameyang gave Al Qadsiah the lead, one they wouldn’t surrender. The victory constituted their fourth straight win after an inconsistent start to the season.

So good has Quinones run of form been, that both he and Al Qadsiah can now realistically aspire for higher honours in the second half of the campaign. Heading into Matchweek 18, they sat third in the standings.

Patently, Michel’s side have become one of the league’s most dangerous teams. Since back-to-back losses to Al Riyadh and Al Ittihad in October saw them drop to eight, they’ve looked a different side, with eight consecutive wins.

In fact, Al Qadsiah have gleaned maximum points in 11 of their past 12 RSL outings, their only blemish coming in an unexpected 3-0 reverse at home to Al Taawoun earlier this month - their first game back after the mid-season break.

Three wins on the bounce since then, though, has placed their season back on track; going into this round, they were only six points behind both Al Ittihad and Al Hilal.

While Al Qadsiah are two full wins adrift of the lead two teams, the fact that Al Ittihad dropped points to Damac on the same day Michel’s men saw off Al Hilal, shows that anything can happen in the RSL. Undoubtedly, with 17 games remaining, they are absolutely in the title race.

Quinones, meanwhile, cannot be discounted for the 2024-25 golden boot, even if, at the moment, he lies six goals off frontrunner, and last season’s top scorer, Ronaldo.

Yet, if Al Qadsiah continue their winning form, then given the prolificacy of Quinones and Aubameyang, more goals look guaranteed. Both strikers, recruited last summer to slightly different fuss, are enjoying dazzling debut seasons in the Kingdom

Quinones’ signing might’ve existed somewhat in the shadows, but the dangerous Mexican marksman is shining bright now.