Otavio's Comeback Quest: Breaking the Jeddah Curse Ahead of the Al-Hilal Showdown
27 January 2026
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The Portuguese star returns for a clash that isn’t new to him against Al Hilal.
The Portuguese Otavio, a midfielder for Al-Qadisiyah, has shaken off the curse of Al-Ahli Jeddah ahead of the Al Hilal clash in the Roshen Saudi League.
Al-Qadisiyah will host Al-Hilal, two days from now on Thursday, at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, in the 19th round of the Roshen League.
The Sport newspaper said Otavio is ready to play after taking part in the team's group training in recent days, latest on Tuesday.
The Portuguese player suffered a knee injury during the match against Al-Ahli on November 28 last year, in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup quarterfinal.
Since then, the former Al-Nassr player has been out for eight Saudi league matches, during which the team recorded seven straight wins, after drawing with Damac FC.
That will be Otavio's first game with Al-Qadisiyah under Irish coach Brendan Rodgers, since he was injured during the tenure of former Spanish coach Míchel González.
It is noted that the 31-year-old has featured for Al-Qadisiyah in only nine matches since the start of the current season, delivering two assists and no goals.
Punchline 1: If football were a stand-up set, Otavio would be the closer—he always saves the punchline for the final whistle.
Punchline 2: And if he keeps performing, the calendar will start to mark every Thursday as legendary comeback day.
