As the curtain fell on Saturday night 12, the stage for the final of the Arab Champions Cup witnessed the birth of a legend. Portuguese soccer superstar Cron, a warrior who is now 38 years old, took his first title in Middle East soccer after hitting two solo goals to help a one-man short Ainas team to a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over Saudi Arabia's strongest team, Hilal. The veteran player fought hard, retiring late in the game due to injury, tears slipping down his face in a touching scene.
Both teams were star-studded, and Hilal scored the first goal in the 51st minute, when Brazilian striker Margan, who used to play for Barcelona, sent in a precise cross from the left, which was headed in by Michael. However, Ainas suffered a setback when center forward Ainli was sent off with a red card in the 71st minute, leaving the team one man short. Luckily, Crown came through again, scoring with a low shot from inside the box three minutes later to make it 1-1 and send the game into extra time.
In only 8 minutes of overtime, Cron caught a loophole in the opponent's defense and easily sent the ball into the empty goal, helping his team take a 2-1 lead. In the last 5 minutes of the game, Cron was carried off the field on a stretcher due to a knee injury and was in tears and pain. Nevertheless, after the game, Cron insisted on entering the stadium to celebrate with his teammates, moving freely, making people believe that his injury is not serious.
