In the penultimate round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region, the national football team drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has entered the World Cup for the second consecutive time, reaching six times in the final stage of the World Cup.
Since the professionalization of Chinese football, there has only been one Saudi foreign player who has appeared in the domestic league, and he is Fouad Amin.
Born in 1972, Amin plays as a central defender and is the former captain of the Saudi national team. Represented Sarsa in the 1994 World Cup in the United States and the 1998 World Cup in France.
On June 20, 1994, the World Cup Group F, Saudi Arabia made its World Cup debut against the powerful Dutch team. Saudi Arabia lost 2-1 to the Netherlands, and Amin scored with a header, becoming the first player in Saudi Arabia's history to score in the World Cup.
Five days later, in a match against Morocco, Saudi Arabia defeated their opponents 2-1 to usher in the first world cup victory in the history of the team. Amin scored from a distance and scored two goals in a row. Due to two yellow cards in the first two games, Amin had to be suspended for the final match of the group stage and the key battle with Belgium. In the 1/8 character match against Sweden, Amin made a comeback and played the whole game.
In the 1998 World Cup, the second game of the group stage between Saudi Arabia and France, Amin and Zidane clashed. Zidane was sent off with a direct red card for trampling Amin and was banned for 2 games.
In two World Cups, Amin has made 6 appearances, five of which have played full games. After the World Cup, in 1999, Amin came to China to play football and joined Sichuan Quanxing. He was accompanied by Saudi national team teammate Ovillan. In the 1994 World Cup, the match with Belgium, Olvera single-handedly scored a shocking goal to help Saudi Arabia qualify from the group. Two-time World Cup Ovilland made six appearances for a total of 423 minutes.
Ovilan eventually returned home because of the physical fitness test, and Amin stayed alone in Chengdu.
In order to introduce Amin, Sichuan Quanxing paid a heavy price. Amin's monthly salary is $12,000 and the signing fee is $80,000. In 1994, Valoja' first foreign aid from A was only $500 a month. Brazilian foreign aid Fabiano, who played in Quanxing, Sichuan from 1995 to 1997, earned $1,500 a month. In contrast, Amin's salary was already very impressive at the time. But for Amin, who has a well-off family in Saudi Arabia, the salary is not attractive.
When Amin came to China, he brought a check for $500,000. He also took his wife to Chengdu and hired a Saudi chef. In the eyes of domestic players at that time, Amin's life was luxurious.
In the 1999 season, Amin only made 9 appearances, scored 1 goal, and performed mediocrely, failing to meet the expectations of Sichuan Quanxing. Maybe Amin didn't care about coming to China to play football, just to experience life.