Englishman Des Buckingham, Al-Khuloud’s coach, expressed his happiness with the level presented by his team during its victory over Al-Ahly with a score of 3-1, stressing that his players appeared in a distinguished manner against the champions of the AFC Champions League for the elite, despite playing a strong match two days ago.
Buckingham said, during the press conference after the confrontation: “It was a good evening. We played great football against the elite champion. You know that we had a strong match two days ago, and I would like to thank the players for the effort they gave today.”
Al-Khuloud’s coach explained that the victory was not the result of the moment, but rather came as an extension of the work that the team began since the launch of the project, adding: “What you are seeing now is the result of the work that we started from our first day in the club, and it did not come from nowhere, and today we are reaping the fruits of what we worked on.”
Regarding the young goalkeeper Hamed, Buckingham said: “I spoke with him after the match, and it is normal for a young player to make some mistakes in matches, let alone a goalkeeper. We care about him and are working to develop him, as well as the rest of the young players.”
The English coach pointed out that immortality appeared this season with a different identity, explaining: “Our team is different from last season, and the average age of our players is one of the lowest among the league teams; “So it is easier to work with them.”
Speaking about his team’s preparation for the confrontations, Buckingham stressed that he is not preoccupied with the match schedule or what the competing teams are doing, saying: “When the schedule was announced, I did not talk to the players about it, and I do not care what other teams are doing. My focus is always on my team, and our preparation for matches depends 80 percent on ourselves, and then we move on to studying the opponent.”
He added: “The existence of differences between us and the big clubs does not mean that we should be afraid to confront them. Rather, we work in the way we deem appropriate and build our strategy on it,” referring to the confidence with which his team entered the confrontation with Al-Ahly.
Buckingham criticized the new system regarding counting time when the ball is out, saying: “I think that the referee starting the count when the ball is out of the field is inappropriate, and we hope that the counting will start after it enters the field.”
The Al-Khuloud coach concluded his speech by emphasizing that the victory over Al-Ahly reflects the development of his team and the fruit of continuous work, especially with its reliance on a young group seeking to prove its presence in the Saudi Professional League.
Al-Ahly’s loss to Al-Khuloud 1-3 ignited a wave of anger among Al-Raqi fans, who criticized the team’s modest appearance and demanded the strengthening of its ranks, especially after the departure of Ivorian Franck Kessier and Algerian Riyad Mahrez, in addition to the departure of coach Matthias Jaisse to take over as coach of Newcastle, England, before the team faces difficult duties during the coming period.
Reactions escalated across social media platforms, especially after the signing of Ukrainian Artem Bondarenko, amid public reservations about the feasibility of the deal and the level of the player in his debut with the team, in addition to criticism of the technical choices of the coaching staff.
On the other hand, Al-Ahly coach Marino Pusic refused in the press conference after the match to link the loss to the need for new deals, stressing his confidence in the current elements, and said: “Any club seeks to sign players, but not because we lost today we will say that we need new elements. On the contrary, I am happy with the current elements.”
Pusic justified the absence of Brazilian Galeino by managing the players’ minutes in light of the pressure of the matches, saying: “We have to manage the minutes well, and we rested some elements due to the crowded matches,” noting that scheduling matches at the beginning of the season imposed great pressure on the team.
Al-Ahly is awaiting two strong confrontations during the coming period, the first against Al-Hilal in the Saudi Professional League, and the second against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Confederations Cup final, which doubles the pressure on the team and puts the technical staff before a real test to address mistakes and raise the level of readiness.
The two confrontations will reveal the extent of Al-Ahly’s ability to overcome its setback and quickly regain its balance, before entering a more difficult phase of the season.
