Australian Arthur Pappas, Al-Ettifaq coach, dispelled the pessimism that accompanied his appointment at the beginning of the current season, after he led the team to collect 15 points during the first nine rounds of the Saudi Professional League, approaching the tally of Englishman Steven Gerrard in the same period of the 2023-2024 season, and surpassing what Saudi Saad Al-Shehri achieved last season.
The numerical comparison reveals that Al-Ettifaq collected 16 points under Gerrard’s leadership after nine rounds of the 2023-2024 season, compared to 12 points with Al-Shehri last season, while the team has gained 15 points so far under the leadership of Pappas, who succeeded in changing the first impressions of his experience, after the decision to sign him was met with reservations from a number of the club’s supporters.
The Australian coach did not enjoy wide public support when he announced his return to Al-Ettifaq, after nearly a decade of his previous experience within the technical staff as an assistant coach, but the results he achieved since taking charge reshaped the scene, and gave the fans reasons to be optimistic about the possibility of the team progressing in the standings.
Al-Ettifaq strengthened its start with an away victory over NEOM, one of the most prominent emerging teams this season, after it had shown a competitive personality against Al-Qadisiyah, when it refused to surrender to loss and returned to the match to emerge with an exciting 3-3 draw, in one of the most prominent derby confrontations in the Eastern Province in recent years.
The contradiction appears clear between Pappas' calm personality outside the field and what his team offers inside it, as the Australian coach is known for his reservations in speaking in front of the media, and sometimes avoiding direct answers to some technical questions during press conferences, while the results of the agreement reflect his ability to deal with the challenges that he has faced since the beginning of the season.
The challenge that Pappas is undertaking is not limited to improving Al-Ettifaq’s position in the Saudi League, as he is also looking forward to competing for the Gulf Champions League title for clubs, a tournament that maintains a special place among the club’s fans, after Al-Ittifaq had previously won it three times.
In response to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat about his priorities in light of the overlapping matches of the Saudi League and the Gulf Championship, Pappas confirmed that he is working to compete in both competitions together, stressing the importance of rotating players to ensure that they maintain their readiness during the coming period.
The Australian coach said: “I will work on the two tournaments, and this requires rotation in the elements, and this is what is being worked on,” explaining that the past hiatus period helped the technical staff to enhance harmony between the players, especially since a number of them were unable to attend the external camp during last summer.
He added that the agreement will require playing nine matches within one month, which requires a different preparation to deal with the pressure of confrontations, noting that the team has already begun this stage by facing Al-Khaleej in the league and Kazma in the Gulf Championship.
Pappas explained that the technical staff works to simulate the pressure of matches during training, so that the players are more prepared to play a match every three days, while maintaining the physical and technical level required to compete in the two tournaments.
After its exit from the King’s Cup competitions, Al-Ettifaq began focusing its efforts on the Saudi League and the Gulf Champions League, at a stage that requires the technical staff to carefully manage the list of players, especially with the crowded match schedule during the coming weeks.
Al-Ettifaq will face an important test on Tuesday when it hosts Al-Ittihad in Dammam, in a confrontation that may give it the opportunity to jump to fourth place in the standings if a win is achieved, and strengthen its position among the advanced teams.
The confrontation carries additional importance for Pappas, who over the course of nine rounds was able to transform the public’s reservations about his appointment into increasing optimism, after he came within one point of the tally of the agreement with Gerrard in the 2023-2024 season, and surpassed his tally with Al Shehri last season, awaiting whether he is able to translate this beginning into a season that returns the team to the advanced positions.
Portuguese Jose Gomez, coach of Al-Khaleej, praised the fighting spirit shown by his players during the confrontation with Al-Fateh, after the team succeeded in coming back from two goals down to win 3-2, stressing that he was confident in his players’ ability to turn the result around and achieve victory.
Gomez said, during the press conference after the match: “I would like to thank my players and congratulate them with all my heart. It is not easy to return to the result under these circumstances, especially with the many changes that the team has witnessed, and the signing of a large number of players, and yet the team showed this spirit and fighting.”
He added: “When we were behind in the score, I was confident in our ability to come back, because I had players to rely on. They gave something big, and every follower of the Saudi League has the right to be proud of having a match with such excitement and clubness.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about his previous talk about the spirit and “DNA” that characterizes Al-Fateh players, and how Al-Khaleej was able to come back after falling behind by two goals, Gomez said: “Yes, I said that yesterday, but today it was our players who attended. I made offensive changes, and I was confident that we could turn the result around and achieve victory.”
In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat after the confrontation, the Portuguese coach explained that his knowledge of Al-Fateh’s strengths helped him deal with the course of the match, indicating that his decision not to include some of his stars from the beginning came to give them enough time to recover.
Gomez said: “We knew Al-Fateh’s strengths, and even after they led by two goals, we played seriously in order to get back in the score. I did not include some of the team’s stars from the beginning of the match so that they could receive adequate recovery, and when they participated they made the difference.”
Moroccan Jamal Al-Salami, Al-Fateh coach, acknowledged his team's need for a strong substitute bench, indicating that he is still working to correct technical errors and find the appropriate combination, following his team's draw against Al-Khaleej, after taking a two-goal lead before aiming for the equalizer in stoppage time.
Al-Salami said, during the press conference after the match: “We gave a distinguished performance and advanced by two goals, but the result of 2-0 is usually false, as Al-Khaleej tried to come back and fought to equalize the score, and succeeded in scoring.”
He added: “We could have accepted a draw given the circumstances of the match and the fatigue that appeared on our players, but the irony is that we scored the winning goal in stoppage time during our previous match, and today we conceded a goal at the same time.”
In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about the changes he made during the match, and whether they contributed to giving the Gulf an advantage, Al-Salami explained that he tried to revitalize his team’s ranks, but the competitor benefited from having elements capable of making a difference.
He said: “Many changes were made with the aim of revitalizing the team, and during the period in which our performance declined, Al-Khaleej had a number of players who possessed distinguished technical abilities, and they succeeded in changing the outcome of the match.”
He continued: “I am still working on correcting mistakes and finding the right combination for the team, and we also need a strong substitute bench.”
Regarding Abdul Rahman Al-Khaibari not being given the opportunity to participate, the Al-Fateh coach indicated that there were observations on the player’s performance, stressing that his technical choices are related to the extent of the readiness of the elements that he deems appropriate to play the matches.
He explained: “In fact, there was more than one lapse on the part of the player, and this is unacceptable. We must work to develop the team’s performance, and I have included the players who I believe are most suitable for the match.”
