The ambiguity of Pusic’s future worries Al-Ahly before the Al-Nasr match

Concerns are rising among Al-Ahly club about the continued uncertainty surrounding the future of Dutch coach Marino Pusic, in light of the delay in resolving his fate, whether by terminating the contractual relationship with him or renewing confidence in his continuation, about ten days before the expected confrontation against Al-Nassr, scheduled for November 20, within the Saudi Professional League competitions.

The approaching confrontation puts Al-Ahly’s management in front of an important technical decision, at a time when questions are increasing regarding the repercussions of the continued state of anticipation on the team’s preparations, especially since any possible change in the technical staff will give the replacement coach a limited period to get to know the players’ capabilities and implement his ideas before competing in one of the team’s most prominent confrontations in the next stage.

These developments come two days after informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Italians Thiago Motta and Antonio Conte entered the circle of candidates to succeed Pusic, with Motta leading the list of options presented, while Conte stipulated large sums of money to agree to take on the job. The name of German coach Uli Werner was also discussed among the possible training options.

The continued ambiguity regarding Pusic’s future raises questions about the direction of the Al-Ahly administration, and whether it is inclined to keep him and give him an additional opportunity to correct the course, or is it inclined to bring about a technical change that requires resolving negotiations with one of the candidates before announcing the end of the relationship with the current coach.

The sensitivity of the issue increases in light of the recent results that sparked dissatisfaction among the masses, and revived the discussion about Bosic’s technical options and the extent of his ability to employ the available elements in a way that suits the club’s ambitions to compete for championships.

Al-Ahly occupies sixth place in the Saudi Professional League with 21 points from 11 matches, and is also in sixth place in the AFC Elite Champions League with eight points from four matches, which is data that doubles the importance of the next stage for the technical staff and club management.

If the administration decides to change the coach before facing Al-Nasr, the lack of time will pose a challenge for the new technical staff, especially with regard to preparing the team technically, determining the appropriate lineup, and dealing with the requirements of facing a direct competitor in the league.

As for the option of continuing Pusic, it requires a clear administrative position that gives the coach and players the stability necessary to focus on future benefits, away from speculation related to technical change.

Pusic took over the leadership of Al-Ahly last August, with a contract extending until June 2028, but the recent results have brought his future back into discussion, at a time when the club’s supporters are awaiting the decision that the administration will take regarding the technical staff.

The coming days seem decisive in determining the path that Al-Ahly will take, between continuing with Pusic or hiring a new coach, especially since delaying the decision until after facing Al-Nasr will mean the continuation of the current technical situation, while taking it before the match will put the alternative technical staff before an early and difficult test.

The most prominent challenge facing the administration remains to resolve the issue at a time that allows the team to prepare for the upcoming matches, in light of the aspirations of the fans to restore positive results and compete at the local and continental levels.

On Tuesday, the Gulf team will resume daily training after giving the players seven days off following the announcement of the postponement of Round 13 of the Saudi Professional League Championship.

In contrast to many teams that seek to be in the warm zone and saw the pause period as an opportunity to regain their balance, Al-Khaleej was among the teams that achieved an increase in their levels and results, and therefore there is a fear of decline again after the current pause period in terms of the results and the enthusiasm shown by the players after the team succeeded in achieving three victories within a period of time not exceeding two weeks that began in mid-October with wins over Al-Fayhaa, Al-Fateh and finally Al-Hazm, and that period included a 4-way loss to Al-Ahly in Jeddah in circumstances. Exceptionally, on the basis that the team’s trip was postponed and they traveled the next day to play the match, which had also been postponed for 24 hours, and thus the psychological and physical impact on the players appeared, so the team quickly regained its balance and defeated the quartet against Al-Hazm a few days later.

It appeared that the Gulf team benefited from the previous suspension period for the league, which began in September and ended in the first week of October, as it went through a series of draws and two losses, and this increased the pressure on the Portuguese coach Jose Gomez, who came from a previous experience in Al-Fateh, and his contract was objected to by some of the club’s supporters after those results. However, the coach and the team in general gradually got rid of the pressure after the first victory over Al-Fayhaa, and even the coach said at the end of the match: “Finally we won,” in reference to the draws. And the losses that the team experienced, including the early exit from the King’s Cup tournament against Al-Akhdood in the First League.

Aside from the results, Al-Khaleej showed great levels in several confrontations, and almost caused early surprises, especially when they advanced over Al-Nasr, the defending champion, with a goal. The visitors did not succeed in scoring except through a controversial game when one of the Gulf players tried to push the ball outside in response to a request from one of the players under the pretext of “injury,” but Abdullah Al-Hamdan, the Al-Nasr striker, shot the ball towards the Al-Khaleej goal, scoring the equalizer in one of the shots that remained the talk of the sports street for days, especially the supporters of the two clubs.

Al-Khaleej also performed highly against Al-Ettifaq at home, and almost won the three points, but all of that was not enough to mitigate the criticism towards the coach before the team actually began to reap victories.

Although the draw with Al-Nasr had a negative impact compared to what happened in the match, it strengthened the players’ self-confidence and their ability to face the biggest teams and provide the best levels, and this was clearly evident after the pause period following the seventh round, where the team tied with Al-Ettifaq with a goal each.

Al-Khaleej broke the barrier of negative results in the ninth round by defeating Al-Fayhaa, then Al-Fateh in a dramatic match in which the team trailed by two clean goals until the final third to achieve the first comeback, before repeating the same scenario and turning the tables on Al-Hazm in the last match before the stoppage, specifically the 12th round, when it overturned a two-goal deficit in the first half to win by four.

Al-Khaleej has substitutes who can turn things around for the team in the most difficult circumstances due to their great experience and capabilities, led by Gambian Musa Barrow and Norwegian Joshua King, as the coach considers them to be the winning cards, and this is what actually happened in the most difficult circumstances, specifically against Al-Fateh and Al-Hazm.

Those who follow Gulf affairs realize that these names were not always available as trump cards for the coach as a result of the successive injuries they suffered, which was the reason for the coach’s inability to include them in the main rosters.

In his response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question, coach Gomez explicitly justified the reasons for not using such experienced names to play as starters by saying: “Age plays a role, and Joshua cannot play from the beginning, and if I include him from the beginning, I can dispense with him at a time when we need him most during the course of the match, so I prefer him to be a trump card.” The Gulf went through difficult circumstances, represented by the absence of a number of players due to injuries, and this made the coach adopt a rotation policy to avoid pressure on the players for fear of losing more points. With the list being completed for the first time against Al-Hazm before the current pause, the team’s situation was different and the team scored four goals, with coach Gomez expressing his satisfaction that scoring four goals against Al-Hazm gives a positive indication of the abundance of offensive solutions. It remains to be noted that Al-Khaleej has 15 points in ninth place, after three wins, three losses, and six draws.

Al-Ula team topped the list of clubs receiving the most yellow cards in the Saudi Women’s Premier League, after its players received 13 warnings during the first seven rounds of the fifth edition of the tournament, which also witnessed the first expulsion case for the team’s player, Israa Muhammad. According to Asharq Al-Awsat’s monitoring of card statistics published on the official website of the Saudi Football Federation, the first round witnessed two expulsions, while the total number of yellow cards reached 84 cards according to the numbers registered for the eight clubs, while the total tally was 86 cards, which is a disparity that requires review. Al-Ahly, Al-Qadisiyah and Al-Ittihad clubs came in second place on the list of those receiving the most warnings, after each of them recorded 12 yellow cards, one card behind Al-Ula, while Al-Hilal came behind them with 10 cards. Al-Nasr and Esperance were equal in the number of warnings, with 9 yellow cards each, while NEOM was the team that received the least yellow cards during the first round, after its players were satisfied with 7 warnings. The third round witnessed the first expulsion in the tournament, after Israa Muhammad, the Al-Ula player, received the second yellow card, while the other expulsion was recorded against Fatima Al-Shamrani, the Esperance player. At the level of female players, Maha Al-Sherif, Al-Ahly player, and Hala Khashoggi, Al-Ittihad player, shared the top spot on the list of those receiving the most yellow cards, with 4 warnings each during the seven rounds. Behind them were Kholoud Al-Harithi, Al-Nasr player, and Israa Muhammad, Al-Ula player, after each of them received 3 yellow cards, thus completing the list of players most exposed to warnings in the first half of the competitions.