Few expected that the big trouble in the opening days of the Asian Cup would center on the Saudi Arabian camp, but there are already concerns that the team’s chances of winning the trophy for the first time since 1996 could be derailed.
Head coach Roberto Mancini removed three senior players from the squad, accusing them of choosing when they wanted to play for the national team. The trio vehemently denied the Italian’s claims. Even if Ali al-Bulaihi’s 96th-minute winner against Oman in the Asian Cup on Tuesday helped calm the situation, the accusations could continue for some time.
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It may not be the skills of great foreign stars like Cristiano Ronaldo that take Saudi Arabian football to the next level, but their relentless demand for the highest professionalism and highest standards. There have been foreign coaches in the past who have complained that these qualities were lacking in some Saudi players, but nothing like this happened: a public press conference the day before the vital opening match of a major tournament.
Salman al-Faraj, the team’s former captain who was injured in the World Cup win against Argentina, and Sultan al-Ghannam were left out of the qualifying list. Later at the weekend, goalkeeper Nawaf al-Aqidi was excluded from the final squad. The latter two, Ronaldo’s teammates at Al-Nassr (Ghannam has made huge strides alongside the five-time Ballon d’Or winner) and Mancini, quickly drew the ire of fans and pundits affiliated with the club. Aqidi is one of the few Saudi goalkeepers to get regular playing time in a league where most clubs employ goalkeepers from abroad, and he was expected to start against Oman and the remaining Group F matches against Kyrgyzstan and Thailand.
It was clear that the exceptions were not injury-related, but the real reason was still the subject of much debate. On Monday, Saudi Arabian journalists were desperate to ask questions of Mancini, who has given little media coverage since his arrival in August and has even banned media from attending warm-up matches against Lebanon, Palestine and Hong Kong.
The former Manchester City and Internazionale manager is prepared to talk about the troubled trio. “These players did not want to come to the national team, they decided, not me,” Mancini said as he sat impassively next to striker Saleh al-Shahri in Doha. “First of all, Salman [training] Camp said he did not want to play in the friendly match. Secondly, I talked to Sultan and Nawaf before the list and asked them if they were ready to come to the national team. The Sultan told me he wasn’t happy: ‘Oh, I’ll play or I won’t come.’ There is no player who can decide whether to play or not. I decide this.
“Nawaf told me, ‘Okay, I will come,’ but the next day in Riyadh he said he did not want to come. I tried to talk to him and added him to the list. Studied at the camp in Celine [in Doha] But three days ago he told his goalkeeper coach: ‘If I don’t play, I don’t want to stay here.’
“No one knows tomorrow’s starting 11,” Mancini said. “But I just want to choose players who want to fight for the country, I don’t want to talk about Salman, Sultan or Nawaf anymore. I understand that experienced players do this. I can understand them, but I don’t understand a young player refusing to participate or come. The national team is not a club. “It’s a strange situation, it’s the first time I’ve encountered such a situation.”
Three players immediately came forward to dispute Mancini’s version of events. This is a story that will continue, especially if the tournament doesn’t go well for the Green Falcons.
Things also went well for the other prospective competitors, who ultimately recorded comfortable victories in the first round of the Games. Reigning champions Qatar started with a 3-0 win against Lebanon, then Australia capitalized on a goalkeeping error to take the lead against India and win 2-0. Tournament favorites Japan also had goalkeeping problems and were shocked to lose 2-1 to Vietnam, but eventually won 4-2. Iranian fans showed plenty of love for Palestine off the pitch before kick-off, but they took the lead within 70 seconds and won the match 4-1.
The star of the first round was South Korean. It was Lee Kang-in, not Son Heung-min, who was wasteful in front of goal and received the final yellow card in the 3-1 win against Bahrain. With the score at 1-1 early in the second half, the Paris Saint-Germain player sent home a beautiful goal from outside the area and added another good goal shortly afterwards to cap off his superb performance. level.
But it was Saudi Arabia that made headlines on and off the field.