“Completely unacceptable” behavior
Star trainer causes a lot of trouble in Saudi Arabia
January 31, 2024, 5:53 p.m
Roberto Mancini and Saudi Arabia don’t seem to be a dream marriage in international football. The Italian only took over the desert national team last August, but was increasingly in trouble. Now he is being counted by the association boss.
Trainer in Saudi Arabia since August – and soon to be leaving again? Italy’s European Championship hero Roberto Mancini is definitely in danger of a lot of trouble after he went towards the locker room before the last shot in the defeat against South Korea in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup. This was “completely unacceptable” behavior, emphasized the president of the Saudi Football Association, Yasser Al-Misehal.
“We will discuss with him why this happened. Mancini has the right to state his point of view and then we will decide on appropriate measures,” Al-Misehal told Saudi broadcaster SSC. Mancini had apologized for leaving the pitch, claiming he thought “the match was already over”. It wasn’t. Mancini didn’t see Hee-Chan Hwang’s decisive penalty. After a 1-1 draw after extra time, South Korea coached by Jürgen Klinsmann won the penalty shootout 4-2 and will now face Australia in the quarter-finals.
The 59-year-old recently complained about the moods of his selected players. Three nominated professionals demanded a starting eleven guarantee in order to give their consent for the Asian Cup game against Oman. “Something like this has never happened to me before,” criticized Mancini. The Italian said he “understands the desire of experienced professionals to be in the starting eleven: “But it’s not that a young player doesn’t want to be in the national team if he isn’t guaranteed a place right from the start. I want players who want to represent their country.”
Mancini took over as national coach in Saudi Arabia last August and signed a lucrative contract. He therefore gave up his position in Italy, which he led to the European Championship title in 2021. He was sharply criticized for this in his home country.