JEDDAH, 31 March 2003 — Ittihad coach Oscar paid the price for the poor performance of his side against Al-Hilal in the Crown Prince Abdullah Cup Soccer Tournament semifinal on Saturday by losing his job. Ittihad lost 2-0 and also the chance of contesting the final against Al-Ahli.
Mansour Al-Balawi, overseeing the soccer team’s operations at the club, disclosed yesterday that Oscar had been given the sack for the poor performance of the team and also the poor selection of the team for the match. It seems that Al-Balawi and Oscar were at odds over team selection for the match and, as the events unfolded, Oscar, who had insisted on fielding his choice, was fired following Ittihad’s defeat.
Brazilian Murelio and Italian Tolo were also fired following poor performances.
Ittihad President Hassan Jamjoom said: “Ittihad did not play well, and on the given day Hilal were the better team.” He also admitted that mistakes were made in team selections, while also blaming some of the players for not giving 100 percent. He, however, told the side to look ahead and concentrate on performing well in the ongoing King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament and in the Saudi-Egyptian Cup.
Ittihad players too believed that the sacking of Oscar was good for the team, and assured their full support to Brazilian fitness coach Pedro, who is likely to be the stand-in coach.
