JEDDAH, 23 February 2007 — Al-Ittihad Club recently suffered two hard hits when they lost against AL-Ahli in the finals of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup 3-0 and against Al-Hilal 2-1 in a Saudi Football League match.
Both matches had one more thing in common. Two players were given red cards and sent off in each match. This is not the first time Ittihad has seen two of its players being handed red cards in a single match. In a semifinal match of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup against Shabab in Riyadh two Ittihad players were sent off although the match ended with Ittihad winning 3-0.
Ittihad is now recognized in Saudi football history as being the first Saudi team to see two players handed red cards each in three consecutive matches. Ahmad Al-Dokhi and Ibraheem Suwaeed were handed red cards against Shabab. Manaf Abu Shgeer and Ittihad goalkeeper Mustapha Malaieka were handed red cards in the finals against Ahli. Hamad Al-Issa and Abdullah Haidar were also handed red cards against Hilal in the Saudi League match.
Angry Ittihad fans are asking questions on the recent performance of their team. Many blame the poor performance on Ittihad’s management, which they say is neglecting the team’s welfare. Others are putting the blame on the players themselves who have seemingly all of a sudden lost interest in the team. However, the majority of fans are blaming the coach for conjuring a strange formation of players in matches.
Fans blame the coach saying he is the main cause of Ittihad’s defeat against Ahli by insisting on playing with only one striker. Fans also rule out any possibility of losing due to an absence of players on account of injury, stoppage and red cards. They are all agreed that Ittihad has enough substitutes to cover the shortage of players.
Ittihad subsequently lost their second match against Hilal. This was in spite of the fact that fans thought the match would be a certain victory. The loss, according to many Ittihad fans, was again attributed to the coach who played with only one striker. Fans are bewildered why the coach opted for this formation. Ahli and Hilal are known to have one of the strongest defenses in the Kingdom and fans are convinced the coach was aiming to lose. Officials at Ittihad, on the other hand, have a different opinion. Former president and former honorary member of Ittihad club, Ahmad Masoud, in an interview with the Arriyadiyah sports newspaper said that a lack of discipline was the reason behind Ittihad’s recent poor performance.
In his interview, Masoud added that players were undisciplined on and off the pitch.
“We cannot put the blame on the referee each time the team loses. If red cards were handed out once then we could believe that to be the case but for red cards to be handed in three consecutive matches makes one question things. An answer is needed,” he said.
“If the players are not disciplined then the quality of their performance will drop and they will lose their temper and that will of course lead to players getting cards. The situation will continue like this unless a team official explains the real reasons behind what is happening inside the club,” he said.
He added that Ittihad fans are asking about what is happening inside the club and that the team needed to get together and discuss the real reasons behind their poor performance. Salem bin Mahfouz, an Ittihad board member, said he did not know where to begin when speaking about Ittihad. “If we talk about the club and point out mistakes then they accuse us of interfering in club affairs. If we don’t say anything then they will accuse us of doing nothing. People think that we are against Ittihad club president Mansour Al-Balawi, which is not true. I am not against him and I will not stand up against him. But I must say that there is something wrong happening in Ittihad Club and I do not care who gets angry. Ittihad’s interest is number one,” he said.
Bin Mahfouz added that it was time the club president solved the club’s problems and called for a meeting with board members to discuss the issues.
He further questioned the performance of Ittihad’s defender Hamad Al-Muntasheri who signed a one year contact with Ittihad a few days ago and has only been paid half of his contract money.
Bin Mahfouz said this is frustrating Al-Muntasheri and that he is playing with half a heart. “Ittihad players are depressed to see that the president of the club signing and offering huge contracts for international players and then they are paid nothing. I was also surprised that players have received so many cards lately indicating that there is an alarming problem in terms of discipline” he said.
Former manager of Ittihad football team, Khaled Sultan, said that he was surprised that in the last two matches against Ahli and Hilal the team showed their best performance in the second half and were totally absent in the first half.
“The team is frustrated and that has been shown in the number of yellow and red cards awarded to Ittihad players. I still cannot believe that Ittihad lost against Hilal when Hilal was down with two players,” he said.
Sultan further questioned the Ittihad coach’s performance “The coach insists on playing with a 4-5-1 formation in the field when Ittihad is used to playing with a 4-4-2 formation. I also put the blame on the club administration for falsely announcing deals with international players and then leaving fans shocked as they sign contracts with other normal players,” he said.
He added that he wishes that the team administration focus on the youth players and invest in them rather than the players with big names and no soul to play.
