LONDON: Al-Ittihad have moved to build on their King's Cup success by strengthening their defence and attack with two key international signings.
Aleksandar Pesic, a Serbian international striker, and Australia World Cup defender Matthew Jurman have joined the Jeddah outfit who will be looking to rebuild under new coach Ramon Diaz.
The former Al-Hilal coach replaced Chilean Jose Luis Sierra in May and he has identified Pesic, 26, and Jurman, 28, as two key players in his revolution. Al-Ittihad have won the Saudi Pro League nine times but not since 2009 and they could only finish ninth last season.
Al-Ittihad will be pinning their hopes on Pesic and Jarman leading their rise up the table. Pesic signs from Red Star Belgrade on a three-year deal and comes with a good pedigree having played for Toulouse and Atalanta. He has one international cap, which he won in 2016 in a friendly against Ukraine, and should team up in attack with Ahmed Akaïchi, the Tunisian international, who led the way with ten goals last season.
Jurman went to the World Cup in Russia with the Socceroos and sat on the bench for the games against France, Denmark and Peru. He joins from Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a two-year contract.
Jurman said he left the South Korean club with a heavy heart.
"From the day I became a @suwonsamsungfc player, I loved every minute of it," he wrote on Instagram. "Being my first move overseas for my career it had its ups and downs, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment and loved learning the Korean culture and way of living! I always gave my best when I played for Suwon to always try to help the team win. I’ll miss the city, the fans, my teammates and all the coaching staff and office staff. I’ll never forget the friends and experiences I made there! From now, I’ll be a Suwon fan & will be following the team from afar and one day we will meet again! Now, I’m looking forward to my next step in my career @ittihadclub.sa."
Saudi Arabia giants Al-Ittihad make two international signings
Saudi Arabia giants Al-Ittihad make two international signings
Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty
- Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt
CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.
Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.
The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.
“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.
“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.
“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”
Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.
“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.
“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”
Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.
“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.
“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”
Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.
The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.
“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”
Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.
“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.
“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”
