JEDDAH: “Surprising,” “stunning” and “disappointing” were just some of the words used by Al-Ittiahd fans in Jeddah two days after elimination from the FIFA Club World Cup by Egypt’s Al-Ahly.
The club’s supporters, who watched their team take on the African champions from King Abdulla Stadium, Jeddah’s fan zones and cafes, had high expectation of reaching the semifinals. The eventual 3-1 loss left them deflated and frustrated.
“Disappointing is the short answer,” Ahmed Al-Othman, a longtime supporter of Al-Ittihad, told Arab News. “At the same time, they were really bad all game. We had all kinds of ways to win, we have great international players, but unfortunately they disappointed their fans and country, the host.”
Most of the fans that Arab News interviewed shared a common thought; that the team didn’t prepare adequately for such a major tournament.
Some have less confidence in the upcoming matches in the Saudi Pro League and AFC Champions League than others, but 20-year-old Zaki Abdulghani is still optimistic.
He told Arab News that the team gave its best shot but they can come back in the next matches.
“I agree, we are all frustrated and feel angry but this is not the end. We have tough matches coming up and we as supporters should stand by our team,” Abdulghani said.
“I feel so confident that we’re going to turn it around, learn from Friday’s mistakes and we’re going to just do great the rest of the season,” he added.
Meanwhile, Omar Kamly, a sports analyst, blamed the club’s administration for not preparing well for the FIFA Club World Cup 2023.
“Yes, the president and his staff didn’t really manage the preparation of this tournament and also they should have signed new international players to add some strength to the squad,” he said.
“We feel bad because Saudi Arabia is the host of this edition and the football sector is going through a booming period. Therefore, we should have been much better in presenting our country,” Kamly said.
On social media, Al-Ittihad supporters were equally stunned by the loss.
Mohammed Abu Gazal posted on his X account: “It was really a shocking loss for us as fans and we feel really bad. We had high expectations for our players but they disappointed us.”
Another supporter, Saud Al-Ghamdi, said: “I believe most of the Saudi fans in general, and especially Al-Ittihad fans, are overcome with sadness and frustration because of the bad performance of our players.”
