JEDDAH: Manchester City’s head coach Pep Guardiola described the FIFA Club World Cup 2023 hosted by Saudi Arabia as “beautiful and very special,” the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The English Premier League champions Manchester City defeated Brazil’s Fluminense 4-0 to win the 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, which the Kingdom hosted for the first time between Dec. 12 and 22, 2023.
Addressing a press conference after his club won their fifth title of 2023, Guardiola expressed extreme joy with their “great triumph and achieving their first international title from Saudi Arabia.”
The Spaniard said they were lucky at the beginning of the confrontation with Fluminense, as they tried to possess the game and pass the ball in a distinctive style, as “we did not find each other at the beginning, and they were stronger.”
He revealed that he looks forward to making history again in the FIFA Club World Cup competition.
Voted as the final match’s best player, City’s Argentinian forward Julian Alvarez said he was very happy with what he has achieved at Manchester City.
“I am so delighted for winning the FIFA World Cup for national teams and the FIFA Club World Cup,” said Alvarez, adding that he won the titles at 23 and that he would remain on the pitch to win more titles and championships.
Meanwhile, his clubmate English footballer Phil Foden told SPA: “Playing the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time and winning it in Saudi Arabia was a very wonderful experience … Everyone was generous to us and the organization was good. It was a nice experience.”
City’s Dutch center-back Nathan Ake said: “The matches were difficult, but the whole experience was wonderful. We were welcomed beautifully, and we were able to win the trophy, so it was a good experience in the Kingdom.”
He concluded that winning five titles in 2023 is a “great achievement,” but they have to continue putting in more effort to win the FIFA Club World Cup again.
Saudi Arabia’s FIFA Club World Cup 2023 was ‘very special,’ says Guardiola
https://arab.news/2vjda
Saudi Arabia’s FIFA Club World Cup 2023 was ‘very special,’ says Guardiola
- Manchester City’s coach expressed extreme joy with their ‘great triumph and achieving their first international title from Saudi Arabia’
- Phil Foden told SPA: ‘Playing the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time and winning it in Saudi Arabia was a very wonderful experience’
Saudi football authorities deny that Saudi national team manager Herve Renard has been sacked
- It comes after Al Riyadh newspaper, citing “special sources,” claims the Saudi Arabian Football Federation was considering replacing him
- @SaudiNews50 posts message on X, citing SAFF, saying the report is false; Al Riyadh later confirms it has received a written denial from the federation
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation moved quickly on Wednesday night to deny rumors that national football team coach Herve Renard was to be fired.
Speculation about the Frenchman’s future in the job earlier began to mount after Al Riyadh newspaper posted a story on social media platform X claiming Renard would be replaced, after Saudi Arabia failed to reach the final of the FIFA Arab Cup.
Citing “special sources,” the Arabic-language newspaper reported that the federation’s board was considering relieving Renard of his duties, and that a search for the 57-year-old’s replacement would start before preparations begin for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The new manager might be someone working in the Saudi Professional League, the newspaper said, and would be an individual whose standards and objectives match the ambitions of football officials and fans in the Kingdom, and are aligned with the reputation and development of Saudi football.
Shortly after the report appeared, the account @SaudiNews50, which has 21.6 million followers on social media platform X, posted a message, citing SAFF, that said: “Reports of Renard’s dismissal from coaching the Saudi national team are false.”
A little less than two hours after its initial report, Al Riyadh published an update confirming that the federation had sent the newspaper a written denial of the claim that Renard’s job was on the line, and confirming that he would be in charge of the team on Thursday for the Arab Cup third-place play-off against the UAE at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar.
Renard’s contract runs until the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. After the 1-0 defeat by Jordan in Monday’s Arab Cup semifinal at Al-Bayt Stadium, Renard was asked about the possibility he might be sacked and replied: “I have a contract and I will continue my work. I can’t do something if someone else wants to do something else. I’m staying, but if someone tells me my job is finished I’ll go somewhere else. That’s football.”
He said later that the team had “prepared superbly” for the game against Jordan, adding: “The match statistics were clear, as we had 69 percent possession compared to our opponents, who had 31 percent.
“We knew Jordan’s strategy and playing style. We weren’t successful defensively and in creating chances, so we couldn’t maintain the 0-0 draw and we couldn’t score.”
