DOHA: Saudi Arabia’s Asian Cup campaign started with a bang on Monday even before a ball had been kicked as head coach Roberto Mancini told reporters that he had excluded three high-profile stars from his squad as they did not want to play.
In an explosive press conference just a day before the Green Falcons take on Oman in their opening Group F clash, Mancini laid the responsibility of their omission firmly at the feet of Salman Al-Faraj of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr pair Sultan Al-Ghannam and Nawaf Al-Aqidi.
Al-Faraj and Al-Ghannam were not included in the preliminary list for the tournament, which Saudi Arabia last won in 1996, while goalkeeper Al-Aqidi was left out of the final list.
“All of these players didn’t want to come to the national team, they decided, not me,” a visibly annoyed Mancini replied when quizzed on his decisions.
“Salman in the first camp said he doesn’t want to play in the friendly game.
“Secondly, Sultan and Nawaf, I spoke with both before the list and I asked them if they were ready to come to the national team. Sultan told me that he was not happy: ‘Oh, I play or I don’t come,” added Mancini who led Italy to the 2020 European Championships and arrived in Riyadh to succeed Herve Renard in August.
“There is no one player who can decide if they play or not. I decide this.”
Al-Aqidi is one of the few Saudi Arabian goalkeepers to enjoy regular minutes on the pitch in a Saudi Pro League that is dominated by foreign shotstoppers. It was expected that the 23-year-old would be the main man between the sticks against Oman and then in subsequent Group F games with Kyrgyzstan and Thailand, but he has returned home.
“Nawaf told me, ‘OK, I will come,’ but the day after in Riyadh he said that he didn’t want to. I tried to talk to him and I put him on the list, he trained in the camp in Celine (in Doha, Qatar) but three days ago, he told the goalkeeper coach ‘I don’t want to stay here if I don’t play.”
“Nobody knows the first 11 for tomorrow,” Mancini said. “But I want to pick only players who want to fight for the country, now, I don’t want to talk about Salman, Sultan or Nawaf.”
The former Manchester City and Inter Milan boss, said that he had discussed the matter with Saudi Arabia Football Federation president Yasser Al-Misehal. He also added that he was more sympathetic to the viewpoint of older stars.
“I understand that veteran players do this. I can understand them, but I don’t understand a young player refusing to join or come. The national team is not a club,” he said. “It’s a strange situation, the first time I’ve faced this.”
