It's literally a penalty.
Manager Roberto Mancini is smiling even at the dismissal. The Saudi Arabian Football Association said on its official SNS on the 25th (Korea Standard Time) that it ended the contract with Mancini by mutual agreement. Mancini, who took the helm of Saudi Arabia in August last year, resigned in disgrace for the first time in 14 months. Mancini led the Saudi national team in 20 games, leaving an average record of eight wins, seven draws and five losses.
Saudi Arabia has recently been pouring astronomical money into sports, especially soccer. Last summer's main character was definitely Saudi. Starting with last year's Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema's move to Al-Etihad after leaving Real Madrid, N'Golo Kante (Al-Etihad), Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli), and Sadio Mane (Al-Nasr) chose to go to Saudi Arabia in turn. It wasn't just a veteran. Stars in their 20s, such as Hoobeng Neves and Sergei Milinkovic-Savic (Al Hilal), who are in their prime, also chose to go to Saudi Arabia. Legends like Steven Gerrard chose to go to Saudi Arabia as a coach. The pinnacle was Neymar as well. Neymar, one of the world's top stars, left Paris Saint-Germain to wear an Al Hilal uniform.
The start was Cristiano Ronaldo. Saudi's oil money, which signed Ronaldo in January 2023, shook European superstars. It even tried to recruit Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. He also reached out to Son Heung-min. Man City manager Pep Guardiola said Saudi Arabia's money power has "changed" the transfer window and that elite clubs should "know what happens now". British Peter Hutton, senior executive of the Saudi Super League, said in a BBC interview that `SPL has a budget to use for a few more years. I don't think we're going to stop investing." "I've been working in sports for 40 years, and I've never seen such a big, ambitious project," he said. "The Saudi league has a 50-year tradition. I've got a fan. At the government level, we are creating a roadmap to interconnect academies, men's and women's soccer, and associations. It is not a new start, but an upgrade," he said, predicting that it will be different from the craze of the Chinese Super League, which has plunged.
Saudi Arabia, which is trying to host the 2030 World Cup, is focusing on developing soccer by winning the right to host the 2023 Club World Cup following the 2027 Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia took over Newcastle United in the English Premier League with the Saudi National Fund (PIF) at the forefront and has stars. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, dubbed the "Mr. Everything," wants to raise his international status around sports. Critics say it is a 'sportswashing' to wash away the image of the human rights oppression bureau, but it is not easy to go against Saudi Arabia's astronomical 'Oil Money'. PIF, which already has Crown Prince Salman at its peak, owns 75% of al-Nasr, al-Hilal, al-Itihad and al-Ahli, directly influencing the recruitment of players. We have even prepared the capacity to invest more, and we are already continuing our investment.
Investment continued to the national team. He even brought in Mancini, one of the world's best masters. Mancini led Inter Milan and Manchester City to lift the Italian Serie A and English Premier League championships. His reputation continued in the national team as well. He led the Italian national team to an unexpected Euro 2020 victory. Mancini is one of the best coaches of the time, having achieved many honors with his excellent tactical operations.
Mancini immediately put down the Italian baton after receiving a love call from Saudi Arabia. The contract period was until 2027. The Saudi Football Association literally invested an astronomical amount of money to bring in Mancini. His annual salary was £21.5 million, which amounted to W390 in our money. It was by far the highest salary among soccer coaches around the world, far exceeding Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho. He earned 59,000 pounds and 106 million won a day alone.
But the result was the wrong meeting. It was twisted from the debut. They lost to Costa Rica 1-3. They also lost 0-1 to South Korea, which was led by former coach Jurgen Klinsmann. At the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup, he was also talked about. At that time, they met South Korea in the round of 16 and lost after a penalty shootout. Mancini suddenly left for the locker room first before the penalty shootout was over. Mancini apologized for leaving the stadium first. I thought the game was over," he explained, but public opinion was cold. Yasser Almichhal, president of the Saudi Football Association, himself "It is hard to understand that coach Manchini left." He also said, "I will discuss with the director why he acted like that."
I continued to accompany him, but no results came out. Saudi Arabia has one win, two draws and one loss in Group C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. It was relegated to third place. From the North Korea-China World Cup, the number of countries that advance to the finals will increase from 32 to 48. In Asia, 8.5 tickets were also allocated, up from 4.5 to 4. The first and second place in each group will win a ticket to the World Cup finals. The third and fourth places will go to the fourth qualifying round, while the fifth and sixth places will be eliminated. Saudi Arabia is doomed to fall into the abyss of the fourth qualifying round at this rate.
They lost 0-2 to Japan in the second straight A match in October, followed by a scoreless draw with Bahrain. The draw at home was infested with public opinion. In particular, after the match against Bahrain, there were even rumors of discord between the players. Mancini said `Sometimes I think players have to take responsibility. When I was a player, I took responsibility"It's too easy to say it's the manager's fault. But that is not the case in many cases. If the coach trains everything to improve the team, the players must also show quality. Without it, it is clear that it is difficult."
In the end, Saudi Arabia's choice was a replacement. But despite the dismissal, Mancini is smiling. Both countries 'The Sun' reported that Mancini is expected to earn more than 60 million pounds (about 108 billion won) over the next three years despite his dismissal from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is eyeing other masters after breaking up with Mancini. Former coach Zinedine Zidane and former coach Herbernard, who led Real Madrid to its third consecutive European Champions League victory, are on the list. Again, Saudi Arabia is preparing for an all-time offer.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
