RIYADH: The departure of a head coach who brought a nation its first football trophy in 22 years should not be the topic of discussion less than two months after that landmark victory. Yet the curious case of Georgios Donis’ status as head coach of the Saudi national team drags on, with the likes of Roberto Martinez and Carlos Queiroz touted as possible replacements ahead of his approaching contract end date.
While it would be foolish to state that Donis is the right man for the job simply for winning the Gulf Cup and beating South Korea in a friendly, the reality is that Saudi Arabia have not looked this good since they beat Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.
Donis had a tough start to life at the helm, arriving in the summer with less than two months to prepare for the World Cup. The Green Falcons opened with a draw against Uruguay but failed to follow that up, losing 4-0 to Spain and playing out a stalemate with debutants Cape Verde to crash out at the group stage.
The pressing issue was not that they were tactically or qualitatively inferior. Rather, the sheer lack of confidence in the team to attack their opponents and go for goal was the biggest issue. Donis’
