Topic: Saudi Professional League 2023/2024 - page 167. (Read 127855 times)

It's really surprising news, because I personally didn't expect Pioli to join Al Ittihad. I think Pioli will continue to coach teams from Serie A or teams from other European leagues. However, with these facts, it is clear that Pioli does not seem to have received any offers from teams in Europe. But even so, this news will certainly make Al Ittihad fans very happy. Because under Pioli's tutelage I am sure Al Ittihad can definitely return to its glory days again. The reason is that Pioli has always proven capable of making the team he coaches shine. So it is very likely that next season Al Ittihad will be able to compete again for the Saudi Arabian League trophy. Because in my opinion, with Pioli's presence in the Al Ittihad coaching chair, it would make more sense if Al Ittihad were able to compete closely with big teams like Al Nasr and Al Hilal.

The reason is that this season Al Ittihad showed quite poor performance, the proof is that they only managed to finish in 5th place in the Saudi Arabian League. Maybe the reason is because the coach cannot manage and process his players more optimally. Because as we know, Gallardo is not suitable to train Al Ittihad because he is always in conflict with Benzema. Even apart from Gallardo, previous coaches also always had conflicts with Benzema. So it can be said that it is natural that Al Ittihad's performance this season is not good. Because the problem is that coaches and players cannot work together well. So with Pioli being elected as coach at Al Ittihad, at least you can be sure that he will establish good cooperation with the players at Al Ittihad. Because as far as I know, Pioli can be said to be a coach who very rarely argues with his players.

If the Saudi club Al Naser gets the opportunity to play in the Champions League, then Al Hilal and Al Ittihad will definitely complain about why they are not getting the opportunity to play in the Champions League despite competing hard in the Saudi League. Al Nasser, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad are three big clubs in Saudi League and every season there is usually competition with these three clubs, so if any club from Saudi League is given the opportunity to play in Champions League then these three teams should be considered. If UEFA thinks that only one team from the Saudi League will be allowed to play in the Champions League, they can choose any team by changing the rules of the competition.

No doubt this is one of the best decision taken by Al Ittihad management as last season was disappointing for them due to having troubling end of their season even they were champions at the end of 2023 now we can expect good improvement into their performance as they are also bringing few top players into their team which will create good fight for the title at the top as Al Hilal is already best team and Al Nassr is also fixing their defensive issues which give them problems in last season.

Stefano Pioli done good job when we have AC Milan as champions of the Serie A now we can expect better things from Al Ittihad as he is well experienced coach which can work in all conditions having big name like Stefano Pioli is also good for the Saudi League.

Source: https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1808392983185969557

Al-Ittihad has signed a new coach, namely Stefano Pioli (former Milan coach) and has fired the previous coach Marcelo Gallardo. It seems that the Al-Ittihad project with Marcelo Gallardo didn't go very well last season so management decided to fire him. On the other hand, the poor relationship with their star, Karim Benzema, might also be the reason why he was fired so quickly.

With Stefano Pioli's experience, it is hoped that Al-Ittihad can improve its performance which had dropped drastically during last season and can compete again to win the Saudi pro league title. Stefano Pioli will be contracted for 3 years and during that time I hope he is the right choice and Al-Ittihad will not have to change coaches again.

I doubt that the Saudi Arabian League team can play in the Champions League (UEFA). Because it is clear that the Saudi Arabian League football federation is affiliated with the AFC, so of course only the Asian Champions League can be participated in by Saudi Arabian League teams. Maybe the news or rumors that Al Nasr can participate in the Champions League (UEFA) are just lies whose truth cannot be confirmed. Because as far as I know, until now I have never heard of a team from Asia that can play in the Champions League (UEFA) competition. So you can be sure that the rumors that Al Nasr can play in the Champions League (UEFA) are just lies. Apart from that, if for example there were one or two Saudi Arabian League teams that could play in the Champions League (UEFA), it would definitely have huge pros and cons. The reason is that teams from Europe will definitely have difficulty accepting this decision. So in my opinion it is very unlikely that the Saudi Arabian League team or teams from football leagues from Asia will be able to play in the Champions League (UEFA) competition.

Apart from that, as we know, the Asian Football Federation has also provided several prestigious competitions. So why want to take part in football federation competitions on other continents? It would be better if teams in the Saudi Arabian league or other leagues in Asia promoted and popularized the competition in Asia itself. Because if do that will definitely feel prouder if can become famous. The point is that teams in the Saudi Arabian league and teams in leagues in Asia must be proud of the competition that has been held by the AFC. And of course it must be able to make Asian football grow further.

They are already playing in the Asian Champions League as the Champions League. I don't see any reason for them to play in the European Champions League. The Saudi league is very valuable and they have created serious potential with the breakthroughs they have made recently, but I think everyone should take part in the tournament they are in. If Saudi teams are bought, there will be applications from all over the world and chaos may begin to occur instead of order.

Various statements and also news about Al Nassr or several other top SPL teams joining and playing in the UCL competition is something we are familiar with hearing because all of this has been discussed for long time when everyone started following the developments of Al Nassr and also SPL.
But what is clear for now is that we have not seen any decision or official statement issued by UEFA regarding all of this, it is possible that Al Nassr could play against big European team but it would only be trial or friendly match.
UEFA is the European football federation and Saudi Arabia is not part of Europe, so if include several SPL team in the UCL, it might cause bad sentiments among other countries that are not part of Europe.
Initially I had hoped that all of this would come true, but if you think about it logically then it is just fantasy which is very difficult to carry out and be approved by UEFA.

I have actually seen Morata's performance in Spain and it has been very good. Yes, he is the captain and practically the things he does are very good. He has carried the Team on his shoulders, he is in the quarter-finals and now he has to face the biggest of the big teams , Germany, who if they are careless, Spain will run over them with extreme ease. What I like about this Spanish team is that they have a good attack on all sides. For me, Spain's best defence is its Attack , so I see that this can lead to very good things if they continue as they are going , but Whatever the future of Morata , the team that has him will have a great player with good experience.

If we do end up seeing saudi league winners to go and win AFC every single season, like dominate it so much that it becomes boring, they are THAT good, then we can consider to let them in at UCL as well, but to be fair it is going to look weird any case. Look at Russia, it is still considered "Europe" when most of its lands are on China, how is that Russia still considered Europe? Want worse? Israel and Armenia and Cyprus are all considered in European competitions, want to know the worse part? They do not have a single inch of land in Europe at all, they are all in Asia and they still play for UCL nevertheless and in football world considered Europe for some reason.

I think it is more like becoming weird in that sense so if we see Saudi Arabia in UCL one day that wouldn't be unprecedented neither, we have nations from Asia so it won't be a new thing at all. I just prefer to kick others out instead of take SA in, but if others are in then SA has a right to be in too.

Joselu made this decision to earn some more money in Qatar since he is about to end his career. When Real Madrid couldn't hire Mbappe in the last season, Joselu was their hope as a forward and they got him on loan but he had to return to Espanyol while as you said Espanyol related in La Liga and playing for Espanyol couldn't be smart move for Joselu.
Since he is getting old, there are not many teams that want to hire a player at this age and that's why I think playing for Qatar to earn some more was a smart move.

If, for example, Aubameyang is willing to join Al Shabab, you can be sure that at Al Shabab he will become a very useful player and apart from that he will definitely also earn quite a large income. The reason is that currently Al Shabab does not have truly great and experienced forward players. So if, for example, Aubameyang joins Al Shabab, Al Shabab's attack line will definitely be much better. The reason is that Aubameyang is a player who has a lot of experience playing at various European clubs, such as Barcelona, ​​Chelsea, Inter Milan, Monaco, and is currently playing at Marseille. So you can be sure that when it comes to experience, there is no need to doubt Aubameyang. Even though he is very old, his performance can still be said to be quite good. Especially if you play in the Saudi Arabian League, where the competition will definitely not be as tight as the European leagues. I'm also sure he will remain a very good striker there.

However, the current problem is that Aubameyang still has a fairly long contract with Marseille, namely until 2026. So the possibility of Aubameyang joining Al Shabab will definitely be a little small. Moreover, as you said, Aubameyang is still a mainstay at Marseille, this will definitely be an obstacle for Al Shabab to recruit Aubameyang. But if, for example, Al Shabab can indeed give Aubameyang a promising contract (expensive contract), maybe Aubameyang can be successfully brought in by Al Shabab. However, if for example Al Shabab cannot provide a contract that suits Aubameyang's wishes, it is certain that Al Shabab will definitely fail to recruit him. Because if I'm not mistaken, last season Aubameyang received an offer from a Saudi Arabian League club, but he rejected it.

Aubameyang's career began to encounter obstacles after he had problems with Arteta at Arsenal which made him leave Arsenal and play for Barcelona. But then he went to Chelsea and there his performance was no longer as good as at Dortmund, Arsenal or Barcelona. Chelsea even immediately let him go again after 1 season. But in Marseille he was able to get his best place back. because the competition there is not that tight. So he can become a player who shines there even though he is no longer young.

It's just that if Pierre-Emerick_Aubameyang comes to the Saudi pro League then maybe this player can shine even more here. Because the competition in the SPL is not as fierce compared to European leagues. It's just that even in the SPL everything won't be easy. Because every season top European players always come here to enliven the competition. So the competition here has become fiercer than in previous seasons.

At that time, Aubameyang surprised various parties, especially football fans, but unfortunately after going to Barcelona he started to lose ground and his performance dropped significantly. Not sure what caused this and it seems that when he arrived at Barcelona he was finished so he rarely got playing minutes. Discipline is something that is quite regrettable in his attitude and therefore also probably makes him an outcast.

When he arrived in Marseille, he offered a performance that was commensurate considering that it was not very competitive there, especially in the farmers' league, so he was very free to contribute with quite a lot of goals with Marseille. Now it's time for him to experience the atmosphere of another competition and we know the Saudi pro league is the right place for a player like him. At least his name, which once shone in European competitions, could raise the popularity of the Saudi pro league even wider.

This player, namely Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has actually been approached by two Saudi Arabian clubs, namely Al-ahli and Al-shabab, since last season. Only then no one managed to get the player's autograph. And I think if the Arab club tries again with a higher offer then the success ratio will be high enough to get the player. And I still think that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still quite a great player even though he is no longer young. So he should be a player who can be relied on very much by any Arab club that succeeds in signing him. But I think this season Aubamayeng will not leave his current club. because currently he is still under contract until 2026 at Marseille. And Marseille still really needs him.

Usually we have things like these while journalists wants to sell their product with having masala like this, but it's not happening on any cost because we all know UEFA is having all things which needed for them with Al Nassr is surely good club, but it's not big deal having Ronaldo mean now they are eligible for having spot into UEFA Champions League which will surely create serious problems for the UEFA because in next season FC Inter Miami can also ask for this favour which is having Lionel Messi which is also big name in soccer.

There were few rumors as Al Nassr management having wish like this, but this was promptly rejected by the UEFA authorities, and then we have no further update about this with now this all topic is already closed, but few media peoples love to have intention so they again and again started things like these which have no baseline.

If the point is that Al-Nasr is a popular club, then I don’t think the Champions League needs any additional popularity, and I also doubt that UEFA will take this step just for the sake of Ronaldo, so that he can continue to play in the Champions League. And if they let Al-Nasr play in the UEFA Champions League, then will need to think about giving such an opportunity to other best clubs from around the world, so I think that this will not happen.

Cristiano Ronaldo plays in the Saudi club Al Nasser and as you heard last season I heard rumors that Al Nasser could play in the Champions League from the Saudi League but it is not as simple as we heard. There are many journalists who are claiming with different explanations that Al Nasser should play in the Champions League but there is no confirmation from UEFA. Although there is no such guarantee, there is a possibility that the top local teams of the Saudi League will play in the Champions League. Saudi League teams only need to focus on their performance and improve their performance every season to fulfill their dream of playing in the Champions League.

I think Morata will remain the main striker of Atletico Madrid. Who can replace Morata? Griezmann won't replace him, Griezmann often played together with Morata. Griezmann played as a winger or second striker, he didn't play as a striker. Since Simeone has no other top striker, Morata will be the only option for the position.

Although there is a rumor that Morata may move to AC Milan or Juventus, I think it will never happen. Atletico Madrid has no choice, they must keep Morata because Morata has the best stats playing as a striker in Atletico Madrid. It will be a stupid decision if Simeone sells him to Juventus or AC Milan. 

Although it is easy for Al-Qadsiah to pay 15 million, the transfer will never happen if Morata doesn't want to move to Saudi league. In my humble opinion, Morata is comfortable playing as Atletico Madrid player. Although he doesn't get big salary, he can live in his country at least. Morata must prefer to play in his country than playing in a country he never knows.

Yes that's right. The investment made by Saudi Arabia is not only in the field of football but in all infrastructure because they have very big ambitions for the 2034 world cup, this is to make the pro league more competitive with the aim of making local players even better in the field of football so that it will have an impact on the Saudi Arabian national team. It must be admitted that after the Qatar World Cup, Saudi Arabia is very serious about investing in football.

And this cannot be denied since the arrival of C. Ronaldo. The Arab League is increasingly being highlighted and covered by the media and even broadcasting rights are increasing, and it cannot be denied that Ronaldo opened the doors to the world of Arab League football and many top European players are starting to arrive. So it is not surprising that when the pro league transfer market is very active in recruiting European players, maybe we will be surprised again that after the euro there will be more and more European players playing in the SPL league.

But I'm not sure they can get young players, they will only get old players because of course young players want to play in European leagues, not Asian leagues.

Definitely peak time for him to join this league without a doubt. He is not that great anymore and can't find decent time at some big club, and can't even score well at small clubs because small clubs are not really that good so doesn't give him the opportunity to play with good players that can pass him well. So, what can he do? He could go to Saudi league, where he could play 2 more seasons at least, maybe even more if he stays fit and wants to continue and enjoys the situation like Ronaldo does. In that case, I can see Auby end up playing very well for a few more years and score like 20+ goals a season.

Of course this depends on which team he goes to as well, because if he goes to a team that isn't all that great then we are going to end up seeing him having the same issues. He is a striker, he is a scorer ,he needs others to give him good passes to score, he can't just take the ball from midfield and score, so he needs to go to a decent club in Saudi as well.