After the goalless draw of Al-Nassr once morest Al-Fayhaa and Al-Ittihad Jeddah deepened the difference to three points from Ronaldo’s companions seven rounds before the end of the season, it seems that the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo was behind deciding the fate of the French coach Rudi Garcia, who was sacked by the team’s management two days ago, and subsequently assigned the technical director for the Sunni groups. Croatian Dinko Ilicic will temporarily supervise the first team until the end of the season, in a scenario whose results and repercussions are difficult to predict before the end of the season, and whether the change is appropriate and timely despite what it costs financially, and what may result from it on the technical side on the eve of the “El Clasico” match. Against Al-Hilal, next Tuesday, what some considered a hasty decision that was not ripe for time, while others considered it late, and it should have happened before Ronaldo came.
The Saudi newspaper, Al-Riyadiah, revealed that Al-Nassr’s stumbling in front of Al-Fayhaa was not the main and direct reason for Garcia’s dismissal. Rather, his meeting with the players the day following the match and insulting some of them with hurtful words precipitated his departure, as he held them responsible for falling into a tie trap and vowed to change his policy with them, because they did not abide by his instructions. They were not at the level of his confidence, as he described it, which did not please some of the team members and members of his administration, who then met with the players and listened to them to conclude the necessity of Garcia’s departure with the blessing of Ronaldo, who stood with his full weight on the side of his colleagues, and reached the point of threatening to leave if he did not. Rudi Garcia is being dismissed, because that prevents them from winning the title, as he put it.
Although he lost only two out of 23 matches and drew five, and is still competing for the league title and reached the semi-finals of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, the dismissal of the French coach did not meet with consensus within the Nasrawi administration between supporters of his immediate dismissal decision, or his continuation until the end of the match. Al-Hilal next, or even until the end of the season, but it seems that Ronaldo’s position was decisive, similar to many times in his football career, as his opinion was decisive in dismissing Rafael Benitez from Real Madrid in 2016 and replacing him with Zidane, then dismissing Gunnar Solskjaer from training Manchester United and replacing him. In German, Ralph Rangnick, and he was also a witness to the dismissal of Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Sarri, before he had the upper hand in Al-Nasr Club, for which he played 11 matches in all competitions, scoring 11 goals.
Some believe that the dismissal was inevitable due to the coach’s behavior, which affected the morale of the players, and was even late, and it should have happened since the team lost leadership three weeks ago, while others believe that it was premature and should have waited for the end of the season, or at least waited. Knowing the fate of the important classic confrontation once morest Al-Hilal, next Tuesday, to take the appropriate decision at the level of a team that has been under great media and public pressure since Ronaldo joined the Saudi League, as he has become required of his fans to win all his matches and all possible local titles while waiting for the return to regional competitions through the gate of the AFC Champions League. Which won its title rivals Al-Hilal last year.
Ronaldo wrote in “Story” on his official page on “Instagram”, saying to his former coach: “I was pleased to work with you, I wish you all success in the future,” as if he was not concerned with the dismissal decision, and he had no role, knowing that the decision would not have been taken if he had not He personally agrees. As for coach Rudi Garcia, he has not commented on his dismissal decision yet, especially since he cost the team management a financial loss of approximately 15 million riyals, representing the total salaries of the coach and his assistants until the end of the technical staff contract next June, amid media reports talking regarding the Saudi club’s efforts to contract. With the Portuguese Jose Mourinho for 100 million euros, starting from the beginning of next season, especially since the rivals, Al Hilal, still dream of hiring stars whose contracts with their clubs have expired, such as Modric, Benzema, Ramos, Toni Kroos and Ngolo Kante.
What is certain is that the appointment of the next coach for Al-Nasr Club will be with Ronaldo’s blessing, and even the next summer “Mercato” assignments will have his say in it.
