Saudi coach Nasser Al-Johar issued a defiant riposte here Tuesday to his many critics following the 8-0 hammering by Germany declaring the same people had been happy to hail him as a hero when he guided the Saudis to the 2000 Asian Cup final and through the World Cup qualifiers second stage.
The 42-year-old, known prior to the German result as Mr Fixit for his ability to come in and turn the side’s fortunes around following the exit of a highly-paid foreign coach, added he and his squad still believed they could make the second round.
“All those people who are criticising me now are the same ones who wrote or said I was a hero after the Asian Cup in Lebanon and after the final stage of qualifying for this World Cup.
“It’s not true at all that we went into the match without any strategy, the players trained hard to apply it – which was demonstrated prior to the finals in the good results from the warm-up matches.
“What happened against Germany was abnormal and unbelievable.”
However, Al-Johar said he would make some changes to the side for Thursday’s match with African champions Cameroon, one of which will see Fawzi Al-Shehri replace Abdullah Al-Shahrami as a link between the defence and midfield because of the latter’s lack of pace.
One player who will not be dropped is veteran goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Deayea according to team manager Faisal Abed Al Hadi.
“I expect one or two players to be replaced against Cameroon but I insist that the goalkeeper should play because he remains one of the most talented guardians in Asia,” he told AFP./p
“If any player makes mistakes it doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to play for his national team.”
Al Hadi said all they were demanding of the players was that they played to their real level and not the dreadful one they had produced against the Germans.
“We are not asking our players to do something extraordinary.
“It’s just what we need from them is to play at their normal level and I am sure they will do it and we will get good results in the final two matches because we have faith in their ability.”
Al Hadi said that it was pointless to change coaches at this stage, although he made little secret that if the thrashing had come under the auspices of a foreign coach then he would have been gone immediately.
“We need Al-Johar a lot in this situation because he is Saudi and he can understand the players,” he said.
Al-Hadi said skipper and veteran striker Sami Al-Jaber would be able to train on Tuesday after missing the last two days because of a right ankle problem and the medical staff were hopeful the 29-year-old would be able to play against Cameroon.
