The Arabs have cornered Marius Șumudică: they cancel the Romanian technician's apology. “No more flattery”
Marius Șumudică's start at Al-Okhdood got seriously complicated after a new hard-to-digest result in the championship. His team was drastically defeated, 0-6, at home by Al-Hilal, and reactions from the Saudi media appeared immediately, the tone being critical.
Marius Șumudică Photo/Sportspictures
In the end, the Romanian technician emphasized the difference in value between the two teams, going so far as to say that Al-Hilal has the level of a team capable of winning the Champions League in Europe. But the claim sparked controversy, with many analysts considering it inappropriate in the context of such a severe failure.
“No more flattery!”
Youssef Khamis, a former Saudi Pro League international and commentator, was among those who reacted vehemently, challenging the coach's explanations.
“No more flattery! After such a defeat, instead of hearing exaggerated praise about Al-Hilal, I would have liked to know the explanation for the fact that there was such a big difference between this coach's team (no – Marius Șumuduca) and Al-Hilal. If such situations continue (no – referring to Șumudica's praise for Al-Hilal), then we will witness an undesirable situation. Small teams will think that it's normal for them to score six, seven goals when they meet strong opponents in the Saudi Pro League, and nobody wants that!”said Youssef Khamis.
“We are closer to relegation than salvation!”
Al-Okhdood, the formation prepared by Marius Șumudica, occupies the penultimate position in the ranking, 17th out of 18, with only 10 points collected after 20 stages. The Romanian coach admitted that the team is going through a difficult time and emphasized that the absolute priority remains avoiding relegation.
“I feel good, but accidents like this happen. In fact, I don't even know if I can call it an accident, I played a match with a team that has been working with the same coach for two years, I mean Donis, the former coach of Panathinaikos and Al Hilal.
At the moment we are closer to relegation than salvation, to be fair. When I came, I knew where I was coming and I assumed it. If we save them from relegation, me and my staff, it will be like winning the championship. It's very hard. The value of our lot is 10 million euros; even in Romania there are teams with a much higher value, from the point of view of player quotas!“said Marius Șumudica, according to Fanatik.
As for the results, the situation is not at all comfortable for Šumudica: five defeats in eight games.
