Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Friday, 20 February 2026, 08:32 / Updated on Friday, 20 February 2026 08:32
An increasingly complicated mission for Marius Șumudica (54 years old) in Saudi Arabia. Al Akhdood's technician received another blow in the fight to avoid relegation even from a Romanian footballer.
The former Rapid coach took on an extremely complicated mission when he accepted this challenge. His team is in 17th place, penultimate, with 10 points after 21 stages.
On Thursday evening, Al Riyadh, one of the contenders in this fight for survival, prevailed on Al Kholood's ground, score 2-0.
Marius Șumudică, closer to relegation also because of a Romanian footballer
In the game that Riyadh won, the former prodigy from Farul Constanța Enes Sali also stood out. Having reached the age of 19, the left midfielder is on loan from FC Dallas in Saudi Arabia until the end of this season.
And for his team's first success, the Romanian made a decisive pass to Teddy Okou (2'). 2-0 was made 4 minutes later (Leandro Antunes 6'). They were the only successes of the game, and Al Riyadh climbed to 15th place, the first to secure the rescue, with 16 points.
VIDEO | Assisted by Enes Sali in Al-Kholood – Al Riyadh
🎥 تسديدة تيدي وكو والـدف الأول ⚽️🤩#الرياض#الخلود_الرياض
pic.twitter.com/riEhg9QcU8— نادي الرياض السعودي (@AlRiyadhFC) February 19, 2026
Depending on the indirect results, Şumudică's team could find at the end of the stage that it is 6 or 8 points away from the goal set at the time it signed the agreement.
Enes Sali was sold by Farul to FC Dallas in 2023, when he was only 17 years old, for 3 million euros. The footballer raised by Gică Hagi failed to establish himself and was loaned twice to Al Riyadh. Sali made his debut for the Romanian national team when he was only 15 years old.
At this stage, Marius Șumudica's team receives a visit from Al Qadsiah (4th place).
