Khalaf Al-Harbi

Okaz

 

NORMALLY, we take long time to make a decision, even on urgent and pressing matters. We need to undergo several procedures such as carrying out studies and consultations, formation of panels and then endure the routine bureaucratic delays before taking the decision.



However, there is only one exception for this and this is in the case of any decisions related to our football team. It is only a matter of a few minutes to take impromptu decisions, especially when it comes to sacking coaches or changing players.



I think that what our team needs now desperately is some stagnancy in taking decisions and more bureaucratic delays so that the players and managers might not repeat their poor performances.



Therefore, I propose the power of running our team is taken away from the General Presidency of Youth Welfare and the Saudi Football Federation and handed over to a non-functional ministry like the Ministry of Housing.



This will give us more time to ponder over the causes of our team’s victories and losses. There is no doubt that the Saudi team’s recent loss in the Gulf Cup final is disappointing for the Saudi football fans.



But to become runners-up was also not a bad achievement when compared to the green team’s performance in the previous Gulf Cup competitions as well as in the previous Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying rounds.



The team suffered a series of losses and that was not the case in previous years. Of course, our coach has failed in front of the tactics of the winning team’s coach.



But this is not a genuine reason for seeking his resignation and concluding a contract with another coach. We are fed up with the chopping and changing our coaches.



This approach was instrumental in lowering the morale and performance of our team, in addition to us becoming an object of ridicule worldwide.



This is also another reason behind the refusal of most international coaches to sign deals to serve as our managers.



In case any coach accepts Saudi Arabia’s request, this would be only after securing a much higher salary package.



This is because he is sure that the contract might be terminated at any time before it is completed.



Bahrain’s coach Adnan Hamad drew attention to an important matter at the time of his team’s match with the Saudi team during the recent Gulf Cup tournament.



He said that the Saudi team is always strong but has lost its identity in recent years. This is a precise evaluation of what happened to our team lately.



The basic problem for our team is nothing related to its strength or weakness but that of losing its identity due to the revolving door of coaches.



After two months, our team is scheduled to play in the Asian Cup. There is no doubt that it is an important tournament.



If we are determined to repeat our policy blunders, the team would exit the tournament with a humiliating defeat, as in the case of the previous tournament.