Saudi Arabia changed 24 coaches since 1994 WC

"It is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia. The coach has had enough time, more than a year and a half, to do a perfect job."  as said by Sultan bin Fahd, the President of the Saudi Arabian Football Association.

It was one of the most stable and long times that the coach stayed at the "Green Falcons" as used to be called. That period was one and a half year!!!!!

Jose Peseiro was fired after Saudi defeat by Syria 1-2 in the first game of the Asian Cup. He was replaced by Nasser Al-Johar, a local coahc. If I am not mistaken, this would be the first ever victory for Syria against Saudi Arabia, at least in the first team level. (source: my memory)



Here is some irony:

- As per Dubai Sport Channel analysis, Nasser Al-Johar (the new coach) was sitting in the game and taking notes in his note book. So, the decision to change the coach was mostly decided. The Saudi Football Association was only waiting for the right time.

- Nasser is not a new coach. This is the fifth time that he been appointed as the coach of the Saudi team (always called as the substitute coach, or the spare part).

- He was the coach that lead the team to worst defeat in its history: 0-8 vs. Germany in 2002 World Cup.

- Saudi national team changed 24 coaches since Candinho was fired in 1993 WCQ (which is practically when the team qualified to the WC for the first time in their history).

 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1993
 Leo Beenhakker 1993
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1994
 Ivo Wortmann 1994
 Jorge Solari 1994
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1995
 Ze Mario 1995
Vingada 1996
 Otto Pfister 1998
 Carlos Alberto Parreira 1998
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1998
 Otto Pfister 1999
 Milan Máčala 1999
 Nasser Al Johar 2000
 Slobodan Santrac 2001
 Nasser Al Johar 2001
 Gerard van der Lem 2002
 Martin Koopman 2002
 Nasser Al Johar 2004
 Gabriel Calderon 2004
 Marcos Paqueta 2006
 Helio dos Anjos 2007
 Nasser Al Johar 2008
 José Peseiro 2009
 Nasser Al Johar 2011

- Let's do some benchmarking, Germany changed 5 coaches during the same period. Italy changed 7 coaches.

- Saudi team itself changed 21 coaches in 36 years. (1957-1993) as 1957 was the first coach appointed.
Now, it changed 24 coaches in 18 years (1993-2011), that is almost double the speed.

These are all small indications of the professionalism of football in Saudi Arabia and the reasons why the team that qualified to the second round in 1994, cannot now qualify to the second round of the Asian Cup.