This has been a pattern that was going on for at least three years. We play awful in the first game and lose badly, i.e. Mexico's five and Japan's four (that one should have been at least six). Even in the qualifiers and the Gulf cup we started awfully in these tournaments. I still can't believe the chances Bashar, Huwiadi and co. kept missing in the Gulf cup opener. To me, a loss by four goals to Japan equals a loss by five goals to Mexico, which in turn equals 8 goals by Geramny. Germany simply has more fire power. The funny thing is that in our friendly against Brazil, they had almost as many good chances as Germany had but kept wasting them. The prolongation of the 0-0 score made us look better.
What is even funnier is that in these tournaments (Confed. and Asian) after the first game massacre the team suddenly improves. The players pass acurately, play with heart and really do appear disciplined and implementing a game plan. It is not simply a psychologic effect. There must be something seriously wrong in the camp or something wrong with the players. I mean do they intentionally play and lose badly to lower expectations and then get big bonuses when they do better later on? Probably not, but who knows.
We can claim that our players have limited abilities, are badly coached, lack in the physical build, etc.. But what about heart, pride, nationalism etc.. Japan and USA lost all their matches in 98 but they won everybody's respect. Our players, all of them, had none of that. There is no such thing as losing composure, hope, balance or whatever at this stage. This can happen in player's personal life, or even in their clubs. But when fighting for their country, they must fight till the end. It's not just three points at stake, it's the whole nation's pride on the line. Strangely, this phenomena does not happen to our clubs. Even Al-Nasr who is regarded by many as the weakest of the big 4 played superbly in WCC and barely lost to Real Madrid in a match that could have gone both ways.
We the fans must also admit our own share of the blame. We have elevated our club stars' status so high and made them untouchable. I mean was Yami better than Jamaan, was Sami better than Shehan or Obeid, was Dookhi better than Shilia, was Takar better than Khalil, was Noor better than Al-Ghamdi, was Abdul-ghani better than Sagri, is Dayea really better than Khojali, has Suleiman lost it, was Saad missed? It does not matter whether the answer is yes, no, or indifferent. What matters is that they are all "Saudis" who shamed the whole nation. You might say that the overall rating of player (not just for this match) X is 6.9/10 while player Y is 6.5/10. It doesn't matter. They are all C-, below average. Football is a "team" sport. Personally, I think the differences between our top two or three players in a single position is not as much as many believe. In fact, it may be negligible especially at this stage. What is important is that the NT plays well as an organized unit and with heart, and that hasn't happened in a loooooong time.
What is even funnier is that in these tournaments (Confed. and Asian) after the first game massacre the team suddenly improves. The players pass acurately, play with heart and really do appear disciplined and implementing a game plan. It is not simply a psychologic effect. There must be something seriously wrong in the camp or something wrong with the players. I mean do they intentionally play and lose badly to lower expectations and then get big bonuses when they do better later on? Probably not, but who knows.
We can claim that our players have limited abilities, are badly coached, lack in the physical build, etc.. But what about heart, pride, nationalism etc.. Japan and USA lost all their matches in 98 but they won everybody's respect. Our players, all of them, had none of that. There is no such thing as losing composure, hope, balance or whatever at this stage. This can happen in player's personal life, or even in their clubs. But when fighting for their country, they must fight till the end. It's not just three points at stake, it's the whole nation's pride on the line. Strangely, this phenomena does not happen to our clubs. Even Al-Nasr who is regarded by many as the weakest of the big 4 played superbly in WCC and barely lost to Real Madrid in a match that could have gone both ways.
We the fans must also admit our own share of the blame. We have elevated our club stars' status so high and made them untouchable. I mean was Yami better than Jamaan, was Sami better than Shehan or Obeid, was Dookhi better than Shilia, was Takar better than Khalil, was Noor better than Al-Ghamdi, was Abdul-ghani better than Sagri, is Dayea really better than Khojali, has Suleiman lost it, was Saad missed? It does not matter whether the answer is yes, no, or indifferent. What matters is that they are all "Saudis" who shamed the whole nation. You might say that the overall rating of player (not just for this match) X is 6.9/10 while player Y is 6.5/10. It doesn't matter. They are all C-, below average. Football is a "team" sport. Personally, I think the differences between our top two or three players in a single position is not as much as many believe. In fact, it may be negligible especially at this stage. What is important is that the NT plays well as an organized unit and with heart, and that hasn't happened in a loooooong time.
