No team in the world can keep a similar performance forever. Even the incredible Barcelona today was not as good during the 1990s as it is today. Neither Real Madrid today, even though they have a great history. But you can't say Real Madrid won't come back to dominate again because they are still Real Madrid. Same thing with Saudi Arabia. As persian said in 2004 we IMO had a worse campaign struggling with Iraq, Tajikstan, and Uzbekistan. But we still came back to dominate our WCQ group in 2006 and qualified ahead of South Korea who were the 4th of the world at that time. Again we got runners up in 2007, only 3 years after we lost out in the group stages. Now we failed to qualify to the 2010 WC, and had a miserable group stage exit in 2011 AC. But that doesn't mean Saudi football will diminish. We probably won't qualify to the WC in 2014, but that doesn't mean Saudi football is not capable of producing a new generation that could win the 2015 AC. You really never know, as long as the main sport in the country is football, and there is financial support anything could happen. Another point, in 2007 we reached the final of the AC. Our lineup in 2007 and in 2011 had many similar players, like Yasser Al Qahtani, Abdoh Otaif, Kamel Al Mousa, Osama Hawsawi, Tayseer AlJasem, and Saud Kariri. So you can't really say the team doesn't have the talent, these were all vital players that were able to impress in 2007, yet they didn't perform in 2011. So you never really know what could be the reason, and never know what will happen in the future, will we improve or sink even more, only the future can tell.
Saudi Arabia have actually been on a downhill road for a long while now. Iran was on the same road but it seems that we have rebounded. Saudi Arabia however is still going down hill. I doubt you'll sink even more but I also doubt you'll become a top 4 asian team anytime soon.
Saudi were without luck in their first two games but that performance last night was utterly disgraceful.
initially when i saw the score line, i felt sorry for Saudi Arabia because i knew they were in a state of total disarray this tournament and put today down to a bad day in the office. but now that i've seen the match, and watched the players being so pathetic i have no sympathy for them at all. if i was a Saudi, i will not limit my anger to the Saudi royal family but also be angry with the players. its was a disgraceful display. I have far more repsect for the Indian players who may have gotten similar scoreline but at least they try to play and don't just roll over. someone said Saudi will be playing for pride today since they had already been knocked out. well, it appears they have no pride.
I think Japan realized they were playing such a apathetic team and decided not to try. Could have reached double digits if they wanted to IMO.
After 2-0 Saudi started giving up then at 3-0 they just decided not to play anymore. What a disgrace. They should know in some countries if they play like that they would be all whipped and sent to mine. At least, they gave us a lot of time to rest during the game Congrats on Japan and Jordan.
I personally had an orgasm seeing them perform so patheticly. No sense of nationalism what so ever! If Japan wanted they could have made an Asian Cup record.
so just because they suddenly have more players in Europe they are better? What if we win this AC and qualify for the WC (which I think we will)?
Then there might be some Euro scouts looking to bring your boys to Spain, England, France, and Italy. All countries that have a higher standard of play than your domestic league.
No doubt the Saudis have bounced back many times before. Indeed, what has made Saudi Arabia so aggravating and irritating to follow is precisely the fact that they have so often done poorly, only to bounce back and do well. That has been largely their story since the 1996 Asian Cup and I tried to allude to it in my last message. Essentially, the general trend for Saudi Arabia has been to perform indifferently or inconsistently in the group stages of the Asian Cup (e.g., 3:0 loss to Iran in 1996, 4:1 loss to Japan in 2000, elimination at the group stage in 2004), but then rebound to either win the trophy (1996) or to at least make the final (2000). Indeed, since the 1996 Asian Cup, the Saudis have only had one Asian Cup campaign where their performance was not marked by some terrible loss in the group stage and that was the 2007 Asian Cup. Yet, the Saudis have made the final of the Asian Cup more than any other team and won the Asian Cup trophy as often as anyone else. The same has been their World Cup qualifying story as well. In the qualifying games for the 1998 World Cup, the Saudis had a weak start and were trailing Iran by 5 points and a large goal difference after five games. Helped by Iran's implosion, they reversed course and over the three remaining games, made up the deficit and took first place in their group. Largely the same story repeated itself in the qualifying games for the 2002 World Cup: the Saudis started weak and had only 1 point after two games, trailed Iran from the get go until the last game, but bounced back and took first place in the group only after the last group game. True, the Saudis didn't experience similar problems qualifying in 2006, but that was the exception to the rule. In general, at the continental level, whether in the Asian Cup or in World Cup qualifying, the Saudis have started slow and ended strong. I mention all this because I want to emphasize that I am the last person to quickly write off the Saudis. But this time, I think the Saudis won't find it easy to bounce back. Their humiliation in this Asian Cup follows their failure to qualify to the 2010 World Cup, which was the first World Cup they missed since their first World Cup qualification in 1994. And if the Saudis have managed to bounce back so many times in the past, making bouncing back a tradition of sorts, it just seems to me that this tradition might have ended when they failed to bounce back this time around. Especially, when their last game became their weakest, with the 5:0 loss to Japan perhaps the proverbial nail in the coffin.
no man, it has nothing to do with that. All our Euro players retired together (Hashemian, Karimi, Mahdavikia etc...). we're in a transition period. Ansarifard will be in Europe with or w/out an Asian Cup trophy IMO
saudis everything's OK! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yv0BPmeL7o"]YouTube - Everything OK[/ame] whenever I see this clip I laugh for at least half an hour Where is it from?
Pass that curry please. [/quote] Get a life. I am not hilalfe, you dumbo! I can say that right in your face. I don't need to sit behind a computer and call me racial slurs! Like again seriously get a life! No Actually wait!!!!!!!!!!!! I like the attention you give to me all the time!
No wonder your the only Iranian i like because of the facts that you use sometimes into your replies and not get involved into racial slurs! Similar style as mine. But i have to disagree with you on one thing. Saudi Arabia will continue on to be the most inconsistent team in Asia and will bounce back with an entry to World cup 2014 in Brazil .
https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22597896&postcount=380 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22585725&postcount=323 https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22586001&postcount=332 thats right. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgy6X8VMgL8"]YouTube - 2007 Asian Cup QF 1 - Iran vs Korea[/ame] south koreans are shaking cuz the UNWRITTEN RULE states that it is their turn to get knocked out.
how about we wait and see what happens in 4 days and then. You're just jinxing it now. not that i believe in the curse anyways..
say thanks to the guy who scored the penalty against south korea today! if he missed we would have played australia.
The main reason for this is Saudi Arabia lack's professionalism. Players eat food similar to what any normal joe in a country would eat. Compare that to real athletes all around the world who have nutrition plans and eat accordingly. I've seen Abdullah Shuhail (number 2 on the team) ordering food from a fast food place in Riyadh right after a league game with Shabab. These players also stay up late, and only some times during the season you'll find them training twice a day, its usually once. Above this all, you got player value inflation ever since 2000-2004 in the local league. Players today make more money than before, Abdullah Shuhail makes a million bucks a season and thats without bonuses etc. Does he deserve that much money based on his overall performances? Probably not, but this much money also helps lower a players motivation, players have less to fight for. So you pretty much have a professional problem with football in Saudi Arabia, only when things start to get serious, football will fluorish like crazy.