Marcelo Gallardo’s cycle at Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia ended abruptly. One of the greatest idols in the history of River has just been fired by the club, after the very harsh statements of the new president Louay Nazer against him. In fact, the boss recalled that “last season, Gallardo made important mistakes when calling for the dismissal of Karim Benzema. This is completely unacceptable for the Al-Ittihad project.” And I add: “I have asked the legal department to study this matter and the necessary measures will be taken…”.
However, The “Muñeco” contract extends until June 30, 2025, his time in the Asian institution ends in the worst way: the lack of positive results is compounded by the internal fight with the French star who arrived from Real Madrid. The striker’s acts of indiscipline overwhelmed the patience of the Argentine technical director, who removed him from the team and there was no turning back between the two protagonists. Now a legal battle will continue between the exenganche and the entity, since the native of Merlo He claims the 30 million dollars that correspond to him for this year of bond that he still has left.
Although the testimony of the head of the Jeddah club was lapidary at the press conference, from the former midfielder’s side they will also press for theirs in the coming days. Very firm and convinced with his position, Nazer defended the French star: “Benzema cannot go to Al Hilal, coach Gallardo went against many of our instructions and had unacceptable demands such as the player’s departure, which is an essential part of our sporting project. Benzema, as I have already said, will not leave Al Ittihad and will continue with us.”
The engineer and top leader of the Asian entity also detailed: “We have started the search for a new coach for next season, after we decided to terminate the contract, and we have two or three options. I cannot reveal that because there are associated contracts.” He even elaborated: “We are currently studying the files of three foreign coaches and we will choose one of them to sign in the next period. With them, our choices will be intelligent and We will not impose names on the coach that he does not want. “We will all be compatible.”
Gallardo and Benzema, the fight that ended the Muñeco cycle in Al Ittihad.
“The Tigers” They finished the season in the Pro League in fifth place with 54 points, 42 behind champions Al Hilal commanded by the Portuguese Jorge Jesús. Very far from what was expected and in a campaign that was a failure, they reached the semifinals of the Champions Cup, lost the final of the Saudi Arabia Super Cup, succumbed in the quarterfinals of the Arab Champions League and in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League. “We intend to quickly close the file on the new coach to begin consulting with him on future agreements”stressed the President of Al Ittihad.
Regardless of Benzema’s continuity, Nazer announced that there will be more signings to break the transfer market: “We want to increase the number of stars in the next season. We will not talk about positions because that harms the negotiations and my goal is to complete all the transfers before the summer camp.” “We want to have all the players for the summer camp and have a very solid preparation for next season,” he wished in the same line.
With the central defender Luiz Felipethe Brazilian midfielder Fabinhothe French central midfielder N’Golo Kanté and the Portuguese winger Diogo Jota As great figures today, the engineer remarked that “players have special characteristics to play within the team” and concluded: “Our standards are high in recruiting. We want to compete strongly to achieve local and international achievements in the coming years. I am optimistic regarding the current summer transfer period, but we are very cautious… We have to be wise in choosing operations, especially with the specific budget and high prices we witnessed last season.”
Gallardo’s numbers as manager of Al Ittihad
- 33 official matches.
- 15 victories.
- 14 defeats.
- 4 ties.
- 49.5% effective.
- 56 goals in favor.
- 59 goals against.
