RIO: Saudi Arabia have sacked Edgardo Bauza, but stayed Argentine. Replacing Bauza, who had a short, unsuccessful spell in charge of the land of his birth, they have appointed his compatriot Juan Antonio Pizzi, who failed to take Chile through to next year’s World Cup.
The word “failure,” though, would be a very harsh verdict on Pizzi’s time with Chile. He boldly stepped into the breach in January of last year, following the resignation of Jorge Sampaoli. With his dynamic, attacking style of play, Sampaoli would be a hard act to follow. He had just taken Chile to their first ever serious piece of silverware, the 2015 Copa America. And his resignation might have been partially motivated by the feeling that he had taken the team as far as they could go.
Pizzi took them still higher. The 2015 Copa America win had come on home soil. Twelve months later, to celebrate the centenary of the Copa, an extra tournament was organized in the US. Chile triumphed again, this time without home advantage. And their astonishing 7-0 quarter final demolition of Mexico is a strong candidate to be the finest game ever played by the Chilean national team.
The virtues that Pizzi showed then will surely come in useful in his latest challenge. For a start, he proved that he can adapt. A center forward in his playing days, Pizzi’s teams have usually featured a target man figure, often in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Chile did not play that way, and the coach did not force a change. He was more conservative than Sampaoli, sticking with a back four rather than the constant switches his predecessor made between a line of three and four. But he respected the team’s style and worked within it. If he calls his old friend Bauza — the two played together at Rosario Central in Argentina — then he will surely tell him about how Saudi Arabia struggle to defend against top-level teams. An entirely different process of adaptation will be necessary, then, if he is to succeed in his new job. Where his Chile side sought to impose themselves on the game, his Saudi Arabia will surely concentrate on solid defense and sporadic swift break-outs.
In his previous job Pizzi also demonstrated the capacity to handle a notoriously difficult dressing room. Relations in the Chile camp have often been strained. Pizzi kept them focused with leadership that was strong but low profile, with a refreshing lack of ego. There was never a feeling that he was competing with Sampaoli’s legacy.
He is a man entitled to a bit of swagger in his stride. As a player Pizzi was good enough to become the top goalscorer in the Spanish league while playing for Tenerife. He was sufficiently accomplished to spend two seasons at Barcelona. And, realizing that he was not going to get a game ahead of Gabriel Batistuta, he gave up dreams of playing for Argentina and instead naturalized as a Spaniard, representing his adopted country in both the 1996 European Championships and the 1998 World Cup.
As a coach, his CV includes domestic titles in both Chile and Argentina, as well as spells in Mexico and in Spain with Valencia, where the decision to replace him taken by the incoming Singaporean tycoon Peter Lim does not in retrospect appear to have been a wise choice.
So where did it go wrong for Pizzi’s Chile? On the field, the team picked up enough points to finish fifth and make the play-off against New Zealand. But Bolivia were penalized for fielding an ineligible player — and the extra points and goals awarded to Peru were sufficient to take them above Chile on goal difference.
It is undeniable, though, that the goals dried up for Chile. In their last six competitive games they could only score twice. The explanation is simple enough — the side grew old together, and lost some of the zip that was essential for their success. It was surely a mistake to take the full-strength squad to Russia for the Confederations Cup in the middle of the year — a fourth consecutive summer tournament for an aging group of players who would have been better served with a rest. But it does mean that Juan Antonio Pizzi has gained first-hand knowledge of the conditions that will apply in next year’s World Cup — and if Chile are no longer able to put that to good use, perhaps Saudi Arabia can.
New Saudi Arabia coach entitled to a bit of swagger in his stride
New Saudi Arabia coach entitled to a bit of swagger in his stride
Leao, Pulisic and Abraham inspire AC Milan comeback in 3-2 win over Inter in Italian Super Cup final
Leao, Pulisic and Abraham inspire AC Milan comeback in 3-2 win over Inter in Italian Super Cup final
- It was the fifth time in the last seven years that the competition was played in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: It took exactly one week on the job for Sergio Conceicao to earn his first trophy as AC Milan’s coach — with two comeback wins no less.
Milan came back from two goals down to beat city rivals Inter Milan 3-2 and win the Italian Super Cup on Monday.
Rafael Leao came off the bench and played a part in all three of Milan’s goals from Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham.
Conceicao was hired to replace the fired Paulo Fonseca last Monday and also led the Rossoneri to a comeback win over Juventus in the semifinals.
This time, Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi put Inter ahead with goals on either side of halftime.
Leao then earned a foul that resulted in a free kick which Hernandez curled in around Inter’s wall.
Then Pulisic finished off a counterattack by shooting through Augusto’s legs on a play that began with Leao.
For the third goal, Leao provided a through ball for Pulisic, who crossed to Abraham, who tapped into an empty net in stoppage time.
It was the fifth time in the last seven years that the competition was played in Saudi Arabia, and the second year of an expanded four-team format.
A throw-in led to Inter’s opener as Taremi fed the ball inside the area to Lautaro, who cut back before shooting through Hernandez’s legs on Inter’s only real chance of the half.
Taremi, who was playing in place of the injured Marcus Thuram, finished off a counterattack right after the break.
Milan play their first Serie A match under Conceicao against Cagliari on Saturday. The Rossoneri are in eighth place but will return to league action with much more confidence.
Al-Rajhi, Sanders win 48-hour stages at Dakar Rally
- For this long stage, which started on Sunday, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert
BISHA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi held on to his overnight lead to win the second stage of the Dakar 2025 rally on Monday, the fearsome “48-hour Chrono” while defending champion Carlos Sainz limped in 1h 30min behind.
The 43-year-old racing in his home country completed the 967km special stage, spread over two days, in 10h 56min 54sec, despite a 2min penalty for speeding.
He was followed by South African Henk Lategan at 4min 16sec with Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who overtook Al-Rahji briefly to hold the lead for 142k, finishing third.
“It was really, really hard. I feel like this is our tenth day on the Dakar,” said Al Rajhi on his arrival at the bivouac of the rally, which began on Friday.
“The navigation was very, very difficult in some places, due to the divots and dust. You needed a rocket, not a car to pass through them. It wasn’t easy.”
For this long stage, which started on Sunday, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert and did not benefit from the assistance of their teams at the night stop.
Sainz seriously damaged his Ford Raptor when he rolled it on Sunday but managed to finish the stage although the Spaniard is now 26th in the standings.
Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, who is still looking for his first Dakar victory, was half an hour behind at the camp on Sunday evening, after a fan problem caused his engine to overheat.
But the Frenchman had a better Monday, making up much of the deficit to finish seventh, 13min 10sec behind the leader.
South African Lategan tops the provisional standings, 4min 45sec ahead of Al Rajhi with Al Attiyah in third. Loeb is sixth, 18min 56sec off the lead.
“We looked after the car for the stage because we knew it was really, really long,” said Lategan.
“If you don’t look after the car, it won’t look after you. It’s actually a big surprise to be first because we haven’t been really focusing on it. But I’m happy with that.”
Australian Daniel Sanders continues to dominate on the bikes, his victory in their “48-hour Chrono” making it three in a row after he also won the prologue and first stage.
It is the first time any rider has taken the first three stages since Spaniard Joan Barreda in 2017 between Bolivia and Argentina.
“It wasn’t too bad, pretty hard in the soft dunes, it was very tough for a lot of us,” said Sanders.
“When opening, you didn’t know if it was going to be a soft dune or a hard dune. It was pretty tough. The dust kind of ruined it a lot. Everyone was bunched up fighting in the dust for the opening bonuses. It was a bit tough on that side.”
Sanders took victory on his KTM in a time of 11hr 12min 13sec, 6min 45sec ahead of Frenchman Adrien van Beveren (Honda) with American Skyler Howes (Honda) in third.
Sanders, who is aiming to become the second Australian to win the Dakar on a bike after Toby Price, holds a 12min 36sec lead over Howes in the provisional overall standings.
Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero) lies third, 4sec behind the American.
Tammy Abraham says it would mean everything to win first trophy for AC Milan in Saudi Arabia
- AC Milan play city rivals Inter in Riyadh on Monday night in Italian Super Cup final
- Abraham says victory would be ‘amazing’
RIYADH: Tammy Abraham said it “would mean everything” to win his first trophy for AC Milan.
The former Chelsea striker, on loan at the San Siro from Roma, played a key role in AC Milan qualifying for the Italian Super Cup final against city rivals Inter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday night.
England striker Abraham came off the bench for the final half-hour against Juventus in Thursday’s semifinal with AC Milan 1-0 down. But his forward play helped the Rossoneri overturn the deficit to win 2-1, with the equalizer netted by fellow former Chelsea player Christian Pulisic.
Having won trophies at both Stamford Bridge and Roma — who loaned him out to AC Milan at the start of the season — the 27-year-old, 11-times capped England striker dearly wants to add to his medal collection in Riyadh.
“It would mean everything to me to win my first trophy in a Milan shirt. I’m a player who always wants to win. I’ve won a few trophies in the past, and I want to keep building the cabinet. It would be amazing to lift my first trophy for Milan,” Abraham said.
“I’m a player that always wants to win. I want to help my team as much as possible. Against Juventus in the second half, I had to bring my energy and bring some belief to my team. I’m proud of my team but the job is not finished, and we have a really big job in the final.
“We played Inter earlier in the season and we won. We are ready and we have to be ready. They had a day extra to recover and prepare, but that’s no excuse for us. We want to go back home with the trophy.”
Inter beat Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday with a double from Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries to qualify for the final. All matches are taking place at Al-Awwal Park — the home of Cristiano Ronaldo and his Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. Inter are going for three Super Cups in a row in Riyadh and a record four wins in succession.
The Italian Super Cup is being staged in Saudi Arabia — where some 80 percent of the population either play, attend, or follow football — for the fifth time.
Sri Lankan Embassy holds cricket tournament to mark ties with Saudi Arabia
- Competition marks 50 years of diplomatic ties
- Plans to bring big names from Sri Lankan cricket to promote annual event
RIYADH: The Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh recently held a cricket tournament to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the Asia nation and Saudi Arabia.
The embassy organized the event in collaboration with the Sri Lankan Cultural Forum in Riyadh. Last year marked the half century of ties between the two nations.
The tournament was an 11-a-side competition with a maximum of five overs per innings, held from Dec. 3 to 27. The final resulted in the Riyadh Lankans beating the Gulf Lions.
A total of 25 teams drawn from the Sri Lankan community in Riyadh participated.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad told Arab News on Monday that the plan is to make it an annual event.
“We are planning to bring some big names from Sri Lankan cricket in the final of the tournament in the future, in order to promote cricket among the Sri Lankan community in Saudi Arabia as well as promote cricket ties with the Kingdom.”
He added that since Saudi Arabia also has a cricket federation, the plan is to “explore opportunities” for cooperation in the game.
Ajwad said the Riyadh Lankans, who clinched the trophy, had showcased exceptional talent and teamwork.
The envoy expressed delight that Saudi Arabia was becoming a global sports hub and would be hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, 2029 Asian Winter Games and 2034 Asian Games.
South Africa wrap up Test series win over Pakistan
- Forced to follow on 421 runs , Pakistan battled to 478 all out
- South Africa easily knocked off a target of 58 on the fourth day
CAPE TOWN: South Africa eased to a 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second Test on Monday in Cape Town to secure a 2-0 series win despite second-innings resistance from the tourists.
Forced to follow on 421 runs behind on the first innings, Pakistan battled to 478 all out but South Africa, who qualified for the World Test Championship final last week, easily knocked off a target of 58 late on the fourth day.
David Bedingham hit 44 not out off 30 balls as South Africa sealed victory in just 7.1 overs.
Bedingham was opening in place of Ryan Rickelton, who suffered a hamstring strain in the field after scoring 259 in South Africa’s first innings of 615.
Captain Shan Masood led Pakistan’s fightback, scoring 145.
Masood fell to the second new ball, trapped leg before wicket by 18-year-old debutant Kwena Maphaka.
Masood’s dismissal came three balls after Kagiso Rabada had Saud Shakeel caught at second slip for 23, ending a 51-run fourth-wicket stand.
Pakistan, a batter short after Saim Ayub suffered a broken ankle while fielding on the first morning, were still 92 runs in arrears after the double blow.
But Mohammad Rizwan (41) and Salman Agha (48) put on 88 for the sixth wicket and Aamer Jamal hit a quick 34 before the innings was ended.
South Africa’s bowlers received virtually no assistance from a placid pitch.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who had been expected to be a major factor on a fourth day pitch, achieved minimal spin and toiled for 45 overs to take three for 137.
South Africa will go into the Test championship final against Australia at Lord’s in June on the back of seven straight wins — the second most successful sequence in their history.
