Al Ahli Saudi FC coach Marino Pusic says investment alone cannot deliver victories

Al Ahli Saudi FC manager Marino Pusic said his side’s defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns in the Intercontinental Cup showed that financial investment alone was not enough to guarantee success.

Mamelodi Sundowns won the Three Continents Cup after beating Al Ahli Saudi FC 2-1, with Pusic acknowledging that his team failed to take the chances needed to settle the match.

“I think we played a good game today, and there was one team that deserved to be two or three goals ahead at half-time – and that was our team,” Pusic said in comments published by Al Sharq Al Awsat. “I think we were unlucky in this match.”

The result meant Al Ahli Saudi FC missed out on the trophy for a second successive year. They lost last year’s final 3-1 to Pyramids.

Asked why Saudi Arabian clubs can encounter difficulties against African opposition despite the significant investment in Saudi football, Pusic said the issue could not be judged solely by the amount of money being spent.

“It is about developing football in general, and when you put a lot of investment into this field, that becomes part of the development process,” he said.

“But I do not think the matter is only about investment. When you look at the match against Sundowns, you can see that it is also about the decisive moments a team must take advantage of, and how it handles those moments in order to win the game.”

Pusic added that Saudi football was progressing in the right direction and would continue to grow stronger.

“I think Saudi football is on the right path and is developing to become stronger over time,” he said. “We can also see that through what Saudi clubs are producing in the AFC Champions League and other competitions.”

The match was played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Portuguese player Nuno Santos stood out by scoring both of his side’s goals. The other goal of the match came when Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams put the ball into his own net for Al Ahli Saudi FC.

Pusic’s comments came after another narrow defeat in a competition in which Al Ahli Saudi FC were unable to convert a promising first-half performance into victory. His assessment focused on the importance of making the most of key chances and responding effectively during decisive stages of matches, rather than relying on the scale of a club or league’s spending.