The Gulf after crossing the strait… Screening, rewards, and a European camp

After crossing one of the most difficult turns in his career, Al-Khaleej Club began to quickly settle the cards for the new season of the Saudi League, the first of which was the fate of Portuguese coach Pedro Manuel, as he decided to renew his contract to lead the team in the next version of the league after he succeeded in achieving the most important goals by leading The team to stay another season in the limelight.

It is scheduled that the signing of the coach and his staff will be settled with the new privileges that he will receive before leaving for his country to spend his annual vacation.

The coach is working on finalizing the technical reports that he will submit to the administration regarding the preparation calendar for the new season and the technical recommendations that he will submit regarding the players he would like to keep in the ranks of the team, or the departed after it was proven that their continuation was not feasible based on their technical levels that they presented in the competitions of the past season.

The Gulf team established itself in the Roshan League after achieving a difficult victory over its guest, Abha, by three goals to one, as it turned the tables in front of its guest, although it played in the last third of the match with a numerical deficiency as a result of the expulsion of its player, Muhammad Khabrani.

Al-Khaleej benefited from the loss of its closest competitor, the Al-Adalah team, against Al-Ettifaq, as it remained with a points difference, while Al-Adalah fell, accompanied by Al-Batin.

The Al-Khiljawi team clung to its weak chances in complex calculations, as the victory of its direct competitors meant its official relegation, even if it won, but it achieved its goal and one of its competitors stumbled to remain among the greats.

It is expected that the Gulf will make major changes in its ranks by contracting with at least 4 foreign names, while the Portuguese Fabio Martinez, Brazilian captain Lucas Souza and his compatriot Morato will be retained, while discussions are underway about the possibility of signing with new names that can provide an addition to the team.

Brazilian goalkeeper Douglas will advance the list of names leaving foreigners, provided that a new foreign goalkeeper is contracted with negotiation with local goalkeeper Marwan Al-Haidari in order to renew his contract after the great technical level he presented in the decisive matches in which he was given the opportunity, which came as a result of the significant decline in performance. The Brazilian goalkeeper, who won the Preference Award in January by the Professional League, but his level deteriorated and contributed to the loss of many points that were close to the team.

Negotiations will also be made with a number of local clubs to extend the loan of some players who provided technical additions to the team.

As for the external camp, it is likely that it will be in Europe, where the available options will be studied with the technical staff in order to choose the most appropriate.

The players were given a four-week vacation, to return to training in early July.

On the other hand, private sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the financial rewards that will be distributed to the players on the occasion of survival will be classified according to the matches played by each player, so that the maximum ceiling will be 80 thousand riyals for the main players, provided that it gradually decreases for the less participating players.

On a related note, Gulf coach Pedro Manuel revealed that his team clung to its fortunes and believed in its ability to survive until the last round, as the difficulties it went through were enormous, but it had men who succeeded in accomplishing the task.

He pointed out that his team did not perform as expected in the first half in the last match against Abha, but the situation was different in the second half, as combativeness and the desire to win and settle matters appeared.

And he stressed that the positive atmosphere in the Gulf Club is one of the most important reasons that helped him succeed in his mission for this season, despite all the difficulties he went through.

Pedro is one of the few coaches in the Saudi League who continued to lead their teams from the beginning to the end, as the confidence of the administration, headed by Eng. Alaa Al Hamel, did not waver in the capabilities of this coach.

Pedro has good experience in Saudi football competitions, especially in the period when he led Al-Taawoun to advanced positions in the league, in addition to winning the King’s Cup as the biggest achievement for his former club.

It is noteworthy that Alaa Al-Hamel, President of Al-Khaleej Club, confirmed that his team achieved its goal this season by remaining in the Saudi Professional League, and said that they were confident of the great work done by the administrative and technical staff, and the technical value of the players, as the focus was great in order to win and nothing else during the match. The latter without being concerned with the results of other people’s matches.

Al-Hamel stressed that after completing the task of survival this season, it will work early in order for the team to be at the best level in the next season.