Marino Pusic Faces Backlash After Al-Ahli's 6-1 Defeat
Marino Pusic bristled. The question had barely landed before the Al-Ahli coach hit back.
"You should be ashamed of the question."
The Dutchman had just watched his team torn apart 6-1 by Al-Shabab at the SHG Arena in Riyadh, a result that sent a shockwave through the Roshn League and sparked immediate speculation over his future. In the post-match press conference, one reporter asked if this was his last game in charge. Pusic was having none of it.
This was humiliation on the pitch and an inquisition off it. Al-Shabab didn’t just beat Al-Ahli in the twelfth round of the league; they dismantled them. Six goals conceded, one in reply, and a performance riddled with errors that Pusic did not attempt to dress up.
"We lost by a big and unexpected scoreline, we made many individual mistakes," he admitted, speaking to Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. There was no attempt to blame the referee, the pitch, or the schedule. The responsibility, he knew, lay squarely with his players and his staff.
The damage came early. Pusic pointed straight at the opening phase as the turning point. "The individual mistakes, made in the first 25 minutes, complicated everything," he said. By then, the contest was effectively over, the game plan shredded, the confidence drained.
The fans made their anger clear. Boos, frustration, and a sense of disbelief from a support that had watched their side win five straight games heading into the night. Pusic didn’t challenge their reaction.
"The fans have the right to express what they feel, and I am a professional coach," he said. He offered an apology, not excuses. "I offer my apologies to the fans, and we promise them hard work in the next match against Al-Sadd of Qatar."
That next match now looms large. Al-Ahli travel to Qatar to face Al-Sadd on Monday in the fourth round of the league phase of the AFC Champions League Elite. Under normal circumstances, it would be a high-profile group-stage tie against one of the region’s heavyweights. After a 6-1 defeat, it feels like something else entirely: a test of character, of authority, and perhaps of job security.
Pusic’s broader record still carries weight. He only arrived at the start of the season, replacing German coach Matthias Jaissle, and his numbers until Friday painted the picture of a coach on the right track: 17 matches, 11 wins, five defeats, one draw. A strong return, now overshadowed by one catastrophic night in Riyadh.
That is the reality of this level. A five-game winning streak can vanish in the glare of a single result like this. The question about his future may have angered him, but it will not go away easily if performances like this repeat.
For now, Pusic has his answer ready: keep working, repair the damage, and make sure that in Qatar, the only statement comes on the pitch.
