"He wasted Al-Hilal's money": fierce attack on Inzaghi after defeat to Al-Shamal
The Italian coach suffered his second defeat this season
Italian coach Simone Inzaghi, manager of Saudi side Al-Hilal, came under fierce criticism after a shock defeat to Qatar's Al-Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Al-Shamal beat Al-Hilal 3-1 on Tuesday at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, in the third round of the Asian tournament's league stage.
Saudi media figure Abdullah Falatah mocked Inzaghi's handling of the game, pinning the blame for the loss squarely on the manager's tactical calls.
Falatah told "Thmanyah" channels, broadcasters of the Saudi Roshn League: "I take back saying that money is everything after what I saw from Al-Hilal. Sometimes you have the money, but your coach comes along to waste that money for you."
He explained: "Money is not everything. There has to be a coach who knows how to manage this money. The team has players worth a billion (riyals), then he (Inzaghi) comes along and puts all the key players on the bench."
"He (Inzaghi) regarded Al-Shamal as a newly established team, even though they competed for the Qatari league last season and have distinguished players, foremost among them Riyad Mahrez," he added.
He went on: "It is true that this is not the end of the road, nor is it the final match in the tournament, but Al-Hilal has its pride, and it is not right to give up in that way and to sit all the key players off the pitch."
"Inzaghi played with second-string players, all of them far removed from the match atmosphere, and he came up with a strange recipe for losing. He bears responsibility for that defeat without the slightest argument," he continued.
He concluded: "It is the right of any coach to carry out rotation, but what happened was not rotation, this was recklessness, sabotage of the team, and disrespect for the opposing team, and so Inzaghi deserved the loss thoroughly."
Inzaghi, for the record, named just three of his key men against Al-Shamal: full-backs Mutaib Al-Harbi and Theo Hernandez, and midfielder Mohamed Kanno. Substitutes filled out the rest of the line-up.
