Nicola Giuliani: Teti transforming Al Shabab; Pioli ideal for Al-Ittihad

Roberto Mancini's agent Nicola Giuliani has taken a relaxed view of the former who recently left his post as coach of the Saudi Arabian national team. However, he does offer Tribal Football some clarification on the subject.

“As I told you the last time we spoke, I think this kind of work takes time, because Saudi Arabia has great potential. It's a great project, but they need time. You can't change everything in one to two years. Maybe you need three, maybe four or five years to get a big result. In a short time no one can do anything special. They have everything they need to get good results, but you can't buy time.”

Former AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli is in charge of Al Nassr, Luca Antonini is the youth coach at the same club, while Luigi Di Biagio is still in charge of the Saudi Under-23s. Is Italian influence growing within the Saudi game?

“In my opinion, Italian, Spanish and some German coaches are the best in the world. If a country like Saudi Arabia wants to grow and develop football, they need to employ these types of coaches. Pioli has created something special in Milan, and I am very happy for him and also for Saudi. I think it is a perfect match between a top coach and a top competition.

Could we see more Italian coaches moving to different levels of Saudi Arabian football, as we saw with the aforementioned Antonini?

“I think it is a good choice to join Saudi Arabian football now because in two or three years you will no longer have access to these kinds of opportunities. If you believe that Saudi Arabia will become one of the best leagues in the world, now is the right time to be brave and smart and join a club.

Domenico Teti heads Al-Shabab, which just signed Giacomo Bonaventura. Could we see more Italian players heading to the SPL now?

“Let me start by saying what a fantastic job Domenico Teti has done at Al-Shabab. He has taken the club to another level. They achieved some super results, especially at the beginning of the season. Teti knows international football very well, and I am not surprised that he has signed an Italian player. This is just the beginning of a long process and many other Italian players will join Saudi Arabian football, there is no doubt about that.

“The Saudi Professional League is currently a top competition. It's not a good league, it's a top league that can reach the same level as the best four or five leagues in Europe. At the moment you have four big clubs, while the rest are struggling a bit to be competitive. When the process is completed, at least 10, 12, 14 clubs can compete for the title, but here too they need time.

“Remember when the Premier League started their process? At first no one wanted to go to the Premier League, they all preferred to go to Italy or Spain. Now everyone wants to join the Premier League. The process takes time.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, Aymeric Laporte and Kante all made a difference for their national team last week. Certainly a positive for the SPL?

“These types of players don't just bring technical skills to the competition. They bring a culture of how to win in football. Ronaldo is one of the best in history, but that is not only because of his skills, but also because of his mind, his behavior and his attitude.

How important is the Asian Champions League for the top clubs in Saudi Arabia?

“In my opinion, an international competition is the most important thing you can play. It is a perfect place and opportunity to improve and develop your skills and mentality. Playing well in your local league is one thing. Playing well at an international tournament takes it to another level.”

Does the Asian Champions League have the potential to be as big as the European version?

“Why not? Football is changing very, very quickly. However, at the moment the difference is too big, but let's see. If you work well you can achieve very important results.”

We are approaching the January transfer window. Do you expect big movements?

“Of course they can surprise us, because they like to surprise the football world, but I don't think they will do anything special in January. In the summer they will be the top market. Everyone expects something special to happen next summer.”