Algeria’s New Era: Petkovic’s Strong Choices and Lack of Respect from FAF

Algeria is making a new start. After the Djamel Belmadi era, the Fennecs will try to advance under the orders of Vladimir Petkovic. Last Friday, the 60-year-old technician unveiled his first list of 31 players for the March gathering. He notably called on Rafik Guitane, for the first time, and the ghosts Yacine Brahimi, Yassine Benzia and Saïd Benrahma. On the other hand, the Greens coach did not call up several veterans like Raïs M’Bohli, Sofiane Feghouli, Islam Slimani, Youcef Belaïli or even Riyad Mahrez, who has worn the armband in recent years.

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Petkovic’s strong choices

A choice that Petkovic explained yesterday during his first press conference. “Mahrez called me. We talked for a long time. He lacks energy, has not yet regained his level. It was he who asked for time to think about his future. He asked me for permission not to come for this internship, he doesn’t feel ready. He doesn’t have enough energy to be able to play a big role in the selection.” Then, he mentioned the cases of the other elders. “For Slimani, for Belaïli, for Feghouli, the door is open, but they face very significant competition. There are other players, in their positions, who deserve to be there.

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Then he clarified about the former Monaco and OL player. “Slimani is absent. I know him, I spoke with him, he is a top player. There are certain players, including him, for whom it is important that they focus on their club for the moment. The new ones ? In our opinion, they deserve to be there. Maybe I’m making mistakes by not calling some people up for the moment, but the June truce could rectify that.” In the meantime, the new strong man of the Greens wants to discover the new generation, even if he called on veterans like Aïssa Mandi and Baghdad Bounedjah, who were there during the last CAN, or others like Yacine Brahimi.

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The lack of respect from the FAF

Vladimir Petkovic’s choices were accepted and understood by those mainly concerned. On the other hand, some of them did not at all appreciate the methods of the Algerian Football Federation, which lacked respect for players who gave a lot to the country for years. Indeed, the Gazette du Fennec speaks of a “humiliating and unacceptable approach” of the FAF regarding executives. There GdF precise : “this is not a question of contesting their absence or the purely technical choice. It is more the way in which the Algerian Football Federation proceeded to sideline these “briscards” which may be disturbing. Indeed, she clearly lacks class.”

The Algerian media explains that after the announcement of the list, Islam Slimani (35 years old, 102 caps, 46 goals) like Riyad Mahrez (33 years old, 94 caps, 31 goals) took the initiative to call Walid Sadi, the president of the FAF. Concerning the first mentioned, he made it known that he was not discussing the decisions of the new coach but that he would have appreciated a gesture or a phone call from the FAF in advance for the “old guys”. They learned the news when they discovered Petkovic’s list, which was experienced as a lack of “tact” et “of elegance“. We can understand this, especially since players like M’Bohli (37 years old, 96 caps), Feghouli (34 years old, 83 caps, 19 goals) or Belaïli (32 years old, 54 caps, 9 goals) have always proclaimed their love of the Algerian jersey. They certainly hoped for another outing, for those who plan to stop. For the others, they hoped for a little more respect. A page turns and a new era begins…

Pub. 03/18/2024 4:01 p.m. Updated 03/18/2024 4:52 p.m.

2024-03-18 15:01:28
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