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Syrian coach lashes team after cup exit

Syrian coach Tita Valeriu launched a vicious tirade against his team and their poor defending after two glaring errors sent them packing from the Asian Cup group stages once again.

By (AFP)

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Published: Tue 18 Jan 2011, 3:43 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 7:12 PM

Syria, who in four previous attempts have never got beyond the group round, were heading into uncharted waters when they deservedly took the lead in the 15^th minute of Monday’s must-win game against neighbours Jordan.

But Jordan, who needed only a point to make the last eight, got back in the game 15 minutes later when Syrian defender Ali Dyab headed into his own net.

Keeper and captain Mosab Balhous had come for the ball from a cross but got nowhere near.

And Jordan grabbed the winner — and with it a place in the quarter-finals — when a long ball up field by goalkeeper Amer Shafi in the 59^th minute was allowed to go all the way through to powerful striker Odai Al Saify.

With Balhous flailing, Al Saify gleefully prodded the ball into the unguarded net.

“These players did not deserve to be in the national team,” said Syria’s usually taciturn French-speaking Romanian coach.

“They have been playing together eight years and they have not won anything. They came to the Asian Cup and tried hard but I think a new generation is needed in Syria.”

In a tough group that also included regional powers Japan and Saudi Arabia, outsiders Syria had done well to still be in contention going into the last game.

They shocked the Saudis 2-1 in the first match before narrowly losing out to Japan by the same score.

Valeriu’s achievement in keeping his side in with a shout was all the more commendable given he was only drafted in on the eve of the tournament after the previous coach was sacked after just one game.

But the Romanian, who was borrowed from Syrian club side Al Ittihad of Aleppo, whom he led to the 2010 AFC Cup title, was bitterly disappointed not to be taking Syria into the last eight for the first time.

“We did start the first 25 minutes well, we scored, but in general it was a very tough match, although Jordan’s equaliser was our goalkeeper’s fault,” he said.

“We then started the second-half badly and made mistakes. Jordan played well, we made a mistake and they scored. This is football, somebody wins and somebody loses.

“It was a tough match for both teams, especially in the second-half. We gave them a big gift and they scored two goals against us and that is all there is to say.

“When Jordan scored to make it 1-1, the players began to get nervous and a little bit tired and they went from bad to worse.”

The 44-year-old, whose side had dominated the game before they conceded the own goal, was non-committal over whether he would stay in charge of the national team.

“I’m going to take a holiday now,” said the despondent Valeriu, who cut an anxious figure throughout the game at the Qatar Sports Club Stadium, pacing up and down the touchline, his arms crossed.

“I’m not going to think about football for a while but I’m not going to stop, football is my life.”