The Cult of Calcio
·8 November 2024
The Cult of Calcio
·8 November 2024
Saud Abdulhamid has had a rough impact with Roma and Italian football and has played very sparingly so far. His lack of involvement has sparked rumours about a potential return to Saudi Arabia, but his agent Ahmed Almualim took to X to deny them.
“Regarding the reports and news circulating about the future of my client and his possible comeback to the Saudi Pro League, I must confirm that they are completely false. He has no intention of doing so. He’s under contract with Roma until June 2028 and is determined to see out his spell in Europe.” “God willing, he will get more minutes. He’s always been part of the game-day squad list. He has played more than Mats Hummels, the former Borussia Dortmund captain and the best defender in last season’s Champions League. We shouldn’t forget that Salem Al-Dawsari, the top Asian player in 2023, was called up once in his first few weeks with Villarreal in 2017/2018 and featured for only 33 minutes in 20 matches. New beginnings are always hard.”
Saud Abdulhamid was an unused sub in the first three matches since joining and has starred twice in the Conference League, coming off the bench against Athletic and getting the nod against Elfsborg. He was substituted after 65 minutes and hasn’t seen the pitch since.
Contrary to reports and despite being short-handed, Ivan Juric excluded Mats Hummels again versus Union St. Gilloise, adapting Bryan Cristante to the center-back. The coach addressed it to Sky.
View publisher imprint“It’s a technical choice, and, egoistically, I pick the players that give us the best chance to win the game. It wasn’t a definitive decision but just for tonight.”