FAF informs Petkovic of abandoning Nguez and Morundi
The corridors of the Algerian Football Association are witnessing rapid and decisive movements that may reshape the map of the technical staff of the first national team, as the football body officially informed the national voter, Bosnian Vladimir Petkovic, of the necessity of making radical adjustments to his assistant staff, a decision that puts the coach before difficult and fateful choices before the upcoming elections.
This sudden step comes to end the presence of a prominent duo in the technical staff, namely the Swiss assistant David Morandi, who is close to Petkovic, and the local assistant coach Nabil Nguez. However, the reasons behind their departure are completely different, as the Swiss assistant David Morandi committed a mistake that the Al-Ittihad considered a serious mistake that cannot be overlooked, and this came after he made media statements on the occasion of the historic match between Argentina and Switzerland.
This behavior constituted a violation of a basic and explicit clause in the contract concluded between him and “FAF”, which strictly prohibits him from making any statements to the media without prior approval, which precipitated the decision to remove him from his position.
The Zambia match will be largely played at Tizi Ouzou Stadium
On the other hand, the contract of Algerian technician Nabil Nighez with Al-Ittihad has officially ended, and Nighez expressed his desire to be exempted from continuing his duties with the “Greens”, stressing his aspiration to return to the atmosphere of daily competition in the local league, where he is currently in advanced contacts with some clubs seeking to contract with him and benefit from his services.
On the other hand, the Algerian Football Federation sought to provide strong alternatives with football weight to compensate for the departures, betting on names that created glories in artistic and leadership football in previous periods. The name of the former leader of the “Desert Warriors” and the hero of the Omdurman epic, Antar Yahya, emerged as the most prominent candidate to succeed Morandi, as the proposal includes granting him broad powers within the technical staff, benefiting from his long administrative and technical experience in European and Arab fields. The name of former international star Rafik Saifi was also proposed to be part of the new technical staff, while maintaining his current position as coach of the national team for under 23 years, which ensures a strong bridge of communication. Between the first team and the young groups. In addition, the name of the former French JS Kabylie and Auxerre star, Moussa Saib, is on the table of the “FAF” president as a strong option to support the technical staff, given his charisma and high tactical experience that may benefit Petkovic in reading complex African matches.
The name of the former Algerian international star, Moussa Saib, entered the Algerian Football Federation’s notebook, to be one of the options strongly proposed to assume a prominent sporting or administrative position within the Dali Ibrahim building during the next stage.
Through this step, FAF seeks to benefit from Saib’s long experience in European and local fields, as he has a long career as a player with JS Kabylie, France’s Auxerre, and England’s Tottenham, in addition to his training and mobilization experience, which may give a strong impetus to the national teams or the technical administration.
The sources indicate that the preliminary contacts aim to assign tasks related to direct supervision or coordination within the National Technical Directorate, within the framework of the Federation’s plan to restructure Algerian football and benefit from the competencies and names of the golden generation.
Fans and followers of sports affairs in Algeria are awaiting the final reaction of coach Vladimir Petkovic, as the Al-Ittihad has given the Bosnian coach a deadline until next Tuesday to submit his final response and approve or discuss these proposed changes, in a step that will largely determine the features of the next stage for the home of the national team.
On the other hand, the Algerian Football Federation is largely moving towards moving the national team’s upcoming match against Zambia in the framework of the first round of the 2027 African Cup qualifiers, scheduled for the period between September 21 and October 6, to the new Tizi Ouzou stadium. This option comes within the framework of the “FAF” strategy to give fans in the various states the opportunity to support the “Greens”, and to take advantage of the modern sports facilities with which the national team has been strengthened.
This masterpiece facility is considered an ideal base for hosting the match, given the quality of its ground and modern equipment that ensures the comfort of players and supporters. This date, if established, will constitute an exceptional event as it is the first official match played by the first team on the field of this stadium, amid great public anticipation to create an enthusiastic atmosphere that pushes the new leader’s companions towards achieving a valuable victory.
