Marino Pusic Sacked After Al-Ahli's 6–1 Defeat to Al-Shabab
The scoreboard was brutal enough. Al-Shabab 6, Al-Ahli 1 at the SHG Arena in Riyadh, a statement result in the twelfth round of the Roshn League.
Behind the scenes, it was even harsher.
According to Saudi daily “Al-Maidan”, Al-Ahli’s hierarchy decided to sack head coach Marino Pusic while the game was still being played. Not in the dressing room. Not in the boardroom. On the touchline, with the goals still flying in during a mini-clasico that turned into a public dismantling.
A Decision Made Before the Final Whistle
The heavy defeat to Al-Shabab appears to have snapped the last thread of patience. As the goals mounted, the club’s management, per the report, moved from frustration to action, taking the extraordinary step of issuing Pusic’s dismissal before the final whistle sounded.
By full-time, the result felt like confirmation rather than cause.
Pusic had only arrived at the start of the current season, replacing German coach Matthias Jaissle with the mandate to push Al-Ahli back into the thick of the Roshn League race. On paper, his record did not scream crisis: 17 matches, 11 wins, five defeats and a single draw. Respectable numbers.
But a 6–1 humiliation in a high-profile clash is rarely just another bad day. It often becomes a line in the sand.
Ben Zekri Emerges as Early Front-Runner
Al-Ahli did not wait to lick their wounds. “Al-Maidan” reports that the club immediately turned its attention to finding a successor, with one name quickly moving to the front of the internal debate: Noureddine Ben Zekri.
Initially floated by a board member as an option, the Algerian coach’s candidacy escalated quickly. The same report states that Al-Ahli have already made direct contact with Ben Zekri, who has given an initial green light to the idea of taking over. He is now awaiting further negotiations in the coming period.
Ben Zekri is no stranger to Saudi football. The former Al-Shabab coach has been linked to several Roshn League sides, most notably Abha, and his availability has kept his name circulating in technical committee discussions across the country.
Now Al-Ahli have stepped into that queue.
Conceicao on the Table, But No Move Yet
Ben Zekri is not the only name under consideration. The same Saudi outlet claims that Portugal’s Sergio Conceicao, the former Al-Ittihad head coach, has also been proposed as a candidate to lead Al-Ahli.
At this stage, though, that idea remains just that: an idea. No official contact has been made with Conceicao, and there is no indication yet of concrete negotiations. For now, he sits on a list rather than in a meeting room.
A Short, Brutal Chapter
Pusic’s time in Jeddah has been brief and unforgiving. He inherited a club with big expectations, substantial backing and a fan base that measures success in trophies, not transition plans. Eleven wins from 17 matches showed a team capable of competing, but the five defeats — capped by the 6–1 collapse in Riyadh — have proved too costly in both points and perception.
In the Roshn League, moments like a mini-clasico mauling tend to define a season. For Pusic, it defined his exit.
Al-Ahli now stand at a crossroads: move quickly to lock in Ben Zekri, test the waters with a name like Conceicao, or widen the search yet again. The decision they make next will shape far more than the memory of a single disastrous night in Riyadh.
