Saudis' star-snatching strategy will fall apart sooner rather than later

Trying to manage a mini-group of stars with sizeable egos will be a challenge for any top coach, but the rate at which the Saudi Pro League is recruiting them could only spell a disastrous outcome, writes KickOff's Junaid Benjamin. 

First, there was the whole issue with Karim Benzema who, according to reports, had a fallout with former Al Ittihad manager Nuno Espirito Santo shortly before the tactician was relieved of his duties. It is believed the Portuguese coach called the France international out for being "lazy", something the former Real Madrid star did not take too kindly to. 

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Some relate having an ego to a high level of confidence within the sporting context, and while this can be a good thing, with Sports Performance Bulletin suggesting that athletes with higher levels of confidence "are more readily able to turn sporting potential into superior performance", it does not necessarily equate to a higher level of performance within the team. 

The evidence lies in very few clubs being able to sustain positive results over a long period of time after making several major purchases in one go. If football has taught us anything, it is that there is no shortcut to winning trophies. This is what SPL executives need to learn – the sooner, the better. 

The right way to go about it is to recruit players strategically by ensuring they share the attributes required to help a side reach its goals in terms of the type of football it wants to play. Personalities also need to be taken into account because at the end of the day these footballers will be spending considerable amounts of time with one another so it would be better if they were able to get along, and in time those relationships could be translated to the enhancement of on-pitch performances. 

Al Nassr is a team currently showing a small sign of a little implosion, an example of two egos going head to head, after Marcelo Brozovic and Aymeric Laporte were spotted having a verbal go at each other during a match on Wednesday evening, with another player and a coach having to intervene in an attempt to stop the situation from escalating any further. 

It isn't only a case of their inadvisable approach to recruitment and the amalgamation of egos leading to bust-ups, but the cultural backgrounds of players should also be taken into consideration when bringing them over. Saudi is known for being a strict country with rulings based on Islamic principles that include restrictions on alcohol and physical relations outside of marriage being prohibited, along with other things that players may have grown accustomed to. And for someone who comes from a different country and follows a different set of beliefs, this may come as a shock. 

Reports indicate that Jordan Henderson's desire to leave the country after being there for just a few months was because of his struggle to adapt to life in the Middle East. This makes one think about how many other players are facing the same struggles and how long it will be before they, too, decide to leave the league just as quickly as they came into it. 

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