Al-Ittihad's Wissing on Victory and Player Readiness

Al-Ittihad walked off with the points, but not without a scare. A 3-2 victory over Al-Hazm in the Saudi Roshn League kept their unbeaten run intact, yet left technical director Jens Wissing juggling satisfaction with concern over fatigue, mentality, and misfiring stars.

Five Games, Two Weeks, One Tired Team

Wissing did not try to dress it up. The schedule is biting.

“We are happy with the win, and there is no easy encounter given the fixture congestion. We played five matches in two weeks, produced a brilliant first half and scored, but we lost our sharpness in the second half and allowed the opponent to attack. The most important thing in the end is securing the victory,” he said after the match.

Al-Ittihad have indeed been pushed hard: five games in under a fortnight, four wins, no defeats. The numbers look clean. The performance, less so.

They flew through the first half against Al-Hazm, then faded. The legs went, the distances grew, and Al-Hazm found space they had not seen earlier in the night. Wissing linked that dip directly to the recent grind.

“We played three days ago against Al-Qadsiah, and we exerted a great deal of physical effort, and that certainly affected us,” he explained. “We faced a side that wore us down with long balls, and we were forced to exert a great effort. Every team has its own weapons, and in the end the result is the most important thing.”

For now, the table smiles on them. The coach, though, is already looking beyond the scoreline.

“We are certainly happy with our start, it is a good one for the season, but we still have a lot ahead of us. The transfer window is also still open, and we are studying our options.”

Diaby Left Out: “Not Mentally Ready”

The name missing from the team sheet drew as much attention as those on it. Moussa Diaby trained. Moussa Diaby did not play.

Wissing cut straight to the point when asked why.

“The answer is simple. When a player comes and says he is not mentally ready, he cannot be involved.”

No riddles, no half-answers. If a player is not fully there, he will not play.

“I want players who are ready, and in the coming period we have a lot of fixture congestion, so if a player is not 100% ready, I am not prepared to rely on him.”

It is a hard line, but consistent with the way Wissing wants his team to operate. His football is built on intensity, and he knows they are not yet where he wants them to be.

“Since the start of the camp we have been working on developing ourselves, because we want to produce football that relies on high intensity, but we have not reached that yet,” he admitted. “The demands I ask of the players are being carried out well, but they are not yet at the best possible level.”

The message is clear: there is no room for half-measures, physically or mentally, in a side expected to press and run through another punishing block of fixtures.

Unwavering Backing for En-Nesyri

If Diaby’s absence raised eyebrows, Youssef En-Nesyri’s presence continues to stir debate of a different kind.

The Moroccan striker has been under fire for a declining goalscoring return, a harsh spotlight for a player judged first and foremost by what he does in the box. Wissing, though, is having none of the criticism.

“Youssef En-Nesyri is one of my best players. Since my arrival he has been one of the best players, and I do not care what the media or the fans say about him,” he insisted.

He did not pretend the goals are flowing. He did not need to.

“He may be unsuccessful in scoring, but he puts in a high and excellent effort, and that matters to me.”

For a coach preaching intensity, En-Nesyri’s work rate is currency. The finishing can return; the commitment, in Wissing’s eyes, is already there.

So Al-Ittihad move on: unbeaten, stretched by the calendar, with a star winger on the sidelines by his own admission and a centre-forward defended fiercely despite the drought. The wins are coming now. The real question is how long this squad can keep meeting Wissing’s demands as the fixtures pile up and the pressure sharpens.