Football sometimes has relentless logic, and other times it has none. Take the case of Algeria. The Fennecs have been a victory to qualify for their first World Cup since 2014. The accounting balance of their coach, Vladimir Petkovic, is almost perfect. And yet, the former coach of Switzerland is today on the hot seat. Not officially, no. The federation supports it. But in the hearts of supporters and in the media, the trial is already open.
Despite the qualification, Petkovic is already on an ejectable seat in Algeria
The draw (0-0) against Guinea on Monday was the drop of water that overflowed the vase. A performance deemed to be slow, without idea, soulless. The daily Algerian evening Titled with an assassin play of words: “It's a draw”,
Playing on the result and the perception of a coach deemed incompetent. The famous journalist Hafid Derradji was even more direct: “The one who does not give the required performance must leave, whether he is a player or coach!” ».
What is criticized in Petkovic is not so much the results as the way. The national team's game does not appeal, does not reassure. We accuse him of locking himself up in basic justifications after the matches, like a simple “the ball has not entered”. For a coach who would receive 130,000 euros per month, the public expects much more.
The Petkovic paradox with Algeria: perfect results, an uncertain future
The weight of the frames and the silence of the coach
At the heart of criticism, there is also its management of aging executives. Players like Mahrez, Mandi or Bentaleb are kept in the eleven, while young talents are waiting for their turn on the bench. Petkovic is accused of making the same mistakes as his predecessor, Djamel Belmadi, based on the status rather than on the form of the moment. He protects his stars, but at what price?
The paradox is total. A coach who qualifies his team for the CAN, who is 90 minutes from the World Cup, but who is already conspired by an entire people. This situation speaks volumes about the disproportionate expectations that surround the Fennecs. Vladimir Petkovic has the results for him, but he lost the battle for opinion. And in a country as passionate about football as Algeria, it is often the most important.
