Al Faisaly have found themselves on the edge of greatness.
Victory last weekend at Jeddah behemoth Al Ittihad propelled the men from Al Majma’ah, a provincial city located approximately 200 kilometres to the north west of Riyadh, back into the Saudi Professional League’s top five. It also kept them just three points off the pace set by champions Al Nassr, after 11 rounds.
But, they’ve been here before. Steady progress since 2009/10’s Prince Mohammad bin Salman League title triumph has peaked, potentially stagnated, with successive sixth-placed finishes.
Pericles Chamusca stands as a central figure in their unlikely push towards something grander. This is despite having only the 11th-highest total market value in the division on Transfermarkt.com (€11.2 million, compared to champions Al Nassr’s €58m) and paying a, nominal, fee for two of their 12 summer additions.
The Brazilian tactician has broadened horizons, and instilled belief, since his October 2018 arrival that a club of modest resources can make this imposing breakthrough.
“Last season, Al Faisaly finished in the top six,” the genial 54-year-old tells Sport360. “This season, my plan is to get into the top four.
“Every time in my coach’s life, I like to play. I want good results, but you have to play good too.
“This is important for me at every club that I worked in. I always tried to create quality football, never just for results.”
Faisaly had stumbled out of the starting blocks under seasoned ex-Romania centre-back Mircea Rednic in 2018/19, a 2-0 loss at Al Ahli Jeddah in round five leaving them perilously close to the drop zone in 11th. All the good work accrued during 2017/18’s historic run to defeat in the King’s Cup final under Vuk Rasovic was unravelling, with haste.
Change was required. It came in the guise of an itinerant South American, for whom this posting was the 28th of a – then – 23-year coaching career.
Chamusca’s inspired new charges achieved a club-record 12-match unbeaten run. They would become the first side to take points off Jorge Jesus’ and Bafetimbi Gomis’ star-studded Al Hilal, plus inflict more misery on Slaven Bilic at Ittihad.
Such striking results, in one of those quirks unique to the Kingdom, would cause Chamusca to successfully oversee Hilal’s final five matches when on loan. His permanent employers would wind up sixth for the second time in a row, without him.
Al Faisaly fans.
Faisaly, with their usual boss back at the helm, rose up to second this October, before consecutive losses last month at Nassr and Al Ahli Jeddah checked early momentum. Saturday’s 2-1 win against 10-man Ittihad calmed fears of a continuing fall, while reaffirming faith that even better days lie ahead.
The aforementioned stint at the Crescent could be viewed as a distraction. Chamusca, instead, argued it has bolstered a club determined to gate crash the AFC Champions League’s qualification berths.
He says: “For me, it was a good opportunity to work in Hilal. It was a great time, with good results.
“Sure, there is an influence on my training for this season. Maybe it gave confidence to my players that their coach did a good job at Hilal and came back to Faisaly.”
A refusal to stand still caused Chamusca to set a new benchmark as the youngest coach in Brazil’s top flight in 1995 at Vitoria, aged just 29. This drive has taken him to Japan (where he won the 2008 J. League Cup at unfancied Oita Trinita), Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Success, of course, has not always followed. His Oita reign unravelled in 2009 amid 14-successive J1 League losses, while attempts to promote Al Shaab back to the Arabian Gulf League floundered in 2016/17.
He has, though, found a receptive – and appreciative – audience at Faisaly.
Youssef El Jebli.
And his striving personality was also applied to last term’s squad. A dozen pre-season signings were made, headlined by Western Sydney Wanderers’ versatile defensive midfielder Roly Bonevacia and ingenious De Graafschap playmaker Youssef El Jebli.
Chamusca says: “I selected players I believed who could improve the team for this season. But some players need more time for adaption.
“After six months, then the team will be ready to fulfil its big potential.
“It’s been a great start. But there were no good results, previously, in the big games.
“We faced Al Nassr away and Al Ahli Jeddah. These are big clubs in Saudi Arabia.”
Efficient is an apt way to define Faisaly’s approach.
They are fifth in the standings, but are the fifth-lowest scorers. An xG (expected goals) of 13.8, according to Wyscout, matches their goal tally of 14.
Only twice have they netted three times in one match in the SPL (versus Al Fateh and promoted Al Adalah). They opened the season with a pair of goalless draws (versus Al Fayha and Al Shabab).
Patient progression is apparent in their build-up. An average ball possession of 52.8 per cent, the sixth best, translates into the joint-sixth-lowest total of through passes (83) and key passes (32).
This control of proceedings in an expertly drilled, and consistent, 4-2-3-1 formation has helped create the joint-fourth meanest defence on 11 goals conceded. Usual defensive midfielders Bonevacia and Trinidad and Tobago’s Khaleem Hyland have contributed to the third-best number of interceptions (497).
But even within this outstanding collective, outstanding individuals emerge.
Igor Rossi is the defensive plinth that supports the rest of the XI.
Khalid Al Ghamdi celebrates scoring the winner at Al Ittihad.
The Brazilian centre-back, who joined from Scotland’s Hearts in January 2017 for an undisclosed fee, boasts the statistics to back this statement up.
He leads the way in the SPL for interceptions (86), has the third-highest aerial duels success rate (66 per cent), third-highest aerial duels success rate in his own penalty area (60 per cent) and joint-sixth-most number of shots blocked (seven).
“This player [Rossi] has a big influence on the team,” declares Chamusca about the 30-year-old. “He has a big personality and this is so important to have one player who you have such big confidence in.
“He has very big quality, you see this every time with the team. In difficult moments psychologically, these players are so important for the team.”
Success is not purely derived at the stadium, or training pitch. A rare contentment has been found, more than 10,000kms away from Chamusca’s home town of Salvador.
“It is quiet and my wife stays with me,” he says of Al Majma’ah.
“I live five minutes from the club and this gives me time to stay with my wife. It is a good moment for my family.
“When I have a day off, in one-and-a-half hours I am in Riyadh. This is the big city in Saudi Arabia and there are also opportunities to go to Dubai.”
Beat second-placed Al Wehda when they resume a week on Friday and this “good moment” will become more pronounced. For Chamusca, plus his grateful employers.
