Rui Vitoria did indeed receive a very high offer from the Saudi Al-Shabaab, but “ended” the matter at its birth, declaring to the Arabs that he was completely committed to the Panathinaikos project
Yesterday’s (12/18) report by the Arab Media “Al Arabiya FM” about Al-Shabaab’s very strong interest in Rui Vitoria, was not a “baker’s tale”. The Arabs’ information regarding the approach made to the coach of Panathinaikos and the desire of the Saudi Arabian club for Vitoria to be Vitor Pereira’s successor was completely correct.
But in this there were two big “gaps”: First, there was no agreement on the part of the 54-year-old technician, and secondly, Vitoria himself “ended” the matter within ten minutes, with a polite, but clear “no”. !
Al-Shabaab, 6th in the Saudi Pro League standings, entered the process of searching for a coach in the last 24 hours, as the great agent Jorge Mendes managed to “pass” to Wolves the case of the current coach of the Saudi team (and former Olympiakos), Vitor Pereira , who is preparing to move from the Arabian Gulf to Wolverhampton.
The first coach to enter the Al-Shabaab administration’s radar for the next day was Vitoria, with whom there was not only contact, but also an official offer at the beginning of the week. With the Arab team evaluating the completely successful two-year passage of the Portuguese technician from the Saudi Pro League as coach of Al-Nasr (January 2019-December 2020), where he won the 2019 league and the 2019/20 Super Cup.
According to information, Al-Shabaab submitted a very large proposal (several million euros) to the coach of Panathinaikos, who however responded negatively.
Pointing out to the Arab side – as reported by the Portuguese – that he had no intention of abandoning a project he had just started (he was hired by Panathinaikos on the last day of October) and to which he is completely devoted. With the whole matter “ending” in its birth from the 54-year-old technician, who has signed a contract with the “clover” until the summer of 2026.
His statements before the matter “came out” from Arabia
The above largely explains the statements made by Vitoria in yesterday’s (12/18) press conference regarding his presence at Panathinaikos. Where he spoke passionately – in two different parts of the interview – about how “full” he is to work at “clover”.
In particular, the Portuguese pointed out that “…I thought we would be successful. This is because I have a lot of faith in the people I have been working with for many years. I believed too much in the footballers of the team, while as the days passed I began to adore the club and those who work around it to make our work easier“.
And in the last part of his statements he emphasized that “…I really like being here and the fact that the team is winning helps a lot more. I love working at the club, coaching these players, working with those who make up the team and that is a strong base to achieve many things. I feel more and more that we are one, and that is much bigger than each individual. Our connection grows as time goes by“.
As if he wanted to “explain” why he feels good at Panathinaikos and wouldn’t even enter the process of leaving, before this whole matter with Al-Shabaab even “comes out”.
Because when Vitoria gave the press conference ahead of tonight’s (19/12, 22:00) match against Dinamo Minsk, not a single word from Saudi Arabia had yet been released. And therefore everything he said at the press conference was in an absolutely sincere mood and not to “sell” it communicatively. And that surely has even more value…
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