Al-Nassr fans were opening fire on Cristiano Ronaldo after the resounding 4-0 defeat by the UAE's Al Ain. Then their head coach spoke. Australian boss Ange Postecoglou made surprising statements that tried to deflect the arrows of criticism away from the team's captain, taking full responsibility for the loss himself.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, and the responsibility is my responsibility," Postecoglou said during the press conference after the match. The message was clear: the loss cannot be pinned on the Portuguese star alone.
"Ronaldo cannot be blamed for certain technical matters, as he is one of the team's players. Al-Nassr as a whole was poor," the Australian added. He was adamant that Al-Nassr's collective performance was the main reason behind the heavy defeat, not any one player, whatever his standing within the squad.
Read also: "Pathetic": Al-Nassr fans shock Ronaldo and demand Postecoglou's head
He pressed on with the defence of his players. "When the result is poor, the media are right," Postecoglou said, acknowledging that he faces strong criticism whenever he suffers a loss, exactly what is happening now.
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Placing the blame on his players was something the coach refused to do. "The players gave everything they had, and I do not place any responsibility on them," he insisted, before pointing to another factor that hurt the team. "Our fixture schedule made things difficult for us," he said, with the recent run of matches piling on the pressure.
The timing could hardly have been more sensitive. Al-Nassr fans have ramped up their demands for his dismissal since the heavy loss, yet the coach tried to ease the pressure on Ronaldo and his players. He put himself in the firing line instead, insisting the responsibility for correcting the course rests on him and his coaching staff in the coming period.