With Vladimir Petkovic, the start of a new story for Algeria
African champion in Egypt in 2019, the Algerian team sank slowly, but surely, until the dismissal of coach Djamel Belmadi last January.
Today, Vladimir Petkovic will try to relaunch a group which needs a new dynamic.
Vladimir Petkovic during a press conference in Algiers on March 4, 2024. AFP - -
By: Farid Achache Follow
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There was a coronation in 2019 and then a real black hole.
After offering themselves a second CAN in Egypt, the Fennecs no longer had the means to influence continental football.
A non-qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and two failed CANs (2022 and
2024
), with a premature exit in the first round, the results prompted the federation to change gear.
With the Djamel Belmadi
era
behind us, Vladimir Petkovic will try to put a group back together that ended up getting lost.
The technician had been free since his dismissal by the Girondins de Bordeaux in February 2022, after a disastrous start to the season at the end of which the team was relegated to Ligue 2. Belmadi, 47, had taken charge of the “Greens » in August 2018. After taking Algeria to the summit of African football, he was nicknamed “Minister of Happiness”.
the door is always open
To begin his mandate, Vladimir Petkovic did not call the usual executives for the FIFA Series matches in March (Bolivia on March 22, then South Africa on March 26 at the Nelson Mandela stadium in Algiers): Riyad Mahrez, Youcef Belaïli, Islam Slimani and Sofiane Feghouli.
All four African champions.
“
Mahrez called me.
We talked for a long time.
He lacks energy, has not yet regained his level.
It was he who asked for time to think about his future.
He asked me for permission not to come for this internship, he doesn't feel ready.
He does not have enough energy to be able to play a big role in the selection
,” declared the former Switzerland coach at a press conference about the man who plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia.
As for the other three, Petkovic said the door was still open.
“
For
Slimani
, for Belaïli, for Feghouli, the door is open, but they face very significant competition.
There are other players, in their positions, who deserve to be there
.”
We will therefore have to wait until June and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers to find out if these executives will find their place.
For the moment, Algeria is off to a good start with two victories in as many matches.
The Greens will face Guinea and Uganda over the next two days.
Chat with players
Vladimir Petkovic's first list is made up of 31 players, including some injured.
Like the Nice midfielder, Hicham Boudaoui, and the returning Saïd Benrahma (Lyon).
The coach wants to meet the players to “
discuss with them
”.
Vladimir Petkovic also called on a ghost: Yacine Brahimi.
“
He was excluded from the selection for a long time.
Me, I want to see him in our team before really having an opinion
,” says the former Lazio Rome coach.
Vladimir Petkovic also called on players absent from the last African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, including Yacine Benzia (Qarabag FK/Azerbaijan), Jouen Hadjam (Young Boys de Berne/Switzerland), Bachir Belloumi (SC Farense/Portugal) and Badredine Bouanani (FC Lorient/France).
Vladimir Petkovic, 60, who distinguished himself with Switzerland by eliminating France in the round of 16 during Euro 2021, will he give momentum to the Fennecs?
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