How Matthias Jaissle weathered a storm to take Al-Ahli to the AFC Champions League Elite final

AUSTRALIA: Fabrizio Romano is rarely wrong.

The gold standard on reporting on football’s off-field wheeling and dealing, when Romano says something is happening it is usually just a matter of when, not if.

So when, on Jan. 17, he posted that Al-Ahli had agreed “in principle” to appoint Massimiliano Allegri, and Gabriele Cioffi as interim coach until June, it seemed certain that incumbent Matthias Jaissle would go.

This came on the back of a disappointing start to the season in which they won just three of their first nine games, to all but end their title hopes before the season had even reached the one-third mark.

But at the point of Romano’s postings, Al-Ahli managed to turn their form around, going on to win seven out of nine and surging up the table.

But it seemed like it was too little, too late for the 37-year-old German.

This story, however, has another twist. The Al-Ahli faithful were having none of it. For them, the failings were with those above Jaissle.

So when word came out he was to be moved on, they mobilized to support him. Diehard fans picketed outside Al-Ahli’s training ground, with one banner directed at senior management reading: “Enough failure … LEAVE!”

Within two days of Romano’s tweet, Al-Ahli confirmed that Jaissle would remain as head coach “with full support from the management to achieve the club’s aspirations and future ambitions.”

It was quite an about-face, but one that showed the positive power fans can have when they mobilize in the right way.

Just over three months on from that saga, it is hard to imagine this Al-Ahli side without the German at the helm.

He has guided them to the final of the AFC Champions League Elite courtesy of a demolition of Al-Hilal, the standard bearers