SAUDIA ARABIA COACH:
Marcos Paqueta

Brazilian Marcos Paqueta was named Saudi coach on January 9, 2006, replacing the fired Gabriel Calderon, who had guided the team to qualification. Calderon, a one-time Argentine international, was given the boot on December 21, 2005. He was under intense criticism by the Saudi media after the team's sub-par performance at the West Asian Games in Qatar (a pair of losses to Iraq and a defeat to Iran), many changes to his staff and for his World Cup training schedule) Six days prior, Saudi Football Federation head Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal claimed Calderon's job was not in jeopardy. As it turned out, it was. Paqueta directed Al Hilal to the Saudi league and cup title and previously helped Brazil to win the Under-20 and U-17 world titles in 2003. "We also wanted to know the wisdom behind holding a training camp for two weeks before the finals without playing a single friendly match during the camp," Prince Faisal said. Calderon replaced Gerard van der Lem after a poor showing at the 2004 Asian Cup.