Artem Bondarenko: From Key Signing to Coach's Dilemma at Al-Ahli

Artem Bondarenko was supposed to be Marino Pusic’s man. Instead, he has become his problem.

On the eve of Al-Ahli’s Roshn League clash with Al-Hazm at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah, the Ukrainian midfielder has been dropped from the matchday squad yet again, a decision that has only sharpened the glare on the Dutch coach.

Saudi journalist Waleed Saeed revealed on X that Pusic has excluded Bondarenko from the list, along with Brazilian winger Matheus Goncalves. For Bondarenko, it is a now-familiar blow. This is the third time he has been left out of the squad entirely since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer.

The numbers are stark. Since arriving as a hand-picked signing, the 26-year-old has appeared just twice for Al-Ahli: the 3-1 defeat to Al-Khaleej in the fourth round and the emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Riyadh in the fifth. Nowhere to be seen in the rest.

He did not make the squad for the 3-0 loss to Al-Hilal in the third round. He watched from afar again as Al-Ahli fell 3-2 to Al-Qadsiah in the sixth. Now comes another omission against Al-Hazm, and with it, another round of questions.

Those questions cut right to Pusic’s judgment. The coach was the driving force behind the transfer, leaning on his previous work with Bondarenko at Shakhtar between 2023 and 2025. This was supposed to be a trusted lieutenant brought in to fit his system and raise the level of the midfield.

The fans never bought it.

Even before the deal was completed, sections of the Al-Ahli support made their opposition clear, pushing back against the move. When Bondarenko finally stepped onto the pitch against Al-Riyadh, the reaction was brutal: jeers from his own crowd. He has not featured since.

What should have been a reunion built on trust has turned into a fault line between the coach and the stands. Every time Bondarenko’s name is missing from the squad sheet, the tension tightens. Every defeat without him only fuels the debate over why he was signed at all.

For Pusic, the Al-Hazm game is not just another league fixture in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League. It arrives with the weight of a decision that keeps echoing through the club: he insisted on Bondarenko. Now he cannot find a place for him.

If results do not turn quickly, the question in Jeddah will not just be about a misfiring midfielder, but about the coach who staked his reputation on him.