“Hello, Al Ittihad fans! We’re here!” That was Sérgio Conceição’s quick message at Jeddah Airport. He greeted supporters of his new team upon arrival. Club officials welcomed him with a bouquet of flowers and a yellow and black scarf, showing Al Ittihad’s colors. The new coach for Saudi Arabia’s reigning champions landed yesterday morning. He spent the rest of his day getting right to work.
There was no time for lengthy introductions or interviews. Conceição wasted no time, leading his first team practice session that very night. Training in the evening is common practice in Saudi Arabia because of the heat. He quickly got to work with the squad’s star players. This group included talents like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté, Moussa Diaby, Fabinho, Steven Bergwijn, and Portuguese players Danilo Pereira and Roger Fernandes. Ramón Planes, the Spanish sporting director for the Saudi club, was waiting for him at the training center.
The former FC Porto and Milan boss has a big job ahead. He needs to turn around Al Ittihad’s rough start to the season. This is the same team that won both the League and Cup last season. Former coach Laurent Blanc was let go after a string of losses. These defeats came against Jorge Jesus’ Al Nassr and, in the Asian Champions League, against Shabab Al Ahli, an Emirati club led by Paulo Sousa. Conceição’s first match is set for October 17 against Al Fayha. He will have more than a week to prepare his team for this important debut.
A Portuguese Coaching Trend
The path for Portuguese coaches in Saudi Arabia was first paved by the late Artur Jorge. He took charge of Al Nassr at the start of the century. Now, Saudi clubs clearly prefer Portuguese coaches. There are currently seven of them working in the league. Sérgio Conceição joins a notable group. This includes Jorge Jesus at Al Nassr, Pedro Emanuel at Al Fayha, Armando Evangelista with Damac, José Gomes coaching Al Fateh, Mário Silva at Al Najmah, and Paulo Sérgio leading Al Okhdoud.