Conceição's Arrival: A Precision Strike to Reignite Al-Ittihad in Saudi Pro League

Conceiçao poised to revive Al-Ittihad with a full coaching staff

All eyes in Saudi Arabia are on Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição, who is close to taking the helm of Al-Ittihad after weeks of scouting a replacement for Frenchman Laurent Blanc, who left following a rocky start to the new season in the Saudi Pro League.

The club aims to deliver a qualitative leap by assembling an experienced, disciplined technical team that mirrors Conceição's long European track record, with the objective of restoring the team’s domestic and continental prestige.

To show their seriousness, the Saudi daily Al-Riyadia reported that Conceição will arrive in Jeddah in the coming days with a complete staff of six assistants, strengthening the technical corps across coaching and performance roles.

In particular, Joao Costa and Siramana Dembele will serve as assistant coaches, Fabio Mora as an assistant technical, Diamantino Figueiredo and Vedran Ronji will work with the goalkeepers, and Eduardo Oliveira will act as performance analyst.

The Riyadh newspaper had earlier indicated that Al-Ittihad had formalized a two-and-a-half-year contract with Conceição, to take over from Blanc, who was dismissed after a run of poor results.

Blanc era ends; Khalifa interim as Conceição arrives with a six-man staff

The club's official statement confirmed Blanc and his staff were relieved of duty, with Hassan Khalifa stepping in as interim technical chief, assisted by Iván Carrasco guiding the under-21 squad until a full coaching setup is in place. The decision followed the team’s 2-0 loss to cross-town rivals Al-Nassr in the derby and a broader drop in performance.

Blanc had joined in summer 2024, overseeing 46 matches across competitions with 35 wins, 5 draws, and 6 losses (roughly a 76% win rate). Al-Ittihad had kept a 22-game home unbeaten run until Al-Nassr ended it in the fourth round of the current season.

Conceiçao’s storied coaching career

Conceiçao has a 15-plus-year coaching résumé. He began as an assistant at Standard Liege in 2010 after ending his playing career, and first took charge with Olhanense in 2012. He later managed Academica Coimbra, Sporting Braga, and Vitòria Guimarães, with a brief spell at Nantes in 2017.

The Porto chapter (2017–2024) is the longest. He led Porto in 368 official matches, winning 265, drawing 48, and losing 55, and collecting 11 domestic titles — three league titles, four Portuguese Cups, three Super Cups, and one League Cup. Porto’s attackers under his guidance scored 803 goals while conceding 317, a 2.29 goals-per-game ratio that reflected his attacking, balanced philosophy and solidity at the back.

He also had a short stint at Milan in 2024, where he won the Italian Super Cup by beating Juventus and Inter, but the project faded as Milan finished eighth in Serie A, and Conceição left after 31 matches (16 wins, 5 draws, 10 losses).

In the Saudi arena, a long-standing rivalry with Jorge Jesus—now coach of Al-Nassr—adds an extra layer of intrigue. The two Portuguese coaches first crossed paths in 1995, when Jesus sought to sign Conceição as a player, and later faced each other 19 times as coaches: Jesus seven wins to Conceição's six, with six draws. Conceição has the edge in cup finals, including the 2020 Portuguese Super Cup.

Two punchlines to close: if Conceição’s plan is a sniper, it aims with surgical precision and rarely misses the target; and if the defense dares to blink, expect the coach to remind them that time is money and productivity—watch the clock, win the game, and maybe sip some espresso in the meantime.