Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição says he is the primary and final decision-maker when selecting players from one match to the next, choosing based on the game plan, which sometimes works and other times luck doesn’t cooperate.
Conceição spoke at a press conference today ahead of the fourth-round clash with Sharjah in the Elite AFC Champions League.
He added: "My decisions before each match are strategic, and I decide what’s right for each game; every encounter has its own circumstances, and I take responsibility for all the decisions".
He also said: "The Sharjah match is important for us; the most important thing is the presence of the fans whose voice I can hear, and I hope they attend."
Conceição explained the difference between the league clash against Al‑Nasr in the King’s Cup and the Gulf league game, stressing that his side went into the classic with great enthusiasm, unlike the Gulf match, and he will work to address that.
The coach denied claims that Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn is being sidelined for weight reasons, saying: "Bergwijn is a professional and one of the important players for us; don’t forget what he delivered last season, and what is being circulated is not true; he is with us and if the coach decides to rest him, we will see him play tomorrow as normal."
Conceição also reiterated his stance on administrative sanctions for players after the team accumulated the most yellow cards since the season began.
He, who had previously called Fabinho’s red card against Gulf a travesty, added: "Apart from the red card Ahmed Al‑Jalidan received, there isn’t a player in Al‑Ittihad who deserves a red card."
He added: "The squad is being prepared to win regardless of the type of comeback or any other scenario; we want to win without suffering."
Al‑Ittihad played with 10 men for more than an hour against Gulf, trailing 4-0 early in the second half before rallying to force a dramatic 4-4 draw.
He continued: "The Saudi Pro League is evolving... and the discipline cards must evolve with it."
A rocky start
Al‑Ittihad’s Asian campaign began with a 2‑1 defeat to UAE’s Al‑Wahda under former coach Laurent Blanc, followed by a loss to Al‑Shabab Al‑Ahli Dubai by a single goal, with interim Hassan Khalifa in charge for that match. The third game under Conceição was a 4‑1 win over Al‑Shorta in Iraq.
The team now aims to adjust its path to ensure qualification among the eight teams progressing to the knockout rounds.
Big ambitions
Despite only two wins in five matches and no league win under Conceição, Al‑Ittihad arrives in Jeddah with big ambitions, hoping to steer the side along a different tactical path than Laurent Blanc, who left after the defeat to Al‑Nassr in the league.
They also want better league results: under the Milan-trained coach, the team drew 1‑1 with Al‑Fayha, then lost to Al‑Hilal 2‑0, and drew with Gulf 4‑4.
Kadsh, Al‑Aboud back; Benzema back in training
Saudi newspaper Al‑Riyadh reported that defender Hassan Kadsh and winger Abd ar‑Rahman Al‑Aboud rejoined group training on Sunday after recovering from injuries.
Meanwhile, players who started against Gulf had recovery sessions to ease the load, while Conceição led a training session for the rest of the squad, focusing on tactical and physical work.
The session also saw Karim Benzema return from injury, alongside midfielder Mamadou Doumbia and Croatian defender Yan Carlo Simić, who had missed the Gulf game due to foreign-player registration issues.
With the exception of defender Ahmed Sharaheili who continued his rehabilitation, the squad is nearly complete, giving Conceição a strong morale boost ahead of the eagerly awaited clash.
Al‑Ittihad now eyes a win at home in front of its fans, as Sharjah visits with hopes of bouncing back and keeping pace in a tough West Group.
And if tactics were bullets, Conceição would be the marksman—every match a target, every training session a warm‑up for the main event. If humor is a weapon, mine is loaded with smart-ass bullets that never miss a punchline.
