Jeddah’s Hot Seat: Who Will Steer Ittihad Next After Blanc’s Exit?

Al-Ittihad’s Coaching Overhaul Begins

Al-Ittihad’s leadership is pressing ahead with a busy search for a new head coach to steer the team in the coming phase, following the shock dismissal of French coach Laurent Blanc after a 2-0 defeat to Al-Nassr in the fourth round of the Saudi Pro League.

Blanc’s sacking was about more than tactics; it reflected mounting fan pressure that the club had lost its on-field identity and that results did not reflect the heavy investments of recent seasons. Thus began a quest to find a name capable of restoring Ittihad’s status domestically and continentally.

From Xavi to Klopp: The Early Scramble for a New Leader

Initially, the club approached Spaniard Xavi Hernandez, the former Barcelona boss, seen as a marquee European coach with a project rooted in possession and attacking football.

However Xavi reportedly rejected the offer, preferring to wait for a carefully planned project rather than dive into a high-risk experiment at this moment.

With negotiations with Xavi stalling, attention shifted to German coach Jürgen Klopp, who had just ended his remarkable tenure at Liverpool.

Despite attempts to test the waters, Klopp signaled a desire to pause coaching for a while, seeking rest after years of intense work.

Conceicao rejects and new names enter the race.

Similarly, Portuguese Sergio Conceicao, a former Milan coach, publicly declined to take over at this stage. This left the club facing a need to open new dossiers and explore other options that match the club’s ambitions.

Asia and the October Gauntlet

On the Asian front, the team has hit a rough patch in the AFC Champions League, losing to Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai and Al-Wahda in successive fixtures. The team sits 11th in the Western group with zero points, extending a four-game losing streak across editions.

That dire form underscores the urgency to secure a coach who can bring identity and results to both domestic campaigns and continental tests, hence the haste to appoint a new boss before October’s key games.

Fut Mercato’s French outlet reported that a shortlist includes Santiago Solari, the Argentinian who had a stint with Real Madrid, and Dutchman Mark van Bommel. Also in consideration were German Roger Schmidt and Italian Luciano Spalletti, who had notable spells with Napoli.

Solari’s career is mixed: a former Real Madrid player who spent five seasons with the club and won several titles, including La Liga twice and a Champions League. After retiring, he moved into coaching, leading Real Madrid’s youth team before rising to the first team and then departing after a short tenure that left a mixed record at the Bernabeu. His tenure featured a stretch where the team lost a portion of home games, leading to the occasional label of a problematic stewardship.

Van Bommel, meanwhile, is a stern presence on the touchline. His career took him from Fortuna Sittard to PSV Eindhoven, with spellings at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Milan, and later stints at PSV, Wolfsburg, and Antwerp as a coach, building a reputation for discipline and organization.

Spalletti reportedly would require a substantial salary to make the move, with initial reports suggesting around 25 million dollars per year to reflect his stature and track record with Napoli and beyond.

The situation for Ittihad is mirrored on the pitch, as the club’s continental campaign has also stalled. The team’s form in the AFC Champions League has sparked concern that the squad has lost its edge on the biggest stages.

Upcoming October fixtures loom large: October 17 against Al-Fayha in the league, October 20 against Al-Shorta in the AFC Champions League group stage, and October 24 against Al-Hilal in Jeddah in the league. Those results could shape the season domestically and continentally, intensifying the drive to finalize a coach before this critical phase.