"Al-Ittihad" relies on German coach to correct course... Will he succeed?

Portuguese Domingos Soares, CEO of Saudi club Al-Ittihad, revealed the reason for choosing German coach Jens Vissinger to lead the first team next season, succeeding Portuguese Sergio Conceição.

Al-Ittihad announced the appointment of Vissinger as head coach of the first team, replacing Conceição who was dismissed after the end of last season after failing to lead the team to any titles.

Soares said in a video posted by Al-Ittihad on its official account on X: "Choosing our coach Mr. Jens Vissinger was very important, and an essential part of the preparation for the new season."

He added: "We have known Mr. Vissinger for a while, and I worked with him in the past. We know he is a young, very talented and ambitious coach, with a strong desire to succeed with Al-Ittihad."

He continued: "As for the technical staff with him, it is a mix of international assistant coaches from different regions, along with Saudi coaches."

He concluded: "The integration of these skills takes us to a new level, and I believe it is the right level to achieve the right results in the coming weeks and months."

It is worth noting that the most successful experience in Vissinger's career was in the second half of last season, when he led Japanese club Gamba Osaka to win the AFC Champions League 2 title for the first time in its history, after defeating Al-Nasr in the final.