Al-Ettifaq Club has entered a new phase by announcing the signing of Australian coach Arthur Papas to lead the first football team, a step that reflects the management's ambition to build a technical project capable of bringing the team back into competition, relying on a coach who made a name for himself in Asian stadiums thanks to his attacking ideas and coaching personality.

Papas is 46 years old, holds Australian nationality with Greek origins, and began his coaching career at an early age, before embarking on various experiences in Australia, India, Japan and Thailand, which gave him extensive experience in dealing with different football schools.

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Papas is known for a playing style based on possession and high pressing, with quick attacking transitions and building play from the back, along with his interest in developing young players, an approach that earned him wide praise during his previous stints. The highlight of his career came when he worked as an assistant to his compatriot Ange Postecoglou at Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, contributing to the team winning the J1 League title in 2019, before starting his journey as head coach with several clubs, including Australia's Newcastle Jets, Thailand's Buriram United, and Japan's Cerezo Osaka. Papas' successes were not limited to collective results; he also won several individual awards, having received the Best Coach Award in the Thai League for February 2024 with Buriram United, and then the Best Coach Award in the J1 League for May 2025 with Cerezo Osaka, achievements that cemented his status as one of the most prominent Australian coaches in the Asian continent. The Al-Ettifaq experience holds special significance for Papas, as he previously worked at the club in 2017 as part of the coaching staff, before returning years later, this time as head coach of the first team, aiming to invest his Asian experience and apply his attacking philosophy, at a time when Al-Ettifaq fans look forward to a season that brings the team back to competing for top positions in the Saudi Roshn League.