Portuguese coach, Sérgio Conceição has officially been appointed the manager of Al-Ittihad after he signed a contract that runs until June 2027, Softfootball reports
Laurent Blanc was dismissed as Al-Ittihad’s Manager due to a poor start to the 2025/26 season, which failed to meet the club’s high expectations. This decision came following a disappointing 2-0 defeat against Al-Nassr.
Transfer Expert Fabrizio Romano, confirmed the appointment of Sérgio Conceição via his verified X handle. He posted:
Sérgio Conceição signed in as new Al Ittihad manager as expected on a contract until June 2027.
Coaching staff joining him in Saudi: João Costa, Siramana Dembélé, Fábio Moura, Diamantino Figueiredo, Vedran Runje and performance analyst Eduardo Oliveira.
Notably, Sérgio isn’t going to be alone at Al-Ittihad. He would be going along with a group of trusted assistants to Saudi Arabia.
João Costa, Siramana Dembélé, Fábio Moura, Diamantino Figueiredo, Vedran Runje, and Eduardo Oliveira, who’s in charge of analyzing performance will all be part of the coaching team and it is heartwarming to know that they will be working together to get things done at Al-Ittihad. This is a familiar staff setup for Conceição. Many of those names have worked with him before, across different clubs.
For Al-Ittihad, it marks a fresh chapter. The club, based in Jeddah and already one of the giants of Saudi football, will look to benefit from Conceição’s experience and the cohesion of his backroom team.
From his previous experiences with FC Porto and AC Milan, it shows that he likes to build teams that cannot be defeated easily and can compete well in every game. Tactically, big things are expected from Conceição. He is known to be very demanding and also wants his teams to be well organised and good at both attacking and defending.
The contract is a significant one, as it gives Conceição enough time to make meaningful changes. He will have the chance to shape the team, refine their training methods, and instill his style of play within the squad.
They are ready to sacrifice the time and patience for Conceição and that means they want real progress and lasting results.
On the part of the fans of Al-Ittihad, the hire comes with a mix of excitement and expectations. The next few weeks will be important in showing what Conceição and his team can achieve.
They will need to make important decisions about the team, sort transfers and get good results on the pitch. It’ll be a great start if they deliver some success in the Saudi league, which is no doubt very competitive.
Most importantly, fans will always watch, they will study closely to see if this new arrangement can bring the team the success they desire.
