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Ittihad

Full name	Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club
Nickname(s)	Nadi Al-Sha'ab (The People's Club) Nadi Al-Watan (The Nation's Club) Amid Al-Andiyah (The Chief of Clubs)
Founded	26 December 1927; 96 years ago (1927-12-26)
Ground	King Abdullah Sports City
Capacity	62,345
Owner	Public Investment Fund (75%) Ittihad Non-Profit Foundation (25%)
Chairman	Loay Mashabi
Manager	Laurent Blanc
League	Saudi Pro League
2023–24	Pro League, 5th of 18
Website	ittihadclub.sa
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Al-Ittihad active departments
Football (men's)	Football (women's)	Basketball (men's)

Ittihad Saudi Arabian Club (Arabic: نادي الإتحاد العربي السعودي, romanized: nādī al-Ittihad al-earabī as-saʿūdī, lit. 'Saudi Arabian Union Club'), commonly known as Ittihad is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It was founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, currently known as the Saudi Pro League. Ittihad has won 50 championships from which 35 are official championships.

Ittihad matches are played at Jeddah's main stadium King Abdullah Sports City, which is the second-largest stadium in Saudi Arabia, accommodating 62,345 spectators. Al Ittihad has a long-standing rivalry with Al-Hilal, which is referred to as Saudi El Clasico, and is considered the most prominent and most watched annual match(es) rottiball.

It is the oldest sports club still surviving in Saudi Arabia, as the club was founded in 1927. The most successful period in the club history was the 1990s and the 2000s, when the club achieved a large number of titles and achievements domestically, regionally, and even globally culminating in the club securing the 4th place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan.

Ittihad is one of the most successful Asian club at domestic and continental level, as they have achieved the AFC Champions League title twice in a row (one of only three Asian teams to achieve this, and the first to do so), the Asian Cup Winners' Cup once, the GCC Champions League and the Arab Champions League title each once. Domestically, Ittihad is also one of two successful clubs in Saudi Arabia (alongside with Al-Hilal), having won nine league titles, nine King's Cup titles, eight Crown Prince Cup titles, three Saudi Federation Cup titles and one Saudi Super Cup.

History

Creation (1927–1949)

The club was founded after a meeting of some of the notable football enthusiasts (Dean, Zahid, Shawn, and Jazza) of the city of Jeddah, on 26 December 1927. They met in the offices of the radio broadcasting company and discussed the idea of forming a football club to compete with various traveling teams and be a source of entertainment for inhabitants and an outlet for the city youth to practice organised sport. Everyone agreed that they should create the team that unites them and Ittihad Jeddah was born. The attendees were Hamza Fitaihi, Abdulrazag Ajlan, Abdullah Bin Zagor, Fahad Badkook, Abdulsamad Najeeb Alsaady, Ismail Zahran, Ali Yamani, Abdulaziz Jameel, Abdul Latif Jameel, Abdulateef Linjawi, Othman Banajah, Ahmad Abu Talib, Ali Sultan, Ahmed Almir and Saleh Salamah.

As long as we are here together, let's call it Ittihad (Mazen Mohammed)

The name of club was quoted from this wisdom, Mazen Mohammed words which created the current club name. Club owners agrees with him to put the club name Ittihad (United or Union, jointly) in Arabic.

Ismail Zahran team player who was working as in Radio Office in Jeddah to the possibility of electing the head of the works Mr. Sultan to be a President of the club, However, Ali Sultan became the first official president of the club. Ittihad did not find at first a strong support, there wasn't an official clubs (communities) such as Al Riyadhi, because the presence of powerful culture in the city of Jeddah only. In their first meeting with Al-Riyadhi, Ittihad make it victory with 3–0 won. The club has achieved a historic first tournament, which was called The Cup of Nishan Nazer, counted as an official tournament at the time, The cup have formed a popularity of Ittihad, Because of a challenge between them in the final. Depending on the narrator, the winner can burn the Embassy wood's. The Championship attended by several of the clubs, communities, fought Ittihad where several games to achieve access to the final. with Al-Mukhtalat. The weather was dust, did not complete the first half, the match was stopped about 10 minutes. the referee stopped the game to rest for 8 minutes, the weather was changed for the better with the second half, Al-Mukhtalat squad had led to fail, it was a low attacking level. The most prominent player in the game is the club's defender Safwan which was sacrificed for his team. the club won the championship by 3–0 against Al-Mukhtalat. The most important characteristic of this tournament is the first sporting event held in the reign of the founder King Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud The periods of 1940 to 1950 remained difficult, as the Football Association was not established until 1956.

The Start of The Official Tournaments, The First League Title, The Treble (1950–1999)

In late 1950s, it is considered as the first club to achieve both the Crown Prince Cup and the King's Cup for two consecutive times. On 2 May 1960, Ittihad faced their traditional rivals Al-Ahli in the King's Cup, which ended with a big 7–0 victory, which is the largest victory in the derby. The tournament ended and the club became champions for the third time in a row over Al-Wehda, which completed the 1958, 1959, and 1960 series. The club went through its worst period since its founding, after winning the King's Cup in 1967, with the exception of achieving the Saudi Association Cup in 1974, after defeating Al-Hilal on penalties. In the following decade, the Saudi Pro League and the First Division were merged due to the many matches of the national team in 1982, which Ittihad won its first league title in its history, which is the first and only club to achieve it. After an absence for 21 years, the club won the King's Cup after defeating Al Ettifaq in 1988.

In mid 1990s, Which is considered as the beginning of the golden age of the club, where a numerous of titles were achieved. In 1996–97, the club delivered a cup treble, winning the Premier League, Crown Prince Cup, and Federation Cup. After two seasons, the club won the league title for the third time in its history after eliminating rivals Al-Hilal in the final 2–0. The first continental championship was also achieved after winning 3–2 over Jeonnam Dragons with a golden goal, scored by Ahmed Bahja. GCC Champions League was also achieved, as the season ended with winning four trophies. In 1999, The club was a runner-up in the Asian Super Cup, after losing 2–3 on aggregate to Júbilo Iwata.

New Century, A Miracle, Two Champions League Titles (2000–2010)

With the beginning of the new century during the period of president Ahmed Masoud, which is considered one of the most successful periods, winning 8 titles within 3 years. The 1999–2000 league season was achieved at the beginning of the century, after a 3–1 win over Al-Ahli in the final, also, Hamza Idris scored an unprecedented 33 goals, a record in that period, which made him the league's top scorer, and the most scored in a single season. In the following season - the club winning the League for fifth time, and Crown Prince Cup. In the 2001–02 season, on May 1, 2002, Ittihad lost the league final to Al-Hilal, a cross from a corner kick went to Al Hasan Al-Yami, who hit it and the ball entered the goal clearly before Al Hilal's Mohammed Al-Nazhan took it out with his hand. A goal was not awarded by the referee, even as a penalty kick, which in turn ended with a loss 1–2, where the referee was suspended six months after the final - and later apologized, declaring, "I am innocent of your defeat, and God bears witness to that." The match created a great controversy at all levels, as it faced a lot of criticism, which was considered by many and critics as a "robbery".

When Ahmed Masoud left the club, Mansour Al-Balawi became president, which is considered by many including the fans as the most prominent and successful period in the club's history. In the 2002–03 season, many players have been brought in, such as Tukar, Saud Kariri, Muhammad Al-Khilaiwi, and Tcheco; who is considered as one of the greatest deals in the club's history, while both the League and the Crown Prince Cup were achieved. Despite leading the league and ending it without a loss, Ittihad lost the league final to Al-Shabab in the championship-playoff finals. In the 2004 AFC Champions League, Ittihad finished the group in first place with only one loss. In quarter-finals, it was successfully passed with a 1–1 draw in Dalian, followed by a home 1–0 victory scored by Tukar, against Chinese Dalian Shide, of which led them to reach the semi-finals. Both matches ended in the last minutes, as Hamad Al-Montashari finished the first leg's 2–1, and Osama Al-Muwallad scored the deadly equalizer in the second leg, with a 4–3 aggregate over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, as the club qualified for the final for the first time. The final was out of the ordinary; Ittihad were thrashed at home 1–3 by Korean side Seongnam in the first leg—leading to the sacking of Croatian coach Tomislav Ivić, as assistant coach Dragan Talajić was given the opportunity. Who, in turn, started the return match in Seongnam, Redha Tukar opened the scoring, rising to a ball from a corner kick to score the first goal, Idris scored the second late minute goal in the first half, Mohammed Noor scored the two decisive goals in the second half, before Abushgeer scored the fifth and the last goal. Overcoming the 1–3 loss with a miraculous 5–0 victory, to achieve the first title, Dragan Talajić achievement was unforgettable and almost impossible, this second leg match became one of the most surprising and unforgettable comebacks in AFC Champions League history, which was called "the miracle". Recalling the tournament, Talajić said, "I was initially an assistant to the compatriots Tomislav Ivic, and I learned a lot from him, and I considered the opportunity to work with a great team as a wonderful thing, which is why I agreed to work with him, I was with the team eight months after we arrived at the beginning of the season, and I knew all about the players." and continued, "I was young at the time, and maybe I was crazy by playing with five strikers, I told everyone before the match that we would win, I always knew we would win, but I didn't know if the difference would be enough."

Ittihad achieved its first Arab championship, after defeating Tunisian Club Sportif Sfaxien in the final. On 5 November 2005, Ittihad won the Champions League for the second time in a row, after a 5–3 victory over Al-Ain. Mohammed Kallon, which loaned from AS Monaco, became the top scorer of the tournament with six goals; of which two were in the final—which helped to achieve the second title. Mohammed Noor, was awarded the best player in the tournament. The club remaining as the only to win back-to-back AFC Champions League titles in its current edition. The club qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, in the edition that was held in Japan, after achieving the Champions League title—as it became the second Saudi team to qualify for the tournament. On December 11, 2005, Ittihad defeated African champions Al-Ahly after Mohamed Noor's only goal, to qualify for the semi-finals. Ittihad faced the CONMEBOL champion São Paulo, and it was ended by a 2–3 loss. Ittihad played the match to determine the third place against the Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa and lost with a 2–3, were two goals scored by Mohamed Kallon and Joseph-Désiré Job—to end the Club World Cup in the 4th place. Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed his admiration, saying, "In 25 years, I have not seen an Asian team this great." Ittihad's success is not limited only to football, but also in basketball, water polo, table tennis, volleyball, and swimming, amongst others. In total, Ittihad has won 8,649 trophies. However, football remains the primary sport.

Rivalries

Jeddah Derby

The Jeddah derby between Ittihad and Al-Ahli is known to be one of the most competitive games in the Saudi League. From the start of national competitions both clubs were seen as representatives of two rivals from the same city: Jeddah. This rivalry continued annually for more than 70 years, until Al-Ahli were relegated to the first division in 2022. The derby was back on October sixth 2023.

Saudi Clasico

Saudi El Clasico, or simply the Clasico, is a long-running competitive match in Saudi football, between Ittihad and Al-Hilal. The competition represents the largest and most important two clubs in the city of Jeddah and the capital, Riyadh, the largest and most culturally prominent cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two clubs are considered the most successful at domestic and continental level. Ittihad is the oldest sports club still surviving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is seen as the People's Club. While Al-Hilal represents the culture of the Capital Club, it is called by the masses the Leader. The two teams meet twice a year in the league, as they may also meet in the King's Cup or the Saudi Super Cup or the AFC Champions League. It is considered as the most prominent and most watched match in Saudi football.

The first meeting between the two teams was held on July 27, 1962, a friendly match, in the capital, Riyadh, and ended with a 2–0 victory for Ittihad. The first official meeting between the two teams was on January 10, 1964, the King's Cup Final, which in turn also ended with a 3–0 victory for Ittihad.

Together with Al-Nassr, they are the only 3 teams that have not been relegated to the Second Division since its founding.

Present-day

Ittihad is based in Sahafa street, Mushrefa district, in southeastern Jeddah, where they have a large sports complex. Senior teams play official games at the King Abdullah Sports City, north of the city, while youth teams play at the club's headquarters.

Fanbase

Ittihad is the highest-attended club in Saudi Arabia. In the 2014-15 Saudi League, Ittihad's attendance during 12 home games averaged 42,371 per match. In 2016, American website The Sportster ranked Ittihad fans the 12th most influential football fans in the world. Ittihad has built a strong fan-base across Saudi Arabia, amongst the Arab League and in Asia. Since its opening on 1 May 2014, Ittihad shares the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with local rival Al-Ahli, while their previous home the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium faced construction until it was renovated in 2022.

Sponsorship

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Official sponsor

In a press conference on 9 January 2006, president of the club Mansour Albalawi announced that Sela Sport Co (which is the sponsor of Saudi National Team) will pay 350 million riyals to sponsor Ittihad for 5 seasons. Ittihad was later on sponsored by the Saudi Telecom Company, however the team has not renewed STC's contract.

Honours

Ittihad is one of the most of successful clubs in Saudi Arabia, it has 35 official honours, 30 of which are domestic. In addition to their continental successes, the club is one of the only three Asian clubs to have won the AFC Champions League twice in a row.

•   record
• shared record

Statistics

Other records

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD	P	Domestic cups			Asia		Other competitions		Top scorer		Manager
1998–99	SPL	1	22	15	3	4	45	32	+13	48	CPC		PFC	ACWC,	ASC	GCC				Davidovic
1999–2000	SPL	1	22	16	3	3	69	23	+46	51	CPC							Hamzah Idris	33	Oscar
2000–01	SPL	1	22	11	5	6	35	23	+12	38	CPC					EC		—	—	Ardiles
2001–02	SPL	2	22	15	4	3	59	25	+34	49	CPC							—	—	Oscar
2002–03	SPL	1	22	15	4	3	53	24	+29	49	CPC		PFC			SSC	EC	Cleberson	8	Oscar, Khalid Al Koroni
2003–04	SPL	2	22	17	5	0	57	15	+42	56	CPC			ACL				Mohammed Noor	8	Tomislav Ivić, Talajić, Luka Peruzović
2004–05	SPL	3	22	11	5	6	53	37	+16	38	CPC			ACL		ARCL		Sérgio Ricardo Messias Neves	13	Iordănescu
2005–06	SPL	3	22	11	9	2	47	28	+19	42	CPC			ACL	Quarter-finals			Mohamed Kallon	12	Metsu
2006–07	SPL	1	22	15	3	4	52	25	+27	48	CPC		PFC					Alhassane Keita	21	Dimitri
2007–08	SPL	2	22	14	6	2	40	16	+24	48	CC			ACL	Group Stage			Magno Alves	14	Calderón
2008–09	SPL	1	22	17	4	1	57	21	+36	55	CC		PFC	ACL				Hicham Aboucherouane	17	Calderón
2009–10	ZPL	2	22	14	3	5	46	30	+16	45	CC			ACL	Group Stage			Abdelmalek Ziaya	15	Calderón, Enzo Héctor
2010–11	ZPL	2	26	13	12	1	49	23	+20	51	CC			ACL	Semi-finals			Naif Hazazi	18	Manuel José, Toni, Dimitri
2011–12	ZPL	5	26	10	7	9	49	35	+14	37	CPC			ACL	Semi-finals			Hazazi	20	Kek, Raul Caneda
2012–13	ZPL	7	26	8	9	9	36	36	0	33	CC							Fahad Al-Muwallad	9	Raul Caneda, Beñat
2013–14	ALJ	6	26	8	8	10	45	46	−1	32	CC			ACL	Quarter-finals			Mukhtar Fallatah	31	Beñat, Amro Anwar, Juan Verzeri, Khalid Al Koroni
2014–15	ALJ	4	26	16	4	6	44	33	+11	52	CC							Marquinho	13	Khalid Al Koroni, Victor Pițurcă
2015–16	ALJ	3	26	15	4	7	54	37	+17	49	CC		CPC	ACL	Group Stage			Gelmin Rivas	24	László Bölöni, Amro Anwar, Victor Pițurcă
2016–17	ALJ	4	26	17	4	5	57	37	+20	52 (-3)	CPC							Kahraba	19	José Luis Sierra
2017–18	SPL	9	26	8	9	9	34	41	-7	33	CC							Ahmed Akaïchi	10	José Luis Sierra
2018–19	MBS	10	30	9	7	14	44	45	-1	34	CC							Fahad Al-Muwallad	11	Ramón Díaz, Slaven Bilić, José Luis Sierra
2019-20	SPL	11	30	9	8	13	42	41	+1	35								Romarinho	13	José Luis Sierra, Henk ten Cate, Fábio Carille
2020-21	SPL	3	30	15	11	4	45	29	+16	56								Romarinho	16	Fábio Carille
2021-22	SPL	2	30	20	5	5	62	29	+33	65								Romarinho	20	Fábio Carille, Cosmin Contra

League records

Performance in AFC competitions

• AFC Champions League: 13 appearances

Top scorers in the AFC Champions League

Ranking	Nationality	Name	Years	Goals
1	Saudi Arabia	Mohammed Noor	1996–13	19
2	Saudi Arabia	Naif Hazazi	2006–13	14
3	Saudi Arabia	Hamzah Idris	1997–07	9
4	Saudi Arabia	Fahad Al-Muwallad	2012–22	8
5	Algeria	Abdelmalek Ziaya	2009–11	7
	Saudi Arabia	Mukhtar Fallatah	2012–16	7
	Brazil	Romarinho	2018–24	7
8	Saudi Arabia	Marzouk Al-Otaibi	2000–07	6
	Saudi Arabia	Osama Al-Muwallad	2000–16	6
	Sierra Leone	Mohammed Kallon	2005–06	6
	Morocco	Ahmed Bahja	1996–99	6
12	Morocco	Hicham Aboucherouane	2008–10	5
	Saudi Arabia	Redha Tukar	2003–13	5
	Saudi Arabia	Manaf Abushgeer	1999–12	5
15	Saudi Arabia	Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi	2013–21	4
	Saudi Arabia	Sultan Al-Nemri	2006–12	4
	Morocco	Abderrazak Hamdallah	2023–24	4
	Venezuela	Gelmin Rivas	1999–12	4
	Brazil	Dimba	2004	4
20	Brazil	Renato Cajá	2009	3
	Brazil	Tcheco	2003–08	3
	Morocco	Faouzi Abdelghani	2012–14	3
	Saudi Arabia	Mohammed Abousaban	2009–16	3
	Saudi Arabia	Nasser Al-Shamrani	2018-19	3
	Saudi Arabia	Hamad Al-Montashari	2001–16	3
	Saudi Arabia	Saleh Al-Saqri	1999–12	3
	Saudi Arabia	Sultan Al-Nemri	2006–12	3
	Tunisia	Amine Chermiti	2009–10	3
	Saudi Arabia	Ziyad Al-Sahafi	2015–19	3
	Saudi Arabia	Abdulfattah Asiri	2012–16	3
	Saudi Arabia	Saud Kariri	2007–17	3
	Portugal	Nuno Assis	2010-11	3
	Brazil	Wendel	2011–12	3

Asian record

Ittihad results
Season	Round	Result	Opponent	Venue
2004	Group stage	2–0	Al-Arabi	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		3–1	Neftchi	Fergana, Uzbekistan
		2–3	Sepahan	Fuladshahr, Iran
		4–0	Sepahan	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–0	Al-Arabi	Kuwait City, Kuwait
		3–0	Neftchi	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Quarter-final	1–1	Dalian Shide	Dalian, China
		1–0		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Semi-final	2–1	Jeonbuk H.M.	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		2–2		Jeonju, South Korea
	Final	1–3	Seongnam I.C.	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		5–0		Seongnam, South Korea
2005	Quarter-final	1–1	Shandong Luneng	Jinan, China
		7–2		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Semi-final	5–0	Busan IPark	Busan, South Korea
		2–0		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Final	1–1	Al Ain	Al Ain, UAE
		4–2		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2006	Quarter-final	2–0	Al-Karamah	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–4		Homs, Syria
2008	Group stage	1–0	Bunyodkor	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–0	Al-Ittihad	Aleppo, Syria
		1–2	Sepahan	Fuladshahr, Iran
		0–1	Sepahan	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–2	Bunyodkor	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		3–0	Al-Ittihad	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2009	Group stage	2–1	Esteghlal	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		3–1	Umm Salal	Doha, Qatar
		0–0	Al Jazira	Dubai, UAE
		1–1	Al Jazira	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–1	Esteghlal	Tehran, Iran
		7–0	Umm Salal	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Round of 16	2–1	Al-Shabab	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Quarter-final	1–1	Pakhtakor	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		4–0		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Semi-final	6–2	Nagoya Grampus	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		2–1		Nagoya, Japan
	Final	1–2	Pohang Steelers	Tokyo, Japan
2010	Group stage	0–3	Bunyodkor	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		2–2	Zob Ahan	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		2–0	Al-Wahda	Abu Dhabi, UAE
		4–0	Al-Wahda	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–1	Bunyodkor	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–1	Zob Ahan	Fuladshahr, Iran
2011	Group stage	3–1	Persepolis	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–0	Bunyodkor	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		3–0	Al-Wahda	Abu Dhabi, UAE
		0–0	Al-Wahda	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		2–3	Persepolis	Tehran, Iran
		1–1	Bunyodkor	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Round of 16	3–1	Al-Hilal	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Quarter-final	3–1	FC Seoul	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–1		Seoul, South Korea
	Semi-final	2–3	Jeonbuk H.M.	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–2		Jeonju, South Korea
2012	Group stage	4–0	Pakhtakor	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		3–1	Al-Arabi	Doha, Qatar
		1–0	Baniyas	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–0	Baniyas	Abu Dhabi, UAE
		2–1	Pakhtakor	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		3–2	Al-Arabi	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Round of 16	3–0	Persepolis	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Quarter-final	4–2	Guangzhou Evergrande	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–2		Guangzhou, China
	Semi-final	1–0	Al-Ahli	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–2		Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2014	Group stage	0–1	Tractor	Tabriz, Iran
		2–1	Al-Ain	Makkah, Saudi Arabia
		0–2	Lekhwiya	Doha, Qatar
		3–1	Lekhwiya	Makkah, Saudi Arabia
		2–0	Tractor	Makkah, Saudi Arabia
		1–1	Al-Ain	Al Ain, UAE
	Round of 16	1–0	Al-Shabab	Makkah, Saudi Arabia
		3–1		Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
	Quarter-final	0–2	Al-Ain	Al Ain, UAE
		1–3		Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2016	Qualifying play-off	2–1	Al-Wehdat	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Group stage	1–1	Lokomotiv	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		1–1	Lokomotiv	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–2	Al-Nasr	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		0–0	Al-Nasr	Dubai, UAE
		4–0	Sepahan	Doha, Qatar (H)
		2–0	Sepahan	Muscat, Oman (A)
2019	Group stage	5–1	Al-Rayyan SC	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		4–1	Al Wahda FC	Abu Dhabi, UAE
		3–2	Lokomotiv	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–1	Lokomotiv	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
		2-0	Al-Rayyan SC	Doha, Qatar
		1-1	Al Wahda FC	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
	Round of 16	2-1	Zob Ahan SC	Dubai, UAE
		4-3		Doha, Qatar
	Quarter-final	0–0	Al-Hilal FC	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
		1–3		Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Players

As of September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  SRB Predrag Rajković 2 DF  POR Danilo Pereira 4 DF  KSA Abdulelah Al-Amri (on loan from Al-Nassr) 6 DF  KSA Saad Al Mousa 7 MF  FRA N'Golo Kanté 8 MF  BRA Fabinho 9 FW  FRA Karim Benzema (captain) 10 MF  ALG Houssem Aouar 11 MF  KSA Ahmed Al-Ghamdi 12 DF  ALB Mario Mitaj (on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow) 13 DF  KSA Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti 14 MF  KSA Awad Al-Nashri 15 DF  KSA Hassan Kadesh 19 FW  FRA Moussa Diaby 20 DF  KSA Ahmed Sharahili 21 FW  KSA Saleh Al-Shehri

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  KSA Abdulaziz Al-Bishi 23 MF  KSA Suhaib Hawsawi 24 MF  KSA Abdulrahman Al-Aboud 27 DF  KSA Fawaz Al-Sqoor 30 MF  KSA Ali Al-Fahmi 33 GK  KSA Mohammed Al-Mahasneh 34 FW  NED Steven Bergwijn 41 MF  KSA Mohammed Fallatah 42 DF  KSA Muath Faqeehi 47 GK  KSA Hamed Al-Shanqiti 55 MF  ARG Mateo Borrell 77 MF  KSA Abdulelah Hawsawi 80 MF  KSA Hamed Al-Ghamdi (on loan from Al-Ettifaq) 87 DF  KSA Yaseen Al Jaber 88 GK  KSA Osama Al-Mermesh 90 FW  KSA Talal Haji

Unregistered players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 5 DF  ITA Luiz Felipe 28 DF  KSA Ahmed Bamsaud 51 GK  KSA Faisal Al-Eisa

No. Pos. Nation Player 97 DF  YEM Salem Ayyash — FW  KSA Abdulaziz Al-Hassani

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  KSA Faisal Al-Ghamdi (on loan to Beerschot) 17 MF  KSA Marwan Al-Sahafi (on loan to Beerschot) 29 MF  KSA Farhah Al-Shamrani (on loan to Al-Kholood) 36 DF  KSA Abdulrahman Al-Obaid (on loan to Al-Najma) — DF  KSA Abdullah Al-Rashidi (on loan to Al-Batin) — DF  ARG Isaías Rodríguez (on loan to Jeddah)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  KSA Sultan Al-Farhan (on loan to Al-Taawoun) — MF  VEN Bryant Ortega (on loan to Jeddah) — MF  KSA Hammam Al-Hammami (on loan to Al-Kholood) — MF  KSA Saleh Al-Amri (on loan to Al-Raed) — FW  COL Ricardo Caraballo (on loan to Jeddah)

Notable players

Players with senior international caps:

Staff

Current Managers Team

Position	Staff
Manager	Laurent Blanc
Assistant manager	Franck Passi
First team-coach	Thomas Fernandez Hassan Khalifa
Goalkeeping coach	Jesús Salvador
Fitness coach	Nicolas Girard Adrian Aguirre
Data analyst	Antoine Clare
Video Analyst	Cedric Tafforeau
Medical Team	Sergio Gomez
Medical Team	Ali Yagdah
Psychiatrist	Laya Vinaksa
Physiotherapist	Iván López
Nutritionist	Vitor Teixeira
Academy manager	Marco Koorman

Board Directors

President	Loay Mashabi
Vice President	Abdulaziz Al-Zaid
Chief Executive Officer	Domingos Soares de Oliveira
Director of Football	Ramón Planes
Board Member	Fahad Sindi
Board Member	Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
Board Member	Abdullah Al-Husaini
Board Member	Fares Al-Hejailan
Board Member	Suhaib Jamjoom

Managerial history

Name From To Omar Shendi 1960 1960 Khalil Abo Zaid 1961 1961 Saeed Hussain 1961 1962 Fritz 1966 1967 Bashir Al-Sagheer 1967 1968 Fritz 1968 1969 Ali Chaouach 1970 1970 Abdullah Abo Dawood 1970 1970 Ali Selmi 1975 1977 Jamel Eddine Bouabsa 1977 1978 Dettmar Cramer 1978 1981 Mahmoud El-Gohary 1981 1981 Chinesinho 1981 1982 Carlos Alberto Silva 1982 April 10, 1983 Chinesinho April 10, 1983 May 13, 1983 Joubert Luis Meira 1983 1984 Vanderlei Luxemburgo 1984 1984 Bob Houghton 1984 1986 Walter Skocik 1987 1989 Heinz Höher 1989 1990 Kálmán Mészöly 1991 1992 Roland Andersson 1993 1993 Bob Houghton 1993 1994 Paulo Campos 1995 1996 Dimitri Davidovic 1996 1997 Sándor Egervári 1997 1997 Dezső Novák 1997 1998 Paulo Campos 1998 1998 Dimitri Davidovic 1998 1999 José Oscar Bernardi 1999 2000 Revaz Dzodzuashvili 2000 2000 Dimitri Davidovic 2000 2000 Giuseppe Dossena 2000 2001 Osvaldo Ardiles 2001 2001 José Oscar Bernardi 2001 2003 Antonello Cuccureddu 2002 2003 Tomislav Ivić 2003 2004 Dragan Talajić (interim) July 1, 2004 2004 Luka Peruzović Dec 2004 March 2005 Anghel Iordănescu March 26, 2005 June 30, 2006 Bruno Metsu 2006 April 26, 2006 Vahid Halilhodžić June 5, 2006 August 1, 2006 Dimitri Davidovic August 1, 2006 2007 José Candinho 2007 2007 Estevam Soares Dec 20, 2007 Aug 23, 2008 Gabriel Calderón May 22, 2008 January 13, 2010 Enzo Trossero January 20, 2010 May 30, 2010 Manuel José June 2, 2010 December 24, 2010 Toni December 28, 2010 May 15, 2011 Dimitri Davidovic May 15, 2011 November 28, 2011 Abdullah Gurab (interim) November 29, 2011 December 19, 2011 Matjaž Kek December 20, 2011 February 8, 2012 Abdullah Gurab (interim) February 8, 2012 February 27, 2012 Raul Caneda February 27, 2012 February 23, 2013 Beñat San José February 23, 2013 December 8, 2013 Juan Verzeri January 6, 2014 February 26, 2014 Khalid Al-Koroni February 26, 2014 August, 2014 Amro Anwar August 28, 2014 October 16, 2014 Victor Pițurcă October 16, 2014 June 12, 2015 László Bölöni July 21, 2015 October 23, 2015 Victor Pițurcă December 8, 2015 July 21, 2016 José Luis Sierra July 22, 2016 May 20, 2018 Ramón Díaz May 23, 2018 September 20, 2018 Slaven Bilić September 27, 2018 February 24, 2019 José Luis Sierra February 24, 2019 October 20, 2019 Mohammed Al-Abdali (interim) October 20, 2019 November 4, 2019 Henk ten Cate November 4, 2019 February 11, 2020 Piet Hamberg (interim) February 11, 2020 February 17, 2020 Fábio Carille February 17, 2020 August 24, 2021 Cosmin Contra August 29, 2021 July 4, 2022 Nuno Espírito Santo July 4, 2022 November 7, 2023 Hassan Khalifa (interim) November 7, 2023 November 18, 2023 Marcelo Gallardo November 18, 2023 July 2, 2024 Laurent Blanc July 13, 2024 Now Source:

See also

• Saudi Arabia
• Association football

• List of football clubs in Saudi Arabia

References

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1. ^ owned by Public Investment Fund

External links

• Official website
• Eighty years of Al Ittihad
• Eighty years of Al Ittihad
• int.soccerway.com
• Network of Lady fans of Al Ittihad Football Club Archived 2021-02-27 at the Wayback Machine Arabic Site
• Al Ittihad Club on Super.ae Arabic Site
• Al Ittihad at the AFC Champions League Official website
• League of the Ittihad Club Fans on the Internet
• Alittihad in Languages Archived 2010-03-28 at the Wayback Machine (in English, French, German, and Italian)
• Al Ittihad at the Arab Champions League Official website : Arabic – English – Francais

Achievements
Preceded byAl-Ain	Champions of Asia 2004	Succeeded byHolders
Preceded byHolders	Champions of Asia 2005	Succeeded byJeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Preceded byAl Nassr

Asian Cup Winners' Cup Runner up: Chunnam Dragons 1999

Succeeded byShimizu S-Pulse

• Ittihad Club
• Football clubs in Saudi Arabia
• Association football clubs established in 1927
• 1927 establishments in Saudi Arabia
• Football clubs in Jeddah
• AFC Champions League Elite winning clubs
• Asian Cup Winners Cup winning clubs