Al-Ittihad has signed a new coach, namely Stefano Pioli (former Milan coach) and has fired the previous coach Marcelo Gallardo. It seems that the Al-Ittihad project with Marcelo Gallardo didn't go very well last season so management decided to fire him. On the other hand, the poor relationship with their star, Karim Benzema, might also be the reason why he was fired so quickly.
It is good that Al Ittihad signed more popular coach. But I don't think Stefano Pioli is a special coach, he only could win 1 trophy so far. Even if he already managed many clubs, he often failed to win a trophy. The best achievement of Stefano Pioli was winning Serie A trophy in the season 2021-2022. Anyway, I also hope Stefano Pioli will have a better relationship with Benzema. So Benzema can perform better for the next season.
With Stefano Pioli's experience, it is hoped that Al-Ittihad can improve its performance which had dropped drastically during last season and can compete again to win the Saudi pro league title. Stefano Pioli will be contracted for 3 years and during that time I hope he is the right choice and Al-Ittihad will not have to change coaches again.
Not really sure that Stefano Pioli's experience to improve the performance of Al Ittihad immediately. But since he already managed Inter Milan and AC Milan that are big teams in Europe, he is expected to manage Al Ittihad well. Anyway, no teams will guarantee to keep the same coach for many seasons. Stefano Pioli can be fired soon if he is unlikely to improve the performance of Al Ittihad.
The concept of Al Nassr or any other Saudi team participating in the UEFA Champions League is lovely, but it will always be a fantasy. Since UEFA is limited to Europe, only European clubs can compete. The AFC Champions League, for Asia's greatest teams, is played by Al Nassr, Al Hilal, and Al Ittihad
However, imagine UEFA may expand since football unites people and is universally understood. Al Hilal, with a long history and Saudi League victories, or Al Nassr would spice up the rivalry. Fans from around the world can bond over the game. UEFA's tough regional criteria and the AFC Champions League's prestige should temper our optimism, even though this position seems promising
Agree. It is interesting but it seems unlikely to happen. UCL is for European clubs only, there is no way that Asian teams will join UCL. We already have AFC champions league in Asia. If all the top clubs in the world to join a competition, there should be another competition that can provide them. FIFA Club World Cup is the competition for all the best teams around the world. So, why Saudi teams need to join UCL? Saudi teams can join FIFA Club World Cup but the best teams only can join it. Al Hilal and Al Nassr can join the competition of FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
FIFA Club World Cup 2025™