Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao has decided to leave Al-Ittihad after a short stint in the Saudi Pro League. The former Porto manager and the club's board reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract. This decision follows the Jeddah club's disappointing season and their failure to compete for the title against Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. This is reported by Goal.com reports .
According to A Bola, the 51-year-old coach will leave the Middle East despite having one year left on his contract. Conceicao joined Al-Ittihad to implement high-intensity football and tactical discipline, but the team failed to maintain consistency in the decisive part of the season. An official statement is expected in the coming hours.
One of the main reasons for the failure is the loss in the title race. Al-Ittihad finished the season in 5th place with 55 points, trailing champions Al-Nassr by 31 points. Additionally, the team was eliminated in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals by Japan's Machida Zelvia, ending their continental ambitions.
Internal conflicts and major squad changes also negatively impacted Conceicao's tenure. In particular, the unexpected departure of team captain Karim Benzema to Al Hilal during the winter transfer window disrupted the coach's tactical plans. As a result, he recorded only 22 wins in 42 matches under his management.
Currently, the Al-Ittihad sports department, specifically CEO Domingos Soares de Oliveira, has begun the search for a new manager. The club's leadership aims to appoint a high-level specialist capable of returning the team to a genuine title race next season.
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