Jens Wissing takes Al Ittihad reins for youth-driven reset | OneFootball

Al Ittihad have turned to 38-year-old German Jens Wissing after last season’s failed title defence, targeting a fresh push for the Roshn Saudi League. He succeeds Sergio Conceicao.

According to spl.com.sa, Wissing arrives from his first senior job at Gamba Osaka, where he lifted the AFC Champions League Two by defeating Al Nassr in the final in Saudi Arabia six months into the role. Previously, as Roger Schmidt’s assistant, he won the KNVB Cup with PSV Eindhoven, then Portugal’s Primeira Liga with Benfica.

His appointment aligns with a deliberate shift towards a younger squad. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Abderrazak Hamdallah and Ahmed Hegazi, key figures in recent seasons, have departed. CEO Domingos Soares de Oliveira, who worked with Wissing at Benfica, views him as a talented, ambitious fit for the project.

At Gamba, Wissing oversaw a generational handover, replacing long-serving Japan internationals Masaaki Higashiguchi and Takashi Usami with an 18-year-old goalkeeper and a 22-year-old attacker. He has spoken about experienced players guiding youth within a natural, open competition, and says those changes have worked well.

His blueprint is built on intensity, collective work and precise timing, with dynamic positioning, verticality, counter-pressing and compact, ball-focused defending. A Red Bull Salzburg alumnus, he outlined those demands to players during pre-season in Spain and urged the team to reflect the tiger on the badge, powerful, dominant and decisive when it hunts.

He also underlined the club’s history, tradition and winning mentality, and urged players to enjoy their work while aiming to win.

Source: spl.com.sa

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”