Damac appoint Al Atwi as new coach | OneFootball

Roshn Saudi League side Damac have announced the appointment of 47-year-old Khaled Al Atwi as their new head coach until the end of the season.

Al Atwi, whose last managerial stint was as interim boss at Al Qadsiah at the start of the 2022-23 season becomes the third Saudi coach currently active in the top division, alongside Saad Al Shehri at Al Ettifaq and Mohammed Al Abdali at Al Taawoun.

Damac had earlier announced they have parted ways with Portuguese coach Nuno Almeida, who himself had replaced Cosmin Contra in December. Under Almeida, Damac picked up 12 points from as many matches, winning only three games – although those included victories over league leaders Al Ittihad and fourth-placed Al Qadsiah in Almeida’s final outing as Damac boss.

The side from Khamis Mushait currently sit 12th in the RSL table, with 27 points to their name, leaving them seven points afloat of the relegation zone with nine matches to go. They had never finished lower than 12th since gaining promotion to the top flight in 2019-20.

Highly-rated Al Atwi had previously led Saudi Arabia U20 to winning the AFC U20 Asian Cup in 2018 with a side featuring current RSL stars such as Turki Al Ammar and Feras Al Buraikan as well as AS Roma right-back Saud Abdulhamid. He also won the RSL Coach of the Month award in December 2020 while in charge of Al Ettifaq.

The new boss' first challenge will be a trip to the capital where his side take on ninth-placed Al Riyadh on Saturday, April 5.