Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)


Al-Ittihad Club Saudi Arabia , also known as Al-Ittihad Jeddah or simply Al-Ittihad, meaning The Union, is a Saudi Premier League football club based in Jeddah.
The club was founded on December 26, 1927 before the third Saudi state was declared, making it the oldest and first sports club in Saudi Arabia. The most successful period in Al-Ittihad's history was the 1990s and mid 2000s, when the club won numerous honours both domestically and continental. The team won Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and two Champions League titles in 2004 and 2005 and as far as going on to compete in the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup. The club has the distinction of being one of the only three Asian clubs to have won the AFC Champions League twice in a row.

History

Foundation

The club was founded after a meeting, on January 4, 1927, of some of the notable football enthusiasts of the city of Jeddah. 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 go ahead with creating the team that unites them and Ittihad Jeddah was born. The attendees were Hamza Fitaihi, Fahad Badkook, Abdulsamad Najeeb Alsaady, Ismail Zahran, Ali Yamani, Abdulaziz Jameel, Abdulateef Jameel, Abdulateef Linjawi, Othman Banajah, Ahmad Abu Talib, Ali Sultan, Ahmed Almir and Saleh Salamah.

Club name "United"

the name of club which contains from this wisdom, Mazen Mohammed words that created the current club name. Club owners agrees with him to put the club name Al-Ittihad in Arabic.

Earlier

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. Al-Ittihad did not find at first a strong support, there wasn't an official clubs such as Al Riyadhi, Because the presence of powerful culture in the city of Jeddah only. the established of Saudi Federation was slowly in the 50s, was established after 29 years from Ittihad foundation year. In their first meeting with Al-Riyadhi, Al-Ittihad make it victory with 3–0 won.

Their first championship (1933)

The club has achieved a historic first tournament, which was called the cup of Nishan Nazer, counted as an official tournament, The cup have formed a popularity of Al-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 Al-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 Al-Itithad 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.

Rivalries

Saudi Derby

The Jeddah derby is known to be the most competitive match in the Saudi league, where all fans await for it, although recently, Al-Ahli has been dominating the derby. Al-Ittihad has long-standing rivalry with Al-Ahli. From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rivals from the same city: Jeddah. Al-Ahli was known to be the dominating team in Saudi Arabia for centuries and have won 51 trophies more than its rival by 2 trophies. On the other side, Al Ittihad has won two titles in two years, they produced arguably the biggest shock in Asian club history when they overturned a 3–1 home defeat by Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, pulling off a 5–0 away win to secure the Asian crown. Al Ittihad is also known as club of the people such as Barcelona or Liverpool. Although the club is known to have a strong fanbase, it does not come near its rival Al-Ahli who is living better days than the other neighbor who is going through a financial crisis. Al-Ittihad did not win a single match against Al-Ahli in the derby for 8 years.

Saudi Classico

Al-Ittihad also has a rivalry with the capital city Riyadh club, Al-Hilal. Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal have the biggest fansbase in Saudi Arabia. Al-Ittihad is known to always play fiercely in the Classico no matter how much the team was going through difficulties. The largest victory was for Al-Hilal when they defeated Al-Ittihad 5-0 in 2009.

Present-day

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 8649 trophies. However, football remains the primary sport.
Ittihad is now based in Sahafa street, Mushrefa district, in east Jeddah, where they have a large sports complex. Senior teams play official games at the municipal sports centre, in the south of the city, while youth teams play at the club.
In December 2006, the club offered what was thought to be the most lucrative deal in Arabian football to Portuguese midfielder Luís Figo. It was said that Luís Figo will join the club on July 1, 2007 after his current contract with Internazionale expires. However, not long after, Figo's current club, Internazionale released report that Figo had yet to sign a contract with Al-Ittihad and will not be joining. Figo has since extended his contract at Inter until the end of the 2007–08 season citing that the terms of the agreement were not kept and thus voided the contract.
In January 2010, the club convened an extraordinary club meeting after losing their 4th game of the 2009–10 season 1–2 to Al-Nasr. A decision was made to sack the head coach Gabriel Calderón and replace him with local coach Hassan Khalifa assisted by former striker Hamzah Idris. On January 27, 2010, the club hired Argentinean coach Enzo Trossero to take over the reins of the team. On Dec 15, 2015 Ittihad FC appointed Victor Piturca as their manager for the second time after a string of bad results by the other coach. He lost his first game in AFC this season against Al-Nasr FC 2-1 on March 13, 2016.

Support and Stadium

Al-Ittihad has built a strong fan-base across Saudi Arabia, amongst the Arab League and in Asia. The club supporters are renowned for being spirited and for their chants. Since its opening on May 1, 2014, Al-Ittihad shares the newly built King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with local rival Al-Ahli, with their previous home the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium facing construction delays.

Sponsorship

Official sponsor

In a press conference on January 9, 2006; president of the club Mansour Albalawi announced that Sela Sport Co will pay 350 million riyals to sponsor Al-Ittihad for 5 seasons. Al-Ittihad was later on sponsored by the Saudi Telecom Company, however the team has not renewed STC's contract.
PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
1999–03UmbroMultiple
2003–05LottoLingo
2006–07HattrickSTC
2007–08NikeSTC
2008–10LottoSTC
2010–12NikeSTC
2012–13OneSTC
2013–2014OneNone
2014–2015ErreaNone
2015–2016AdidasBupa Arabia / Mobil 1
2016–2017JomaBridgestone / Unionaire / Almosafer / Mobil 1
2017–2018JomaBridgestone / Unionaire / Mobil 1
2018-2019JomaNoon / faqih / Mobil 1
2019Stribes /S.TeamNoon / faqih / C. Hub / Al Wefaq Rent A Car / Ibrahim Al-Qurashi

Club statistics

Club honours

;Domestic
;Continental
;International
;Regional
1The tournament was held on February 25, 1933.

Records & statistics

Other records

League records

SeasonDivisionTms.Pos.Pts
1976–77Premier League8416
1977–78Premier League10419
1978–79Premier League10324
1979–80Premier League10321
1980–81Premier League10619
1981–82Premier League20129
1982–83Premier League10616
1983–84Premier League10225
1984–85Premier League12622
1985–86Premier League122–
1986–87Premier League12723
1987–88Premier League12427
1988–89Premier League12627
1989–90Premier League12820
1990–91Premier League12526
1991–92Premier League12526
1992–93Premier League12326
1993–94Premier League12729
1994–95Premier League12730
1995–96Premier League12341
1996–97Premier League12144
1997–98Premier League12728

SeasonDivisionTms.Pos.Pts
1998–99Premier League12148
1999–00Premier League12151
2000–01Premier League12138
2001–02Premier League12249
2002–03Premier League12149
2003–04Premier League12256
2004–05Premier League12338
2005–06Premier League12342
2006–07Premier League12148
2007–08Premier League12248
2008–09Professional League12155
2009–10Professional League12245
2010–11Professional League14251
2011–12Professional League14537
2012–13Professional League14737
2013–14Professional League14637
2014–15Professional League14452
2015–16Professional League14349
2016–17Professional League14452
2017–18Professional League14933
2018–19Professional League161034

Performance in AFC competitions

SeasonStage
2001Quarter-finals
2002Second Round
2003Did Not Qualify
2004Champions
2005Champions
2006Quarter-finals
2007Did Not Qualify
2008Group Stage
2009Runner-up
2010Group Stage
2011Semi-finals
2012Semi-finals
2013Did Not Qualify
2014Quarter-finals
2015Did Not Qualify
2016Group stage
2017Did Not Meet Qualification
2018Did Not Meet Qualification
2019Quarter-finals
2020Did Not Qualify

Top scorers in AFC competitions

AFC club rankings

are calculated by the AFC.
Last update: December 1, 2017
Source:

Asian Record

Current squad

As of 25 January 2019

Other players under contract

NoPositionPlayerNation

Out on loan

Notable players

Players with senior international caps:
KSAASIAAFRICAUEFACONMEBOLCONCACAF

Personnel

Current technical staff

Management

PositionStaff
Board ChairmanAnmar al-Ha'ili
Vice president & Director of FootballAhmed Kaaki
Chief executive officerIbrahim Bakhit
Director of FinanceMamdouh Al-Harbi
Director of InvestmentsLouai Ghalayini
Board MemberFaisal Al-Turki
Director of Other SportsAhmed Qutub
Board MemberAbdulwahab Ayed
TreasurerHasan Baroum
Director of the General RelationsBandar Yaghmour
General Supervisor of Media Management & Official SpeakerHussain Al-Sharif
Director of Media CenterYahya Bakhsh
Director of Professional AreaMohammed Al-Amari
Executive director of Youth football TeamsDr. Mohammed Al-Sulaiman
Players affairs officer of FootballKhaled Al-Alwani
Technical affairs officer of FootballMarwan Mahdi

Presidents

YearsChairmanChampionships
1927–30 Ali Sultan×
1930–34 Abdulaziz Jamil1
1934–37 Hamza Fitaihi×
1937–49 Mohammed Saeed Firaij×
1949–50 Abdulaziz Jamil×
1950 Abdulrahman Mulla×
1950–54 Suliman Turki2
1954–56 Abdulhameed Mashkhas×
1956–59 Abdullatif Linjawi4
1959–60 Abdulrazzaq Al-Matbuli1
1960–62 Yousef Khalawi×
1962–66 Fathi Abu Al-Jadayel4
1966–67 Yousef Al-Tawil1
1968–70 Ghazi Sultan×
1970–73 Mazen Rashad Pharaon×
1973–74 Ismael Mannaa×
1974–81 H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Mansour1
1981–83 Ibrahim Afandi1
1983–85 H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Mansour×
1985–87 Dr. Abdulfattah Nazer3

YearsChairmanChampionships
1988–89 Eng. Hussein Linjawi1
1989–90 Dr. Abdulfattah Nazer1
1990–91 Dr. Adnan Jamjoom2
1991–93 Ahmed Masoud1
1993–94 Dr. Abdulfattah Nazer×
1994–96 Dr. Adnan Jamjoom2
1996–99 Talaat Lami3
1999–02 Ahmed Masoud8
2002–03 Eng. Hassan Jamjoom1
2003 Eng. Jamal Abuemarh×
2003–07 Mansour Albalawi7
2007–09 Eng. Jamal Abuemarh1
2009–10 Dr. Khaled Al-Marzouqi1
2010–11 Eng. Ibrahim Alawan×
2011–12 M.G. Mohammed Bin Dakhel Al-Juhani×
2012–13 Eng. Mohammed Fayez1
2013–16 Ibrahim Albalawix
2016 Ahmed Masoudx
2016–17 Hatem Baashen1
2017 Anmar Al-Haelix
2017–18 Hamad Al-Senaie1
2018 Nawaf Al-Megairenx
2018–19 Loay Hisham Nazerx
2019–present Anmar Al-Haelix

Managerial history

Source:
NameFromTo
Mohammed Saleh Salamah19281931
Omar Shendi19601960
Khalil Abo Zaid19611961
Saeed Hussain19611962
Fritz19661967
Bashir Al-Sagheer19671968
Fritz19681969
Ali Chaouach19701970
Abdullah Abo Dawood19701970
Ali Selmi19751977
Jamel Eddine Bouabsa19771978
Dettmar Cramer19781981
Mahmoud El-Gohary19811981
Chinesinho19811982
Carlos Alberto Silva1982April 10, 1983
ChinesinhoApril 10, 1983May 13, 1983
Joubert Luis Meira19831984
Vanderlei Luxemburgo19841984
Bob Houghton19841986
Walter Skocik19871989
Heinz Höher19891990
Kálmán Mészöly19911992
Roland Andersson19931993
Bob Houghton19931994
Paulo Campos19951996
Dimitri Davidovic19961997
Sándor Egervári19971997
Dezső Novák19971998
Paulo Campos19981998
Dimitri Davidovic19981999
José Oscar Bernardi19992000
Revaz Dzodzuashvili20002000
Dimitri Davidovic20002000
Giuseppe Dossena20002001
Osvaldo Ardiles20012001

NameFromTo
José Oscar Bernardi20012003
Antonello Cuccureddu20022003
Tomislav Ivić20032004
Dragan Talajić 'July 1, 20042004
Luka PeruzovićDec 2004March 2005
Anghel IordănescuMarch 26, 2005June 30, 2006
Bruno Metsu2006April 26, 2006
Vahid HalilhodžićJune 5, 20062006
Dimitri Davidovic20062007
José Candinho20072007
Estevam SoaresDec 20, 2007Aug 23, 2008
Gabriel CalderónMay 22, 2008January 13, 2010
Enzo TrosseroJanuary 20, 2010May 30, 2010
Manuel JoséJune 2, 2010December 24, 2010
ToniDecember 28, 2010May 15, 2011
Dimitri DavidovicMay 15, 2011November 28, 2011
Abdullah Gurab 'November 29, 2011December 19, 2011
Matjaž KekDecember 20, 2011February 8, 2012
Abdullah Gurab 'February 8, 2012February 27, 2012
Raul CanedaFebruary 27, 2012February 23, 2013
Beñat San JoséFebruary 23, 2013December 8, 2013
Juan VerzeriJanuary 6, 2014February 26, 2014
Khalid Al-KoroniFebruary 26, 2014August, 2014
Amro AnwarAugust 28, 2014October 16, 2014
Victor PițurcăOctober 16, 2014June 12, 2015
László BölöniJuly 21, 2015October 23, 2015
Victor PițurcăDecember 8, 2015July 21, 2016
José Luis SierraJuly 22, 2016May 20, 2018
Ramón DíazMay 23, 2018September 20, 2018
Slaven BilićSeptember 27, 2018February 24, 2019
José Luis SierraFebruary 24, 2019October 20, 2019
Mohammed Al-Abdali 'October 20, 2019November 4, 2019
Henk ten CateNovember 4, 2019February 11, 2020
Piet Hamberg February 11, 2020February 17, 2020
Fábio CarilleFebruary 17, 2020Present

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