Benzema not satisfied with new coach?

Sergio Conceicao is the new coach of Al Ittihad.

Contrary to speculations about Santiago Solari or some other candidates, Al Ittihad chose Conceicao. His contract with Al Ittihad will last until June 2027.

This was a surprising and controversial decision by Al Ittihad's board of directors, as many of the club's foreign pillars preferred a coach from Spain or France, rather than a Portuguese like Conceicao.

Accompanying Conceicao on his new journey in Saudi Arabia is a team of Portuguese assistant coaches including: João Costa, Siramana Dembélé, Fábio Moura, Diamantino Figueiredo, Vedran Runje and performance analyst Eduardo Oliveira.

The current Al Ittihad squad only has two Portuguese players, Roger Fernandes and Danilo Pereira, but neither have a big influence in the dressing room.

According to Gulf Times, N'Golo Kanté, Fabinho or Karim Benzema prefer a coach with experience working in Ligue 1 or La Liga over Conceicao. Conceicao's strong personality also makes many pillars of Al Ittihad afraid.

Coach Conceicao was sacked by AC Milan in May, despite only joining the club in December 2024. The Portuguese coach was criticized for failing to improve the situation at the Serie A club.

The dismissal of coach Laurent Blanc, who led Al Ittihad to the Saudi Pro League championship last season, made Benzema and Kante quite dissatisfied.

The French coach had to leave after two consecutive defeats, including the loss in the AFC Champions League and especially the 0-2 defeat against Al Nassr in the national championship on September 28. Before that, Al Ittihad even had a perfect start with 3 wins in a row.

Source: https://znews.vn/benzema-khong-hai-long-voi-hlv-moi-post1591725.html