That happened two days after the defending champion at his own field had lost 2-0 to Al-Nassr, the club of Cristiano Ronaldo, who took care of the second goal. That was the first defeat of the season.
“The club board has also decided to appoint Hassan Khalifa as head coach until a new technical staff has been appointed that fits the club’s ambitions,” said Al-Sittihad in a statement on social media. Khalifa was the assistant of Blanc, of whom the rest of the staff was also fired.
Cristiano Ronaldo © ANP/HH
The 59-year-old Blanc has been without a Club since his resignation at Olympique Lyon in September 2023, but was appointed as a trainer in July 2024 by Al-Eittihad, where the former French national coach collaborated again with Karim Benzema, the star of the Jeddah-based team. The 35-time Oranje-International Bergwijn plays football for the club since September 2024.