Getty Images SportAl-Ahli fans savoured three historic years alongside German coach Matthias Jaissle, a spell that brought them joy unlike anything in their history. Now comes the pain of the parting.
According to press reports, Jaissle handed in his resignation as Al-Ahli boss on Thursday to take charge of Newcastle United next season, succeeding Eddie Howe.
Jaissle took charge of Al-Ahli in the summer of 2023, succeeding the South African Pitso Mosimane, after the team's return to the Saudi Roshn League following promotion from the Yelo First Division League.
He steered Al-Ahli through 138 official matches in that time. The German won 92 of them at a rate of 66.6%, an extremely high figure, alongside 21 draws and 25 defeats.
Across those 138 games, Al-Ahli's players struck 307 goals, an average of 2.2 per match and another remarkable return. At the other end, they conceded 149 times, a shade over a goal per game.
The numbers only tell half the story. For the German coach, they were a means to an end: turning Al-Ahli into not just the best of Saudi football, but the best of Asia.
Jaissle never won the league, true. Yet he took a club from finishing third without any real competition in his first season to claiming that same spot after a fierce scrap with Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr last term.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup eluded him too. But look at the trajectory. A round-of-32 exit in his first season nearly cost Jaissle his job. He responded by reaching the semi-final of the last edition, going down only on penalties to Al-Hilal.
Domestic silverware did arrive. Jaissle guided Al-Ahli to the 2025 Saudi Super Cup, a trophy that returned after a nine-year absence, beating Al-Qadsiah in the semi-final and then Al-Nassr in the final.
His crowning achievement came in Asia. Jaissle led Al-Ahli to their first AFC Champions League Elite title in 2025, negotiating a brutal run that saw him knock out traditional rivals Al-Hilal in the semi-final.
One title was not enough. He steered "Al-Raqi" to the crown again last season, winning twice a trophy the club had never lifted in their long history.
What Jaissle has built did not come by chance. It came through relentless work that let him forge a clear, distinct identity for Al-Ahli, one that anyone watching the team can recognise.
The German coach built a side that terrifies opponents with its counter-pressing, so much so that he's become the reference everyone cites on how it should be done.
Best of all, as opponents came to understand the approach and worked on its weaknesses, Jaissle started tweaking it to suit the team's circumstances, particularly last season.
Building an identity is no easy matter. Jaissle held the keys to his success, the first of which was stability, achieved through a defined squad that undergoes only minor changes at the start of each season.
Across his three seasons at Al-Ahli, Jaissle kept five foreign players over the age limit: Edouard Mendy, Roger Ibañez, Merih Demiral, Franck Kessié and Riyad Mahrez.
He entered his second season with seven foreign players from the previous campaign, after French winger Allan Saint-Maximin left and English striker Ivan Toney arrived, before Brazilian winger Galeno joined midway through the season.
Al-Ahli went into Jaissle's third season with seven foreign players from the previous year, having replaced Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga with Frenchman Enzo Millot.
That stability shaped a clear identity for the team. It showed in the levels they produced, the results they achieved, and the titles they added to the trophy cabinet.
Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
These achievements left Al-Ahli's management in no doubt. They threw their weight behind Jaissle, having come close to sacking him midway through the 2024-2025 season, and he now stands as the longest-serving coach in the history of the "elite" club.
According to the Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadiah", Jaissle has spent longer in Al-Ahli's dugout across a single spell than any coach in the club's history, clocking up 1,098 days between 2023 and 2026.
The German edged out his Swiss counterpart Christian Gross, who managed Al-Ahli between 2014 and 2016 for 730 days. Gross also lifted three trophies with the club: the league, the King's Cup and the Crown Prince's Cup.
Third on the list is the Czech Karel Jarolim, in charge at Al-Ahli between 2011 and 2013 for 574 days. He won just a single title in that time, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.
