Media personality Mohammed Al-Bakiri has launched a scathing attack on the management of Al-Ittihad Jeddah, citing their clearly poor performance this season, whilst also placing the blame on Portuguese manager Sérgio Conceição.
Al-Ittihad had signed Conceição last October to replace French manager Laurent Blanc, but he failed to deliver, losing both the league and the King’s Cup, as well as seeing the departure of their star French striker Karim Benzema.
Al-Bakiri said in comments on Al-Arabiya FM: “Al-Ittihad is suffering from a significant drop in form and lacks a clear identity; the decision to sack Laurent Blanc and appoint Sergio Conceição was rushed.”
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He added: “Signing Conceição was a mistake due to his confrontational personality at a time when Al-Ittihad needed a coach who was close to the players, which caused tensions in the dressing room.”
Al-Bakiri revealed a bombshell regarding the Portuguese coach’s contract, saying: “One of the conditions of the contract with Conceição was that he should not clash with the French players, led by former striker Karim Benzema.”
He continued: “The choice of Conceição caused the team to fall apart and was a clear managerial blunder, but I was saddened by the sight of Al-Ittihad and the manager when he decided to head towards the stands in the last match to reconcile with a fan; I don’t know what is happening at the club?”
He concluded: “The Al-Ittihad dressing room has become toxic and there is no love or camaraderie between the manager and the players; I expect him to leave at the end of the season.”