Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad has recently been out of form. The club has been struggling to get positive results in their recent run of fixtures. Ultimately the pressure was piling up on their Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nuno Espirito Santo made his name in the managerial role with the help of his successful stint at the Premier League club Wolves. The 49-year-old manager took Wolves from England’s Championship division to the Premier League. However, his stint with the Tottenham Hotspur as the manager in the same league didn’t turn out to be as successful.
The 49-year-old Portuguese manager was currently managing the Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. However, as per the reports, he has been fired from the club’s managerial job. Reportedly, this has been done by the club’s hierarchy, in just a month before the approaching Club World Cup.
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Al-Ittihad have sacked Nuno Espírito Santo just a month before the Club World Cup. 🇸🇦
He reportedly had a big fall-out with Karim Benzema. 👀 pic.twitter.com/sdTcXBGH8W
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) November 7, 2023
Al-Ittihad has only achieved two wins in their last eight matches. This poor string of results reportedly led to the sacking of their manager. However, reports further acclaim that the manager also got into an altercation and had a fallout with the club’s Captain Karim Benzema in the dressing room.
Fans have reacted to the firing of the Al-Ittihad’s manager. One of the fans has stated – “It’s cheaper to fire the coach than Benzema”. Another one commented – “Imagine being fired in Saudi”. A follower chipped in and inflicted – “The most forgettable Spurs manager”.
Another fan quoted – “All that money on Benzema? Of course he (Nuno) had to go”. One of the fans ironically stated – “They wanna hope the next manager would help them become better”. It can be inferred that fans have stated their opinions unhesitatingly on the sacking of the Al-Ittihad’s manager.
Zinedine Zidane is Al-Ittihad’s first choice to replace Nuno Espirito Santo
According to the reports, French manager Zinedine Zidane is the manager whom Al-Ittihad’s hierarchy has been dreaming upon to get into the club’s managerial role. Reportedly, Zidane can be the one to replace Nuno at the Saudi-based club.
Reports suggest the club is also looking for other potential French manager candidates. Further termed by the reports that the club’s lookout for a French-based manager is due to the preference of their players N’golo Kante and Karim Benzema.
However, Al-Ittihad’s managerial role might swing in the favour of Zinedine Zidane. The 51-year-old had earlier managed the club’s captain Karim Benzema at Real Madrid in his managerial career. Benzema has also won a couple of La Liga trophies under Zidane.
With the player falling out with the previous manager, the club would want to get someone in who could get the best out of their striker. Al-Ittihad currently sits at the sixth spot in this season’s Saudi Pro League table. The club’s hierarchy would hope that their new appointment would help them to fight for the league’s title.