Various press reports have confirmed that the Italian Stefano Pioli will be the new head coach of the Saudi al-itthad club, succeeding Argentina’s Marcelo Gallardo, whose departure from the team’s training has been officially announced.
The past days have seen federal public objections to the former Milan boss taking the technical helm for the dean, and many have demanded the signing of Portuguese boss Marco Silva.
But according to BBC Britain, Silva rejected the Union’s offer, sticking with Fulham; This made the management of the Jedawi Club settle for the signing of Stefano Pioli.
The al-itthad club announced in an official statement on Tuesday, 2 July, that Gaardo had been sacked from first-team football after poor results last season 2023-24.
The Saudi club explained on its official account on the social media platform X: “The Federation announces the termination of the contractual relationship with Marcelo Gallardo, and the club wishes the coach well in his future career.”
📝| إنهاء العلاقة التعاقدية مع مدرب الفريق الكروي الأول pic.twitter.com/aaIjNKhQJr
— نادي الاتحاد السعودي (@ittihad) July 2, 2024
In the next few days, Italian coach Stefano Pioli will be officially announced as the head coach of the federal team for 3 seasons, until 2027.
Stefano Pioli’s highlights in his coaching career
Stefano Pioli (58) began his career in the training world with Salernitana in 2003, then oversaw the coaching of several Italian teams, most notably Lazio, Inter Milan and Fiorentina, before writing his big history with Milan for the 2021-22 Serie A title, as well as reaching the 2022 Champions League semi-finals with the Rossoneri.
The coach, born in the Italian city of Parma, led his clubs throughout his training career in 871 matches across all competitions, winning 366 meetings, drawing 248 encounters, and daring to lose on 257 previous occasions, based on Transfair Market data.
Milan are Stefano Pioli’s last training station, leading him from 2019 to May 2024, winning 132 matches, drawing 56, and losing 52 meetings.
The Italian coach will play an important role in selecting federation deals during the 2024 summer Mercato, in coordination with Spain’s Ramon Blanis, sporting director of the club.
Etihad lived with former head coach Gaiardo for a very poor season, lost all tournaments, and dropped the team’s ranking with him for fifth place in the Saudi Rosen League, which achieved its title last season 2022-23
