Much has changed from last season at Al Ittihad, but one constant at the club has been captain Karim Benzema.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner has returned for the 2024-25 season of the Roshn Saudi League with a renewed sense of purpose.
”This season, our objectives are clear, not to mention last year: to do better, much better, because we have the quality, the players, we have everything we need to be in the best conditions to do better, to enjoy ourselves. From a personal point of view, we also want to do better from the beginning to the end of the season, and win titles.”
It has been helped by the arrivals of fellow French head coach Laurent Blanc, old teammates Housam Aouar and Moussa Diaby, and even rivals from his days in Europe, as Al Ittihad look to bounce back – and then some – from last term’s dispiriting title defence.
”He’s (Laurent Blanc) someone who knows soccer, someone who’s very close to his players. He’s someone you can talk to and exchange ideas with. For him, who plays and who doesn’t are equally important. That’s good for us, and good for me too.”
”We’ve changed a lot this season, with players leaving, others arriving, and a new coach. In fact, we’re in the best possible shape. Personally, I feel great. After that, the players who have arrived are ones I know, ones I played with in the national team, like (Moussa) Diaby. I know Housam (Aouar) from Lyon. The goalkeeper is the same, Rajko ( goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic) we played against each other in La Liga. These are players who have played in Europe, who know the pressure, who know the ambition. It’s for the Saudi Pro League, it’s good for the club. It shows that we want to win.”
The Jeddah giants, peerless the previous campaign, finished fifth in 2023-24, five points from securing Asian football for this campaign and a further 37 points behind champions Al Hilal.
In succeeding Gallardo in the dugout, Blanc is the man tasked with guiding that overarching objective. He has done more than most in football, a FIFA World Cup winner as a player in 1998, and then a four-time Ligue 1 champion as manager.
Blanc has experience, also, of football in the Middle East; he managed Qatar’s Al Rayyan from 2020 to 2022. Benzema knows his compatriot well, and feels that relationship with the former Napoli, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Manchester United centre-back will prove mutually beneficial.
”In Europe, Laurent Blanc is a well-known figure, and in Qatar too. Here too, people are getting to know his philosophy of play. It’s a game that starts from the back and builds the action up to the opponent’s goal. It’s a philosophy that I’ve liked for a long time now.”
Al Ittihad have won both of their matches so far this season, with Benzema scoring once and Aouar contributing two goals. Their new ambition will be properly tested for the first time on the 21st of September when they visit arch-rivals Al Hilal for the fourth round.
Source: Africanews
