L’Equipe newspaper reported that the Al-Ittihad administration is delaying the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the “Jeddah Tigers” because of the team’s star, Karim Benzema.
Al-Ittihad’s management fears that Benzema’s crises with coaches will be repeated, after his first year, which he spent in skirmishes with Nuno Santo until he was dismissed, and exhausting disagreements with Marcelo Gallardo that led to the coach’s ouster during the past few days.
The Saudi club has already reached an agreement with Stefano Pioli to succeed Gallardo, but the contracts have not been signed currently and the reason is Benzema.
Al-Ittihad officials prefer that Benzema participate in the process of selecting the new coach rather than appointing someone he does not like, which could lead to new disagreements that would destroy the new season.
According to L’Equipe, Benzema wants Al-Ittihad to sign a contract with Al-Duhail’s current coach, Christophe Galtier, who has a distinguished relationship with the player by virtue of working together in Lyon in 2008.
Al-Ittihad’s management leans towards the French school, so it put forward, alongside Galtier, the idea of contracting with Hervé Renard or Laurent Blanc as an alternative plan, and has not made its final decision regarding the Italian Pioli yet.
