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Al-Ittihad CEO Domingos Soares has explained why the Saudi club turned to German coach Jens Wissing to lead the first team next season, replacing Portugal's Sergio Conceicao.

Wissing arrives as technical director of the first team after Conceicao's dismissal. The Portuguese lost his job at the end of last season having failed to deliver a single trophy.

Soares laid out his thinking in a video clip Al-Ittihad posted on their official "X" account: "The choice of our coach Mr Jens Wissing was very important, and a key part of the preparation for the new season".

"We have known Mr Wissing for a while, and I worked with him in the past," he added. "We know that he is a young, very talented and ambitious coach, and he has a strong desire to succeed with Al-Ittihad".

On the backroom team, Soares continued: "As for the technical staff who are with him, it is a mix of international assistant coaches from different regions, as well as Saudi coaches".

He concluded: "The integration of these skills takes us to a new level, and I believe it is the right level to achieve the right results in the coming weeks and months".

Wissing's finest hour came in the second half of last season. He steered Japanese club Gamba Osaka to the AFC Champions League 2 title for the first time in their history, beating Al-Nassr in the final.