The Saudi federation: the collapse of the French campaign, and welcome to a merciless new approach!
The doyen in his new attire
Al-Ittihad appear to be closing one of the most eventful chapters in their recent history. The "French campaign" led by Karim Benzema is fading, and in its place comes a very different project: one built on collective strength and tactical discipline rather than assembling the team around big international names.
It all began when Benzema arrived. His signing was never treated as a mere marquee capture, but as part of a wider plan to reshape the side and recruit a string of players with a distinctly French flavour.
Laurent Blanc took charge on the touchline. Moussa Diaby and Houssem Aouar arrived alongside N'Golo Kante, completing the picture of a team leaning heavily on the French school both on and off the pitch.
The recruitment didn't stop there. Al-Ittihad also strengthened with the Dutchman Steven Bergwijn and the Portuguese Danilo Pereira, a familiar face at Paris Saint-Germain, turning "the Dean" into a team blending stars with European experience. That mix helped them restore their standing and climb back onto the podiums of glory.
The French campaign begins successfully, then falls apart piece by piece
Al-Ittihad had already reaped the fruits of the project. The team looked stronger and more competitive, winning both the Roshn League and the King's Cup to return to the summit after assembling a squad packed with names capable of settling matches, players who carried the experience that turns a side into a genuine contender on more than one front.
Everything changed with the new management era in July 2025. The team's level began to slide, and what followed can only be described as rebuilding Al-Ittihad from scratch. That meant losing a host of names who had formed the backbone of the previous project.
Laurent Blanc went first. Then Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kanté moved on, followed by Fabinho, before Moussa Diaby recently left for Bayer Leverkusen. The list of the "French campaign" has shrunk dramatically, with only Houssem Aouar and Steven Bergwijn now remaining.
This is not simply a change in player names. It marks a complete shift in the philosophy of building the team. Al-Ittihad no longer operate the way they did when the project centred on attracting stars and assembling a group of global heavyweights.
Vicente Feola announces the birth of a different union
Al-Ittihad, by contrast, carry a more rigorous technical identity under young coach Jens Fissing. He wants a team built on the system before the individual, on collective commitment before big names.
The German shows no sign of handing out privileges for reputation alone. He demands roles carried out, discipline and movement within a single framework, and it shows in his briefings and his hard decisions, where the group comes first.
That philosophy may sit worlds apart from the Al-Ittihad fans knew during the "French campaign" period, yet it carries a clear sporting logic. Big names alone won't do. The team needs players who commit to the same idea over 90 minutes, especially in a league that demands continuity alongside physical and tactical strength.
Strikingly, Fissing looks ready to make concessions to establish his approach, even at the cost of giving up names once counted among the team's biggest stars.
His project has a clear character from the outset. But that also piles enormous pressure on him, because the fans will judge results by one standard no matter how good the idea.
With Fissing, Al-Ittihad have hit the ground running. They thrashed the UAE's Al-Jazira 4-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite play-off, drew their opening Roshn League match 1-1 with Al-Khaleej, then beat Al-Qadsiah 1-0 and Al-Hazm 3-2, and saw off Al-Najma 3-0 in the King's Cup.
Will the new philosophy succeed after the collapse of the galactico project?
Al-Ittihad stand at a genuine crossroads. Either the management turn this upheaval into the start of a more stable, sustainable project, or the clear-out of the old names leaves nothing but a void that proves hard to fill.
Success this time won't be measured by the number of stars on the roster. It will be measured by whether Fessing and the management can build a team that knows what it wants, carries a clear identity and can compete without leaning entirely on the brilliance of one or two players.
For now, the "French campaign" looks all but over, and a new era has dawned at Al-Ittihad. Its watchwords are discipline, rigour and collective play. Yet the real question isn't whether the French campaign has ended. It's whether the new philosophy can produce an Al-Ittihad stronger than the Al-Ittihad of the stars.
The test will come on the pitch. Only there will it be settled whether Al-Ittihad have thrown away a successful project, or whether they have finally started building a team built to last for years without reinventing itself every transfer window.
