JEDDAH, 25 March 2005 — It’s hello and goodbye as Al-Ittihad club introduced their new soccer coach to take over from Belgian Luca who agreed to preterminate his services by mutual consent with Ittihad.
Ittihad president Mansour Al-Balawi on Wednesday announced the appointment of Iordenscu, known as “The General” from Romania who was signed to a year and a half contract worth SR1.1 million.
Anghel Iordanescu assumes his post next Sunday, according to Al-Balawi.
The hiring of Iordenscu, who arrived in the Kingdom with his training assistant, is in line with the policy of seeking ways to bring the club at a highly competitive level as it competes in both local and international events.
“The Ittihad club management will bring anyone that would benefit the team. The main goal is to keep the international reputation that we gain after winning the Asian Champions League title. We want to win the Asian championship for the second time to compete in the world club tournament,” said Al-Balawi.
As for Luca, A-Balawi said he is an “excellent coach and we thanked him for what he did with the team but obviously we could not benefit from him.”
“The situation of Ittihad team is perfect,” said Al-Balawi. He added: “We qualified for the semifinals of Crown Prince Cup. We are in excellent position in the King Fahd Cup and we will qualify for the Arab Champions League quarterfinals.”
