German Coach, 35, Ditches Champions League Soccer For Saudi Pro League

Austrian soccer champions FC Red Bull Salzburg released their coach of his duties with immediate effect, the club announced on its website Friday.

“This was prompted by the 35-year-old German’s desire to move to Al-Ahli SFC just 48 hours before the start of the 2023/24 ADMIRAL Bundesliga season”, read the extraordinary press release shared by the soccer club at 12:15pm Austrian time.

“The necessary negotiations with the Saudi club, which have only been ongoing for a few hours, are currently in the final stages,” continued the Salzburg statement.

Salzburg kicked off their season against SCR Altach-Voralberg the very next day, on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

By then, Jaissle was already with his new team, about an hour”s drive away in X town, Austria.

Al-Ahli SFC: Matthias Jaissle Helped Develop X and X

Since he took over the reins from Jesse Marsch in 2021, Jaissle led Salzburg to two league titles in Austria. The 35-year-old is an exceptional soccer coaching talent. At Salzburg, he helped develop big names like Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, USMNT player Brenden Aaronson and (Sesko , who joined Leipzig this summer for s euros.

Now, he asked his employer to green light his exit. Jaissle would rather coach Al-Ahli Saudi Football Club, the Jeddah-based team in the Saudi Pro League, than stay in Salzburg, where his team plays wants Champions League football every year.

Jaissle is neither the first European coach to make the switch, nor the most prominent.

Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool player and Aston Villa manager, signed a coaching deal with Al-Ettifaq this July. But why?

Saudia Arabia’s PIF bought four soccer clubs in June

On June 5, 2023, Saudi Arabia’ s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) announced it would take control of the four largest teams in the Saudi Pro League —Al-Ahli (Jeddah), Al-Hilal (Riyadh), Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) and Al-Nassr (Riyadh), with immediate effect.

PIF’s assets totaled about $778 billion at the end of the 2022 fiscal year, according to Bloomberg. A few days after the stunning announcement, Karim Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner and Real Madrid forward, signed a contract to play for Al-Ittihad.

Since then, world famous soccer stars of all ages and wages have followed. such as 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema (Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad), 2018 World Cup winner Ngolo Kante (Chelsea to Al-Ittihad) and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, famed for his pro-LGBTQ work in British soccer, have joined the Saudi Pro League.

Of course, there is also Cristiano Ronaldo, the most followed person on Instagram. He is the true trailblazer, joined the Saudi league in December after the soccer world cup.

Al-Ahli is one of the four Saudi clubs taken over by the Saudi National Fund in June. Playing in x colored jerseys, Al-Ahli is also historically one of the country”s most popular clubs.

Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium is Al-Ahli’s Home Ground

Home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the soccer club Al-Ahli SFC was founded in 1937. With a population of 4,9 million people as of 2023 (CIA World Factbook), Jeddah is Saudi Arabia’ s second-largest city. With a port on the Red Sea, it is also the economic center of the Saudi kingdom.

In the Arab world, Jeddah is also known as a Hajj travel hub for Muslim pilgrims. Mecca, Islam

^{In the Arab world, Jeddah is further known as a Hajj travel hub for Muslim pilgrims. Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, is a one hour drive away from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, making it a convenient landing spot for Hajji arriving from abroad.}

——-Tweet women allowed in stadium in Jan 2018 for Al-Ahli game at king abdullah sports city stadium——

Al-Ahli’s home games take place at Jeddah”s King Abdullah Sports City stadium, which has a capacity of 61,000 seats. The first time women were allowed entry was five years ago, in January 2018.

Saturday, Jaissle sat in the bleachers to watch his new team, who were holding a pre-season friendly in Kirchbichl, a scenic Tyrolean village. Enveloped by Austria’s rolling hills, Jaissle watched his new team play Heidenheim, a small-town Bavarian club that recently won promotion to Germany’s Bundesliga.

On one side: Heidenheim the soon-to-be Bundesliga club. On the other end: Three global soccer stars — trying to play ball with their new teammates, a talented but mostly amateur level group of young Saudi-Arabian players.

Mendy, the 2021 FIFA World Goalkeeper of the Year, stood in goal. Despite a highlight reel worthy save against Marvin Pieringer, he conceeded six goals in Al-Ahlis 2:6 loss to Heidenheim. Bavaria, a scenic town with a 2021 population of 47,000 people.

“A few great individualists, but otherwise a bad test for us (YT video)”, said Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt on his club”s media team after the game.

Two hours later and 40 miles away, FC Red Bull Salzburg started its 2023/24 ADMIRAL Austrian Bundesliga season with a 2:0 win.