Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah)

The club was founded after a meeting of some of the notable football enthusiasts of the city of Jeddah, on 26 December 1927.[1] They met in the offices of the radio broadcasting company and discussed the idea of forming a football club to compete with various traveling teams and be a source of entertainment for inhabitants and an outlet for the city youth to practice organised sport.[1] Everyone agreed that they should create the team that unites them and Ittihad Jeddah was born. The attendees were Hamza Fitaihi, Fahad Badkook, Abdulsamad Najeeb Alsaady, Ismail Zahran, Ali Yamani, Abdulaziz Jameel, Abdulateef Jameel, Abdulateef Linjawi, Othman Banajah, Ahmad Abu Talib, Ali Sultan, Ahmed Almir and Saleh Salamah.

As long as we are here together, let's call it Al-Ittihad.

— Mazen Mohammed

The name of club was quoted from this wisdom, Mazen Mohammed words which created the current club name. Club owners agrees with him to put the club name Al-Ittihad (United or Union, jointly) in Arabic.

Ismail Zahran team player who was working as in Radio Office in Jeddah to the possibility of electing the head of the works Mr. Sultan to be a President of the club, However, Ali Sultan became the first official president of the club. Al-Ittihad did not find at first a strong support, there wasn't an official clubs (communities) such as Al Riyadhi, because the presence of powerful culture in the city of Jeddah only. In their first meeting with Al-Riyadhi, Al-Ittihad make it victory with 3–0 won. The club has achieved a historic first tournament, which was called The Cup of Nishan Nazer, counted as an official tournament at the time, The cup have formed a popularity of Al-Ittihad, Because of a challenge between them in the final. Depending on the narrator, the winner can burn the Embassy wood's. The Championship attended by several of the clubs, communities, fought Al-Ittihad where several games to achieve access to the final. with Al-Mukhtalat. The weather was dust, did not complete the first half, the match was stopped about 10 minutes. the referee stopped the game to rest for 8 minutes, the weather was changed for the better with the second half, Al-Mukhtalat squad had led to fail, it was a low attacking level. The most prominent player in the game is the club's defender Safwan which was sacrificed for his team. the club won the championship by 3–0 against Al-Mukhtalat. The most important characteristic of this tournament is the first sporting event held in the reign of the founder King Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud The periods of 1940 to 1950 remained difficult, as the Football Association was not established until 1956.[7]

In late 1950s, it is considered as the first club to achieve both the Crown Prince Cup and the King's Cup for two consecutive times. On 2 May 1960, Al-Ittihad faced their traditional rivals Al-Ahli in the King's Cup, which ended with a big 7–0 victory, which is the largest victory in the derby. The tournament ended and the club became champions for the third time in a row over Al-Wehda, which completed the 1958, 1959, and 1960 series. The club went through its worst period since its founding, after winning the King's Cup in 1967, with the exception of achieving the Saudi Association Cup in 1974, after defeating Al-Hilal on penalties. In the following decade, the Premier League and the First Division were merged due to the many matches of the national team in 1982, which Al-Ittihad won its first league title in its history, which is the first and only club to achieve it. After an absence for 21 years, the club won the King's Cup after defeated Al Ettifaq in 1988.

In mid 1990s, Which is considered as the beginning of the golden age of the club, where a numerous of titles were achieved. In 1996–97, the club delivered a cup treble, winning the Premier League, Crown Prince Cup, and Federation Cup. After two seasons, the club won the league title for the third time in its history after eliminating rivals Al-Hilal in the final 2–0. The first continental championship was also achieved after winning 3–2 over Jeonnam Dragons with a golden goal, scored by Ahmed Bahja. GCC Champions League was also achieved, as the season ended with winning four trophies.[8] In 1999, The club was a runner-up in the Asian Super Cup, after losing 2–3 on aggregate to Júbilo Iwata.

With the beginning of the new century during the period of president Ahmed Masoud, which is considered one of the most successful periods, winning 8 titles within 3 years. The 1999–2000 league season was achieved at the beginning of the century, after a 3–1 win over Al-Ahli in the final, also, Hamza Idris scored an unprecedented 33 goals, a record in that period, which made him the league's top scorer, and the most scored in a single season.[9] In the following season - the club winning the League for fifth time, and Crown Prince Cup. In the 2001–02 season, on May 1, 2002, Al-Ittihad lost the league final to Al-Hilal, a cross from a corner kick went to Al Hasan Al-Yami, who hit it and the ball entered the goal clearly before Al Hilal's Mohammed Al-Nazhan took it out with his hand. A goal was not awarded by the referee, even as a penalty kick, which in turn ended with a loss 1–2, where the referee was suspended six months after the final - and later apologized, declaring, “I am innocent of your defeat, and God bears witness to that.” The match created a great controversy at all levels, as it faced a lot of criticism, which was considered by many and critics as a “robbery”.[10][11]

When Ahmed Masoud left the club, Mansour Al-Balawi became president, which is considered by many including the fans as the most prominent and successful period in the club's history. In the 2002–03 season, many players have been brought in, such as Tukar, Saud Kariri, Muhammad Al-Khilaiwi, and Tcheco; who is considered as one of the greatest deals in the club's history, while both the League and the Crown Prince Cup were achieved. Despite leading the league and ending it without a loss, Al-Ittihad lost the league final to Al-Shabab in the championship-playoff finals. In the 2004 AFC Champions League, Al-Ittihad finished the group in first place with only one loss. In quarter-finals, it was successfully passed with a 1–1 draw in Dalian, followed by a home 1–0 victory scored by Tukar, against Chinese Dalian Shide, of which led them to reach the semi-finals. Both matches ended in the last minutes, as Hamad Al-Montashari finished the first leg's 2–1, and Osama Al-Muwallad scored the deadly equalizer in the second leg, with a 4–3 aggregate over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, as the club qualified for the final for the first time.[1][12] The final was out of the ordinary; Al-Ittihad were thrashed at home 1–3 by Korean side Seongnam in the first leg—leading to the sacking of Croatian coach Tomislav Ivić, as assistant coach Dragan Talajić was given the opportunity. Who, in turn, started the return match in Seongnam, Redha Tukar opened the scoring, rising to a ball from a corner kick to score the first goal, Idris scored the second late minute goal in the first half, Mohammed Noor scored the two decisive goals in the second half, before Abushgeer scored the fifth and the last goal.[13] Overcoming the 1–3 loss with a miraculous 5–0 victory, to achieve the first title,[13] Dragan Talajić achievement was unforgettable and almost impossible, this second leg match became one of the most surprising and unforgettable comebacks in AFC Champions League history, which was called "the miracle".[5][12][13][14] Recalling the tournament, Talajić said, “I was initially an assistant to the compatriots Tomislav Ivic, and I learned a lot from him, and I considered the opportunity to work with a great team as a wonderful thing, which is why I agreed to work with him, I was with the team eight months after we arrived at the beginning of the season, and I knew all about the players.” and continued, “I was young at the time, and maybe I was crazy by playing with five strikers, I told everyone before the match that we would win, I always knew we would win, but I didn’t know if the difference would be enough.”[12][15]

Al-Ittihad achieved its first Arab championship, after defeated Tunisian Club Sportif Sfaxien in the final.[16] On 5 November 2005, Al-Ittihad won the Champions League for the second time in a row, after a 5–3 victory over Al-Ain. Mohammed Kallon, which loaned from AS Monaco, became the top scorer of the tournament with six goals; of which two were in the final—which helped to achieve the second title.[17] Mohammed Noor, was awarded the best player in the tournament. The club remaining as the only to win back-to-back AFC Champions League titles in its current edition.[1][5][6] The club qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, in the edition that was held in Japan, after achieving the Champions League title—as it became the second Saudi team to qualify for the tournament. On December 11, 2005, Al-Ittihad defeated African champions Al-Ahly after Mohamed Noor’s only goal, to qualify for the semi-finals. Al-Ittihad faced the CONMEBOL champion São Paulo, and it was ended by a 2–3 loss. Al-Ittihad played the match to determine the third place against the Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa and lost with a 2–3, were two goals scored by Mohamed Kallon and Joseph-Désiré Job—to end the Club World Cup with fourth place. Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter expressed his admiration, saying, “In 25 years, I have not seen an Asian team this great.”[18][19]

The Jeddah derby between Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli is known to be one of the most competitive games in the Saudi League. From the start of national competitions both clubs were seen as representatives of two rivals from the same city: Jeddah.

Saudi El Classico, or the Saudi Derby, is a long-running competitive match in Saudi football, between Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. The competition represents the largest and most important two clubs in the city of Jeddah and the capital, Riyadh, the largest and most culturally prominent cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two clubs are considered the most successful at the domestic and continental level. Al-ittihad is the oldest sports club still surviving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is seen as the People's Club. While Al-Hilal represents the culture of the Capital Club, it is called by the masses the Leader. The two teams meet twice a year in the league, and they may also meet in the King's Cup, Saudi Super Cup and the AFC Champions League. It is considered as the most prominent and most followed match in Saudi football.

The first meeting between the two teams was held on July 27, 1962, a friendly match, in the capital, Riyadh, and ended with a 2-0 victory for Al-Ittihad. The first official meeting between the two teams was on January 10, 1964, the King's Cup Final, which in turn also ended with a 3-0 victory for Al-Ittihad.

Al-Hilal has the largest number of wins in the official meetings that brought the two teams together. The two teams faced each other in 148 official meetings, Al-Hilal won 63, while Al-Ittihad won 50, and the tie occurred in 35 meetings. Together with Al-Nassr, and Al-Ahli they are the only teams that have not been relegated to the Second Division since its founding.

In a press conference on 9 January 2006, president of the club Mansour Albalawi announced that Sela Sport Co (which is the sponsor of Saudi National Team) will pay 350 million riyals to sponsor Al-Ittihad for 5 seasons. Al-Ittihad was later on sponsored by the Saudi Telecom Company, however the team has not renewed STC's contract.

Al-Ittihad is one of the most of successful clubs in Saudi Arabia, it has 33 official honours, 28 of which are domestic. In addition to their continental successes, the club is one of the only three Asian clubs to have won the AFC Champions League twice in a row.

•   record

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	GD	P	Domestic cups			Asia		Other competitions		Top scorer		Manager
1998–99	SPL	1	22	15	3	4	45	32	+13	48	CPC		PFC	ACWC,	ASC	GCC				Davidovic
1999–2000	SPL	1	22	16	3	3	69	23	+46	51	CPC							Hamzah Idris	33	Oscar
2000–01	SPL	1	22	11	5	6	35	23	+12	38	CPC					EC		—	—	Ardiles
2001–02	SPL	2	22	15	4	3	59	25	+34	49	CPC							—	—	Oscar
2002–03	SPL	1	22	15	4	3	53	24	+29	49	CPC		PFC			SSC	EC	Cleberson	8	Oscar, Khalid Al Koroni
2003–04	SPL	2	22	17	5	0	57	15	+42	56	CPC			ACL				Mohammed Noor	8	Tomislav Ivić, Talajić, Luka Peruzović
2004–05	SPL	3	22	11	5	6	53	37	+16	38	CPC			ACL		ARCL		Sérgio Ricardo Messias Neves	13	Iordănescu
2005–06	SPL	3	22	11	9	2	47	28	+19	42	CPC			ACL	Quarter-finals			Mohamed Kallon	12	Metsu
2006–07	SPL	1	22	15	3	4	52	25	+27	48	CPC		PFC					Alhassane Keita	21	Dimitri
2007–08	SPL	2	22	14	6	2	40	16	+24	48	CC			ACL	Group Stage			Magno Alves	14	Calderón
2008–09	SPL	1	22	17	4	1	57	21	+36	55	CC		PFC	ACL				Hicham Aboucherouane	17	Calderón
2009–10	ZPL	2	22	14	3	5	46	30	+16	45	CC			ACL	Group Stage			Abdelmalek Ziaya	15	Calderón, Enzo Héctor
2010–11	ZPL	2	26	13	12	1	49	23	+20	51	CC			ACL	Semi-finals			Naif Hazazi	18	Manuel José, Toni, Dimitri
2011–12	ZPL	5	26	10	7	9	49	35	+14	37	CPC			ACL	Semi-finals			Hazazi	20	Kek, Raul Caneda
2012–13	ZPL	7	26	8	9	9	36	36	0	33	CC							Fahad Al-Muwallad	9	Raul Caneda, Beñat
2013–14	ALJ	6	26	8	8	10	45	46	−1	32	CC			ACL	Quarter-finals			Mukhtar Fallatah	31	Beñat, Amro Anwar, Juan Verzeri, Khalid Al Koroni
2014–15	ALJ	4	26	16	4	6	44	33	+11	52	CC							Marquinho	13	Khalid Al Koroni, Victor Pițurcă
2015–16	ALJ	3	26	15	4	7	54	37	+17	49	CC		CPC	ACL	Group Stage			Gelmin Rivas	24	László Bölöni, Amro Anwar, Victor Pițurcă
2016–17	ALJ	4	26	17	4	5	57	37	+20	52 (-3)	CPC							Kahraba	19	José Luis Sierra
2017–18	SPL	9	26	8	9	9	34	41	-7	33	CC							Ahmed Akaïchi	10	José Luis Sierra
2018–19	MBS	10	30	9	7	14	44	45	-1	34	CC							Fahad Al-Muwallad	11	Ramón Díaz, Slaven Bilić, José Luis Sierra
2019-20	SPL	11	30	9	8	13	42	41	+1	35								Romarinho	13	José Luis Sierra, Henk ten Cate, Fábio Carille
2020-21	SPL	3	30	15	11	4	45	29	+16	56								Romarinho	16	Fábio Carille
2021-22	SPL	2	20	20	5	5	62	29	+33	65								Romarinho	20	Fábio Carille, Cosmin Contra

• AFC Champions League: 13 appearances

Rankings are calculated by the AFC.[24]

Last update: December 1, 2017

Ranking			Club	Association	Coefficient
44	15	+29			Persepolis	Iran	10.902	0	21	0	26	57.902
25	16	+9	Gamba Osaka	Japan	13.527	0	29	5	10	57.527
14	17	-3	Shandong Luneng Taishan	China	13.409	8	10	25.5	0	56.909
11	18	-7	Pohang Steelers	South Korea	18	27	0	11	0	56
19	19	—	Al-Ittihad	Saudi Arabia	13.48	23	0	15	0	51.48
22	20	+2	Al Sadd	Qatar	8.868	18	19.5	2	2	50.368

Source: Global Football Ranks