| Full name | Ittihad FC of Jeddah – نادي الاتحاد | |||
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| Nickname(s) | "Itti" (إتي), "The Tigers" (النمور) |
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| Founded | 1927 [1] | |||
| Ground | Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Capacity: 20,000) |
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| Chairman | Mohammed Bin Dakhel | |||
| Head Coach | Matjaž Kek | |||
| League | Saudi Premier League | |||
| 2010–11 | Saudi Premier League, 2nd | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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Ittihad Football Club (Arabic: نادي الاتحاد) or Ittihad Jeddah or Al-Ittihad (abbr. Itti) is a Saudi Arabian sports club based in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. Officially formed in 1927, it is the oldest surviving club in Saudi Arabia, and one of the most popular and successful in Asia.
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In 1927 a group of young men from Jeddah decided to hold a meeting to discuss the establishment of a local Jeddah football (soccer) club. The attendees were Hamza Fitaihi, the "actual founder", Abdulsamad Najeeb Alsaady, Ismail Zahran, Ali Yamani, Abdulazeez Jameel, Abdulateef Jameel, Othman Banajah, Ahmad Abu Talib, Ali Sultan, Ahmed Almir and Saleh Salamah.
The name was coined by Abdulazeez Jameel who was quoted as saying "Since we're gathered here united, let's call it United," Ittihad meaning united in Arabic. The late Ali Sultan was named as the club's first president, and Hasan Fitaihi was the first known fund contributor to the club.
In 1927 Ittihad played their first game against rivals al-Riyadhi and won 3–0. al-Riyadhi disbanded soon afterwards, leaving Ittihad as the only surviving club from the early days.
By the 1930s many clubs were formed and challenge tournaments were regularly held, often sponsored by local businessmen. In 1937, Ittihad played their first game against eternal rival, Al-ahly (which ended in a draw). Football continued to be played on an unofficial basis until 1957 when the Saudi Football Federation was formed, and football clubs officially recognised. The first official tournament was held in that year, the King's cup, which was the premier competition until the formation of the national league in 1975. Ittihad didn't win the inaugural tournament, but did win it the next year, making it the first official trophy that Ittihad won.
In the mid seventies, the large oil boom allowed the Saudi government to lavish on sport. The General Presidency of youth welfare was formed, and existing football clubs were put under its control and turned into multi-sport clubs. al-Ittihad (as well as all other clubs) was transformed to the modern club that it is today.
in 1966, Ittihad beat rival Al-ahli 8–2. Saeed Gurab, one of the best players in Saudi fotball history, scored 6 goals in that match.
There are other matches that Ittihad made black marks in Al-ahli history, like in 1959 when Ittihad won 7–0. The goals were scored by Sayed Mostafa (3), Omar Rajkahn, Abdulmajeed Rajkahn, Gazi Nasser, and Abdulrazag Bakr.
Also another match Between the two Jeddah clubs in took place 1950, where Ittihad player Abdulhafeeth Mergni scored an overwhelming goal which caused Al-ahly players to forfeit the match and never complete it. The match was for prizes from prince Abdulla Al Faysal.
Ittihad is successful not just in football, but in basketball, water polo, table tennis, volleyball, and swimming, amongst others. In all, Ittihad has won 661 trophies. However, football remains the primary sport.
Ittihad is now based in Sahafa street, Mushrefa district, in east Jeddah, where they have a large sports complex. Senior teams play official games at the municipal sports centre, in the south of the city, while youth teams play at the club.
The club is renowned throughout the region for its fans. They are particularly famous for their loyalty and chants, which are copied by many others. The head of the Ittihad fan club, Saleh al-Qarni, even records studio versions of the year's chants which are widely sold in Jeddah and beyond.
In December 2006, the club offered what was thought to be the most lucrative deal in Arabian football to Portuguese midfielder Luís Figo. It was said that Luís Figo will join the club on July 1, 2007 after his current contract with Internazionale expires. However, not long after, Figo's current club, Internazionale released report that Figo had yet to sign a contract with Al-Ittihad and will not be joining. Figo has since extended his contract at Inter till the end of the 2007–2008 season citing that the terms of the agreement were not kept and thus voided the contract.
In January 2010 the club convened an extraordinary club meeting after losing their 4th game of the 2009/2010 season 1–2 to Al-Nasr. A decision was made to sack the head coach Gabriel Calderón and replace him with local coach Hassan Khalifa assisted by former striker Hamzah Idris.[2] On January 27, 2010, the club hired Argentinean coach Enzo Trossero to take over the reins of the team.
In a press conference on January 9, 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 currently wear Saudi Telecom Company logo on their team kit.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| No | Name | From | To |
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| 1 | Ali Sultan | 1927 | 1930 |
| 2 | Abdulaziz Jameel | 1930 | 1934 |
| 3 | Hamza Fitaihi | 1934 | 1937 |
| 4 | Mohamed Saeed Firaij | 1937 | 1949 |
| - | Abdulaziz Jameel | 1949 | 1950 |
| 5 | Abdul Rahman molla | 1950 | 1950 |
| 6 | Suliman Turki | 1950 | 1954 |
| 7 | Abdul Hamid Mashkhas | 1954 | 1956 |
| 8 | Abdul Latif Linjawi | 1956 | 1959 |
| 9 | Abdul Razzaq Almatbuli | 1959 | 1960 |
| - | Yousef Khalawi | 1960 | 1962 |
| 10 | Fathi Abdul Jadael | 1962 | 1966 |
| 11 | Yusuf Altawil | 1966 | 1967 |
| 12 | Ghazi Sultan | 1968 | 1970 |
| 13 | Mazen Rasad Pharaon | 1970 | 1973 |
| 14 | Ismael Mannaa | 1973 | 1974 |
| 15 | H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Mansour | 25 Nov 1974 | 1981 |
| 16 | Sheikh Ibrahim Al Affendi | 1981 | 1983 |
| - | H.R.H. Prince Talal Bin Mansour | 1983 | 1985 |
| 17 | Abdul Fattah Nazer | 1985 | 1987 |
| 18 | Eng. Hasan Linjawi | 1988 | 1989 |
| - | Abdul Fattah Nazer | 1989 | 1990 |
| 19 | Dr. Adnan Jamjoum | 1990 | 1991 |
| 20 | Ahmed Masoud | 1991 | 1993 |
| - | Abdul Fattah Nazer | 1993 | 1994 |
| - | Adnan Jamjoum | 1994 | 1996 |
| 21 | Talaat Allaame | 1996 | 1999 |
| - | Ahmed Masoud | 1999 | 2002 |
| 22 | Eng. Hasan Jamjoum | 2002 | 2003 |
| 23 | Jamal Abuemarh | 2003 | 2003 |
| 24 | Mansour Albalawi | 1 Jul 2003 | 24 Nov 2007 |
| - | Jamal Abuemarh | 24 Nov 2007 | 1 Jun 2009 |
| 25 | Dr. Khaled Almarzouki | 8 Jul 2009 | 29 May 2010 |
| 26 | Ibrahim Aloun | 28 Jun 2010 | Jul 4, 2011 |
| 27 | Major General Mohammed Bin Dakhel Al-Juhani | Jul 4, 2011 | Present |
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| Season | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | GD | P | CC | CPC | PFC | ARCL | ACL | Manager |
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| 2000/01 | SPL | 4 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 23 | +9 | 35 | W | |||||
| 2001/02 | SPL | 2 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 59 | 25 | +34 | 49 | R | |||||
| 2002/03 | SPL | 1 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 49 | SF | SF | ||||
| 2003/04 | SPL | 1 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 57 | 15 | +42 | 56 | W | GS | W | Dragan Talajić | ||
| 2004/05 | SPL | 3 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 38 | SF | GS | W | W | ||
| 2005/06 | SPL | 3 | 22 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 28 | +19 | 42 | QF | GS | QF | |||
| 2006/07 | SPL | 1 | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 52 | 25 | +27 | 48 | R | R | ||||
| 2007/08 | SPL | 2 | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 48 | R | QF | GS | GS | Calderón | |
| 2008/09 | SPL | 1 | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 21 | +36 | 55 | R | QF | SF | R | Calderón | |
| 2009/10 | SPL | 2 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 45 | W | GS | GS | Calderón/Trossero | ||
| 2010/11 | SPL | 2 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 49 | 23 | +26 | 51 | R | QF | José / Dimitri |
Last updated: 4 June 2009
Div. = Division;SPL = Saudi Premier League; Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost
GS = Goal Scored; GA = Goal Against; GD = Goal difference P = Points
CC = Champions Cup; CPC = Crown Prince Cup; PFC = Prince Faisal Cup
ARCL = Arab Champions League; ACL = AFC Champions League
Colors: Gold = winner; Silver = runner-up.
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Al-Ain |
Champions of Asia 2004 |
Succeeded by Holders |
| Preceded by Holders |
Champions of Asia 2005 |
Succeeded by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Preceded by Al Nassr |
Asian Cup Winners' Cup Runner up: Chunnam Dragons 1999 |
Succeeded by Shimizu S-Pulse |
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