Without a club since his dismissal from Olympique Lyonnais in September 2023, Laurent Blanc was officially appointed as the new coach of the Al-Ittihad club in Saudi Arabia this Saturday, July 13, where former French international Karim Benzema, whom he coached in the French team during Euro 2012, as well as French international N’Golo Kanté, present at Euro 2024 in Germany with the Blues, plays. The career of Laurent Blanc, 58, has been winding after this brief stint at the head of the Tricolores (2010-2012). The former world champion (1998) and European champion (2000) with Les Bleus experienced national glory but no European consecration with PSG (2013-2016), before flying to Qatar for a stint on the Al-Rayyan bench between December 2020 and February 2022 followed by his failed experience at OL. The French coach will therefore try to relaunch his career in Saudi Arabia with a club that is prestigious locally but which is coming off a completely failed and rather eventful season. Champion in 2023, Al-Ittihad only finished fifth in the Saudi League this year and did not qualify for the Asian Champions League, pushing the management to part ways with Argentinian coach Marcelo Gallardo. According to several sources, Benzema would have played an important role in the choice of Blanc. Highly criticized for his performances falling short of expectations despite a golden contract (200 million euros per season), the ex-Madrid player is said to have campaigned for the arrival of a French-speaking coach.
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