The mid-season break traditionally brings with it the January transfer window, a time for clubs to take stock of their playing roster and recruit additional talent as they strive to maximise opportunities in the second half of the campaign.
But it’s also a chance for clubs to change course in the dugout. This 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season has been no different, with no fewer than four coaching changes since the end of Matchweek 13 in December.
As the RSL prepares to resume on Thursday, we take a look at the quartet of new managers and what they face first up in Matchweek 14 - and, in turn, across the remainder of the season.
Fatih Terim - Al Shabab
After Vitor Pereira departed to take up an opportunity with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League, the Riyadh club, currently sixth in the table, were in search of a new manager. To much fanfare, they settled on Turkish legend Terim.
For 20 years, from 2002 to 2022, the now 71-year-old alternated between coaching Galatasaray and the Turkish national team, winning eight Turkish Super Lig titles. He also took his country to the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championships in 2008.
Having most recently enjoyed a spell in Greece with Panathinaikos, Terim arrives in Riyadh ready to propel Al Shabab as they eye a top-three finish. To that end, it’s been a good start to the season, with the capital club winning seven of their first 13 to sit within five points of Al Qadsiah in third.
In his first league game in charge - he took charge of Monday's 2-1 win in the King's Cup quarter-final against Al Fayha - Terim can strike a blow against one of the teams competing against Al Shabab for that spot, when they travel to Jeddah to take on Al Ahli on Friday.
Victory against the side one place above them would not only be the ideal start for Terim, but also see Al Shabab leapfrog Al Ahli in the standings.
Nuno Almeida - Damac
After almost 24 months in charge, Damac said farewell to Romanian Cosmin Contra, replacing him with Portuguese coach Almeida.
Almeida, 52, arrives in Saudi Arabia as a largely unknown quantity given his experience mostly as an assistant coach. While he had one brief stint as head coach of Pharco FC in Egypt, for the remainder of his career he has worked as an assistant to Jesualdo Ferreira at clubs such as Sporting Lisbon, Braga, Zamalek, and Al Sadd.
While this is Almeida’s first role in Saudi Arabia, his experience in Egypt and Qatar has given him an introduction to Arab football, while he’ll also encounter a familiar face in Tarek Hamed. The two worked together briefly at Egyptian giants Zamalek, although this time Almeida steps out on his own - and into a club that has endured a mixed start to the season.
Entrenched in mid-table, Damac have the talent to push for more, especially with the form of Georges-Kevin N'Koudou, who has six goals in his past eight RSL matches (and eight overall this term).
A trip to Buraidah on Friday waits in Almeida’s first assignment, against an Al Raed side only one point below. Thus, an opening win would increase that buffer to the lower reaches of the table.
Jose Gomes - Al Fateh
The 54-year-old Portuguese is no stranger to the RSL, with this marking his fifth stint in charge of a club in the league.
He first landed in the Kingdom in 2014, spending almost two years at Al Taawoun before a brief stint in charge of Al Ahli, where he won his first piece of silverware by leading the team to the Saudi Super Cup in London.
A short stint in the UAE with Baniyas followed, before Gomes returned to Al Taawoun between 2017 and 2018, and then came back Buraidah for a third time in 2021. Most recently, he was in charge of Egypt's Zamalek, winning the CAF Confederations Cup and CAF Super Cup.
So, if anyone can pull Al Fateh out of the relegation quagmire – they lie at the foot of the table – it is Gomes, who knows the league and the landscape well. He’ll have his work cut out, however, with Al Fateh recording a solitary win in their opening 13 games.
The only way is up, of course, and in the league’s opening game back on Thursday they face fellow strugglers Al Wehda, who languish also in the relegation zone. Victory, therefore, would see Almeida’s new side leapfrog the Mecca club and drag themselves off the bottom of the standings.
Pedro Emanuel - Al Fayha
Like Portuguese compatriot Gomes, Emanuel is also no stranger to the RSL, with this marking his fourth stint in Saudi Arabia.
Also like Gomes, his first came at Al Taawoun; in fact, Emanuel replaced his countryman in 2018 and went on to oversee the club's greatest achievement: winning the King’s Cup in 2019, where they defeated Al Ittihad 2-1 in the final.
Since, Emanuel spent time with Almeria in the Spanish Segunda Division and then Al Ain in UAE, before returning to the RSL with Al Nassr, albeit briefly, in 2021. His most recent assignment came in charge of Al Khaleej, finishing at the end of last season after two years in charge. He had guided the club to a respectable 11th.
Now Emanuel takes over an Al Fayha side - he replaces Greek coach Christos Kontis - staring at relegation, as they sit one place off the bottom but firmly in the drop zone. Like Al Fateh, they have a single win from 13.
Unlike the other new managers who this week face teams around them in the table, Emanuel is confronted with the daunting prospect of a visit from the league leaders, Al Ittihad on Saturday night. Assignments don’t get any bigger than that.
