Although Al Ittihad only officially sacked former coach Marcelo Gallardo on July 2, the writing was on the wall for the Argentine after he only mustered a fifth-placed Saudi Pro League finish. Al Ittihad’s defense of its 2022-23 title ended with a whimper in May, a trophyless season meaning Gallardo’s job was always in jeopardy.

The search for his replacement began well before the July announcement and after Louay Nazer was named Al Ittihad’s new president last month, he put former AC Milan manager Stefan Pioli at the top of his shortlist. Until as recently as last week, Pioli was widely being reported as Gallardo’s replacement but when Nazer surprisingly left his post, the goalposts shifted.

On Saturday, Al Ittihad confirmed that it had decided to instead appoint Laurent Blanc, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain, Bordeaux and France national team coach. The 58-year-old arrives in Jeddah with a fine coaching pedigree, notably in his homeland.

In his first post , Blanc guided Bordeaux to its first Ligue 1 title in a decade and the club has not won the league since. With PSG, Blanc added three more championships and a further eight trophies in an impressive three-year spell.

The silverware has dried up somewhat since then, with Blanc taking a four-year coaching hiatus between 2016 and 2020 before returning to football with Qatari side Al Rayyan. This was followed by a difficult stint at Lyon that ended last September.

There is no question though that Blanc, nicknamed Le President during his playing days because of his superior leadership, is a born winner. Over a glittering 20-year career, Blanc was considered one of the best center-backs in world football and collected trophies in France, Spain and finally England - retiring after helping Manchester United claim the 2002-03 Premier League title.

It was with the French national team that he enjoyed most success, however. Although Didier Deschamps was Les Bleus captain for the back-to-back triumphs at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship, Blanc’s defensive leadership was vital.

During the FIFA World Cup on home soil, he began an iconic ritual of kissing goalkeeper Fabien Barthez’s bald head before every match for luck; it worked, with France winning the tournament and Blanc even scoring the World Cup’s first ever golden goal as France beat Paraguay in the last-16.

As Al Ittihad coach, Blanc’s first order of business will be to transform the fortunes of star striker and club captain Karim Benzema and get him scoring regularly again. Benzema endured a difficult first season in the Kingdom and reportedly supported the appointment of a French-speaking coach; Al Ittihad fans will be hoping Blanc - who successfully handled the big personality of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG - can get the best out of their forward.

Blanc worked with Benzema during his time as France boss between 2010 and 2012, restoring the striker to his squad after he had been exiled by former coach Raymond Domenech following an ugly player revolt at the 2010 World Cup. Benzema netted seven goals during Blanc’s two-year tenure, though he failed to score as Les Bleus were knocked out by eventual winner Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

Legendary France midfielder Zinedine Zidane is among those to have previously praised Blanc’s qualities, saying that “having Laurent Blanc as your coach is a big deal” and describing his ex-teammate as a “leader to push you and help a team develop together.”

Blanc will certainly need to harness those characteristics to improve the belief of the Al Ittihad squad he has inherited, which struggled for confidence under both Nuno Espirito Santo and then Gallardo last season. In terms of football style, Blanc prefers to play in possession and has described how representing some of Europe’s biggest clubs has influenced his approach to coaching.

“For me, playing football means having the ball, conjuring moves, harnessing your strengths, posing problems to your opponents, scoring goals and taking risks,” Blanc said in an interview with The Guardian. "Obviously I want my team to win, but I also want them to play ball. That’s a state of mind, a fundamental principle, and Manchester United and Barcelona share it.”

Al Ittihad supporters will also be waiting eagerly to see how Blanc manages the integration of talented Saudi youngsters like Farhah al-Shamrani and Talal Haji, who were both given several first-team opportunities by Gallardo last season. Blanc does have a solid record of bringing through academy prospects, having given debuts to France internationals Adrien Rabiot, Kingsley Coman and Presnel Kimpembe, the latter of whom won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Blanc’s work begins immediately at Al Ittihad’s pre-season training camp in southern Spain, though he will initially be without compatriot N’Golo Kante - the midfielder given extra time off after helping France reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024.

Otherwise, Al Ittihad should have a full complement of players, with the Blanc era set to begin with a tricky pre-season friendly against seven-time Europa League winner Sevilla on July 29 at the iconic Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.

The Frenchman’s first competitive fixture will be a seemingly favorable Saudi Pro League opener against newly promoted Al Kholood before a home match against last season’s surprise package Al Taawoun in Jeddah. It will provide an early opportunity for Blanc to show that he can positively impact Al Ittihad and turn the team into contenders for the title once again.