Al Shabab appoint Turkish legend Fatih Terim | OneFootball

Roshn Saudi League side Al Shabab announced on Saturday the appointment of Turkish icon Fatih Terim is new head coach, replacing Vitor Pereira in the dugout of the Riyadh club.

Terim, 71, is largely considered the greatest manager Türkiye has produced having led Galatasaray to become the first, and to date only, Turkish club to win a UEFA competition when they defeated Arsenal to be crowned 2000 UEFA Cup champions.

Known for his high-tempo football and passionate approach to man-management, Terim led his country to their first-ever UEFA European Championship appearance at UEFA Euro 1996. He took charge of Türkiye twice more at Euro 2008 and 2016, reaching an all-time best result of semi-finals in the former.

At club level, Terim added eight Turkish Super Lig titles to his European triumph with Galatasaray during four different spells in charge of the Istanbul club he represented as a player. Terim also enjoyed management spells at Serie A sides Fiorentina and AC Milan around the turn of the millennium, while most recently he has been in charge of Greek giants Panathinaikos.

Al Shabab had parted ways with Portuguese boss Pereira earlier this month, with the Portuguese going on to be installed as manager of Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has already won his first two matches in England.

Terim’s new charges currently sit sixth in the 2024-25 RSL table, five points off AFC Champions League Elite places, having lost only one of their past five matches. The Turk faces a major challenge on his RSL debut, with Al Shabab taking on an in-form Al Ahli side featuring compatriot Merih Demiral on January 10.