Jeddah United announced on Wednesday that former AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao has been appointed as manager. He will succeed Laurent Blanc and will hold the helm until 2028.

The announcement read: "Club CEO Domingos Oliveira warmly welcomed Conceicao's arrival and wished him and the entire team to live up to the fans' expectations and return to the ranks of strong teams to match Jeddah United's glorious history, excellent technical and tactical level and lineup advantages."

Officials also confirmed that Conceicao's accompanying team includes his assistant coaches Fabio Moura and Joao Costa, assistant coach and analyst Sirramana Dembélé, goalkeeping coaches Diamantino Figueiredo and Vedran Rooney, and fitness coach Vitor Bruno.

Conceicao, 50, is a representative of Portugal's "Golden Generation." After retiring in 2009, he transitioned into management and coaching. He initially served as technical director at PAOK and subsequently coached at various teams, including Orléans, the University of Coimbra, Sporting Braga, Guimarães, Nantes, and Porto.

During his time at Porto, Conceicao led the team to three Portuguese Primeira Liga titles, four Portuguese Cups, one Portuguese League Cup, and three Portuguese Super Cups, becoming one of the most influential coaches in the Portuguese league. He succeeded Paulo Fonseca as AC Milan manager in December 2024 and won the Italian Super Cup shortly after taking office.

However, AC Milan subsequently failed to perform as expected under the pressure of competing on multiple fronts. They ultimately finished the 2024/25 season in eighth place in Serie A and were eliminated in the knockout play-offs of the Champions League.

For Jeddah United, Conceicao's first task after taking office is to lead the team to reverse the unfavorable situation at the start of this season: Jeddah United is currently ranked only third in the Saudi Professional League and is on the verge of being eliminated in the AFC Champions League.