Stefano Pioli leaves position as Al Nassr head coach
Former AC Milan manager Pioli joined the club three matches into the 2024-25 SPL campaign, succeeding Luis Castro who had guided the team to one win and two draws in the season's opening weeks.
The move came just less than four months after Pioli had stepped down from his role as Milan's head coach, following a near-five year spell which saw him guide the club to a first Scudetto in 11 years in 2022. He also led Milan to the Champions League semi-final in 2022-23, where they eventually suffered a 3-0 aggregate defeat to city rivals Inter.
Al Nassr, who boast the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jhon Duran, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte in their squad, finished third in the Saudi Arabian top-flight last season with 70 points from 34 matches — 13 points behind champions Al Ittihad.
The club also confirmed the departure of Pioli's backroom staff: 'We would like to thank Mr Pioli and his staff for their dedicated work during the past season,' said an Al Nassr statement.
Pioli has vast experience in coaching Italian clubs with stints at Fiorentina, Inter, Lazio and Bologna in the past 14 years.
Advertisement
Since his departure from Milan, the club have dismissed their two subsequent appointments, Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao. The Serie A giants finished eighth in the Italian top-flight last season and will not play European football next season. Massimiliano Allegri will lead Milan into the 2025-26 season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool vs AC Milan: Friendly prediction, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results, odds
Liverpool continue their preparations for the 2025-26 season with a high-profile friendly against AC Milan in Hong Kong this weekend. The Reds departed for Asia last Sunday after thrashing Stoke City in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the AXA training centre. Arne Slot's side can expect to face a step up in opposition on Saturday, though supporters will be excited to get a first glimpse of a new signing as well as seeing the likes of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez in action once again. This is the first of two matches in Asia for the reigning Premier League champions as they are coming up against Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan next week. Milan head into the friendly on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in midweek as Max Allegri - back for a second spell in charge - gets to work on the squad he inherited over the summer. Date, kick-off time and venue Liverpool vs AC Milan is scheduled for a 12.30pm BST kick-off (UK time) on Saturday, July 26, 2025. The match will take place at the Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong. Where to watch Liverpool vs AC Milan TV channel: In the UK, the game will not be televised live. Live stream: Viewers will be able to stream the game live on All Red Video. A monthly subscription costs £4.99. Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport's live blog! Liverpool vs AC Milan team news Liverpool initially named a 29-man squad for their Asia tour, but there has since been a major addition with Hugo Ekitike completing his move from Eintracht Frankfurt. The Frenchman has joined up with his new teammates in Hong Kong and should be in line to make an appearance on Saturday. Alisson, Alexis MacAllister and Luis Diaz could some minutes under their belts, while talented youngster Rio Ngumoha could get another chance to impress after scoring against Stoke last time out. Milan have reported no fresh injury concerns following the loss to Arsenal but they did confirm the signing of Pervis Estupinan from Brighton on Thursday and it remains to be seen if he will be in contention for a debut against Liverpool. Liverpool vs AC Milan prediction Milan, for large spells, gave a good account of themselves against Arsenal but lacked a cutting edge in attack. That was to be expected with no senior centre-forward named in the tour squad. Coming up against a Liverpool team that are top-heavy in attack will represent a different task for the Serie A giants entirely. Of course, the result is not important as Slot will be using this fixture to build up match fitness for his player and also experiment with formation and personnel. Still, the Reds should have too much quality. Liverpool to win, 3-0. Head to head (h2h) history and results These two European giants traded Champions League final wins in 2005 and 2007 but it is Liverpool who have won the last three meetings in a row. Liverpool wins: 3 AC Milan wins: 1 Draws: 1 Liverpool vs AC Milan match odds Liverpool to win: TBC AC Milan to win: TBC Draw: TBC Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Liverpool tour diary: Slot's shift from Klopp time, Mac Allister's Cantonese and loans latest
Arne Slot made some subtle changes on and off the pitch during his 2024-25 debut year as he led Liverpool to Premier League title glory and he has now tweaked how they approach pre-season tours, too. When the club travelled to Asia on such trips during predecessor Jurgen Klopp's reign, the players were put on 'tour time' for the duration rather than adjusting fully to the actual time difference between the UK and wherever they were. The idea was to reduce the impact of jet lag. Advertisement Hong Kong is seven hours ahead of the UK, so the squad would previously have been told to set their watches only three hours ahead of the time on Merseyside. The clocks in their rooms and in communal areas at the team hotel were also changed accordingly. It meant there was often the strange sight of players having breakfast at what was actually lunchtime and their evening meal late at night. However, 'tour time' has been ditched under Slot, with Liverpool's schedule in Hong Kong on their current tour all in sync with local time. It has made life easier for staff, who previously had to juggle events across two different time zones, and has gone down well with the players. Tuesday was a good example of why this change is working out. Being on local time meant Liverpool trained in the morning, before the heavens opened. It is common during monsoon season here for there to be heavy rainfall later in the day. By then, the players were under cover, attending various meet-and-greet events with sponsors such as Standard Chartered, Nike and Carlsberg. The mood in the camp is certainly more buoyant than Liverpool's previous visit to Hong Kong, in 2017, when the weather was so bad that several training sessions were cancelled. Klopp also had to deal with key player Philippe Coutinho agitating for a move to Barcelona. The Brazilian finally got his wish six months later. Eight years on, there has been no such disruption, and Liverpool also have the daily backup option of training inside the new Kai Tak Stadium, which has a retractable roof and air-conditioning. On Wednesday, when Slot oversaw a gruelling double session, they used the pitch next to the stadium in the adjacent sports park. Luis Diaz's future may be uncertain amid Bayern Munich's ongoing pursuit but there has been no sign on this tour of the Colombian attacker downing tools to try to force a move. He has been the same bubbly personality as normal around the squad, and you certainly couldn't question his commitment during Thursday's open session. Diaz wowed a 25,000 crowd with some mazy runs down the left flank during the training drills. At one point, he hit the deck after tangling with Mohamed Salah and claimed he had been fouled. Slot smiled and gestured to Diaz that he'd dived. The former Porto winger saw the funny side and high-fived the Dutchman as he jogged past him. Diaz was down on the turf again soon after, having been too quick for Wataru Endo, who apologised for a late challenge. Cody Gakpo also stood out with some clinical finishing, while there were some lovely touches from newcomer Florian Wirtz, who was operating centrally as a No 10. The only concern for Slot ahead of Saturday's 50,000 sell-out against Milan here was the sight of the stadium's pitch cutting up a fair bit as the session progressed. New striker Hugo Ekitike watched on, having just flown in following the completion of his £79million ($107m) move from Germany's Eintracht Frankfurt. Hugo Ekitike walks out on to the training pitch in Hong Kong. A warm embrace from Arne Slot and then he meets his new team-mates for the first time. #LFC — James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) July 24, 2025 As the session came to a close, the 23-year-old Frenchman walked onto the pitch. Slot embraced him and then he went around meeting his new team-mates, who he joined on a lap of appreciation for the fans. Ekitike has been given No 54 as a temporary squad number, with no official confirmation of the shirts Liverpool's new signings will wear in the coming season expected until after the new kit deal with Adidas is launched next month. Hundreds of fans have been camped outside the team hotel on the stunning Kowloon waterfront in the hope of catching a glimpse of their heroes. Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk delighted them by going across for a lengthy signing session. Some of the throng have been holding up Diogo Jota No 20 shirts in tribute to the Portugal international, who died in a car accident in Spain earlier this month. Hong Kong Reds intend to perform Jota's fan chant during the 20th minute of Saturday's game. Advertisement Understandably, the demands on Liverpool's players in terms of corporate events and media duties on this trip have been scaled back as they continue to grieve for a much-loved colleague and friend. Kostas Tsimikas now has a permanent reminder of Jota — a tattoo on the back of his left hand which reads: 'Wish you were here 20'. Liverpool are contractually obliged to hold one press conference in Hong Kong and another in Japan before the other game of this trip against Yokohama F. Marinos there next week. Slot will be doing them post-match in both destinations rather than before. Salah has previous for winning table-tennis tournaments on Liverpool pre-season tours, and he remains the man to beat. He has been lighting up the ping-pong contests among the squad in the team hotel. Playing the card game Uno is another popular pastime for the squad during down time. Some brought a PlayStation with them from home to set up in their rooms. Alexis Mac Allister received a warm ovation from the locals by speaking Cantonese during a corporate event for Carlsberg. 'I love you' and 'cheers' were two of the phrases the Argentina midfielder nailed, pronunciation-wise. The host informed him he was a natural. Mac Allister wasn't involved in Thursday's open training as Liverpool continue to carefully manage his workload following the injury which ruled him out for the final two games of last season. He sat watching instead, having done an individual session earlier in the day. With all of Slot's senior stars available for this tour, a lot of talented Liverpool youngsters were left behind on Merseyside. However, two who were included in the travelling party have been earning rave reviews here. Midfielder Trey Nyoni and winger Rio Ngumoha have impressed staff with their attitude and application as well as their technical ability. Both appear to have made strides physically in terms of being better able to handle the demands of senior football. Advertisement Nyoni was rewarded with a contract on improved terms when he turned 18 last month, while Ngumoha will sign his first professional deal when he celebrates his 17th birthday next month. 'Training with the best team in the world so young, it's like every kid's dream, really. (Have to) Just keep on pushing now,' Ngumoha told LFCTV. 'The sessions are intense and tough, but it's been very good. Patience is key. I don't want to rush anything. I'm young, so I'll just keep working hard, showing the manager what I can really do.' Salah is a source of great support for the youngsters and provides advice on recovery and diet. Striker Jayden Danns and midfielder James McConnell were among the academy graduates who did not fly out to Hong Kong. Given the attacking options Slot already possesses, it was decided Danns would be better off staying behind to train with the under-21s at Kirkby. The 19-year-old is still building up his fitness after last season was wrecked by a back injury. A loan is on the cards, and the same goes for McConnell, who was not in the tour squad due to a minor injury issue. There is plenty of interest in borrowing him among clubs in the second-tier Championship, with the 20-year-old set to sign a new contract before he goes.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Saudi Football Club Acquired by Harburg in First Foreign Deal
A Saudi Pro League football club has been acquired by Harburg Group, the global sports firm founded by foreign investor Ben Harburg, in the first deal of its kind for the kingdom. Harburg Group completed the outright acquisition of Al-Kholood Club in a transaction led by the Saudi Ministry of Sport and the Saudi National Center for Privatization, according to statements on Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
