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Nuno Espirito Santo seals return to management eight months after Tottenham sacking as he joins Saudi side Al-Ittihad


FORMER Tottenham and Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been named as the new coach of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

The Portuguese will be keen to eradicate memories of his brief stay at Tottenham with a more successful stint at Al-Ittihad.

Nuno Espirito Santo had been announced as the new head coach of Al-IttihadCredit: AFP
Nuno describes Al-Ittihad as “the greatest club in Saudi Arabia”Credit: AFP

Nuno, 48, said it is an “honour” to join the Saudi side.

In a video message on the club’s Twitter account, he said: “It’s an honour for me to join the greatest club in Saudi Arabia, Ittihad. See you soon.'”

Nuno will be hoping he can lead Al-Ittihad to their first league title since 2009.

The Jeddah-based side finished second in the Saudi Pro league behind Al-Hilal, who were crowned champions for the third successive season.

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The Saudi side will be hoping Nuno’s counter-attacking style can help them replicate the success he had at Wolves.

He led the sleeping giants back into the Premier League and enjoyed back-to-back seventh place finishes as well as European qualification.

Nuno’s successful stay at the Molineux earned him a lucrative two year deal at Tottenham.

However he was sacked after just 17 games in charge in November recording nine wins, one draw and seven losses.

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He was then swiftly replaced by current Tottenham boss Antonio Conte, who led Spurs to a place in the Champions League.

Before moving to the Premier League the Sao Tome-born Portuguese boss enjoyed successful stays at Porto and Valencia.

During his one season at Porto in 2016/17 he guided the Portuguese side to second in the league as well as the last 16 in the Champions League, losing to eventual finalists Juventus.

Before moving into a managerial role Nuno enjoyed a career as a professional goalkeeper where he started at Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes and then eventually moved to sides in Spain and Russia.

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