Jens Wissing Sends Early Message at Al-Ittihad
Jens Wissing sent a clear early-season message at Al-Ittihad – and George Ilenikhena was on the wrong end of it.
For the club’s Roshn Saudi League opener at home to Al-Khaleej on Saturday at Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, the German coach built his first domestic line-up around Youssef En-Nesyri and left his Nigerian striker out in the cold. Not just on the bench. Out of the squad altogether.
En-Nesyri gets the nod
Wissing pinned his attack on En-Nesyri as a classic central striker, trusting the Moroccan to lead the line with pace and presence. Either side of him, he unleashed real width and direct running: Moussa Diaby on one flank, Steven Bergwijn on the other.
That front three instantly set the tone. It was a selection that screamed hierarchy. En-Nesyri as the reference point. Diaby and Bergwijn tasked with stretching Al-Khaleej and feeding their No. 9.
Ilenikhena, who had at least earned minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Al-Jazira of the UAE in the AFC Champions League Elite play-off qualifier, paid the price. His cameo there was not enough to even secure a place among the substitutes in the league curtain-raiser.
Defensive shake-up, midfield continuity
He was not alone in feeling the axe. Serbian defender Jan-Carlo Simić, a starter in that Al-Jazira victory, also disappeared from the matchday list. Wissing chose a different route at the back, turning instead to Ahmed Al-Julaidan at right-back.
Al-Julaidan returned to the XI to form a reshaped back four with left-back Faris Abdi and the central defensive pairing of Danilo Pereira and Stefan Keller. The message was as firm at the back as it was up front: reputations from the last match did not guarantee anything.
In midfield, though, Wissing refused to tinker. He kept faith with the same trio that controlled proceedings against Al-Jazira: Farha Al-Shamrani, Dion Lopy and Houssem Aouar. That engine room remained intact, a sign that he liked the balance, the structure and the rhythm they offered.
Al-Ittihad’s line-up was as follows: En-Nesyri spearheading the attack, Diaby and Bergwijn on the wings, Aouar, Lopy and Al-Shamrani in midfield, with Al-Julaidan, Pereira, Keller and Abdi across the back.
On opening day, Wissing drew his first hard lines. For Ilenikhena and Simić, the question now is simple: how quickly can they force their way back into a squad that already looks brutally competitive?
