As Matthias Jaissle’s breezed triumphantly out of the stadium after Al Ahli Saudi had become Asian champions for the second time in succession in April, he did not stop for any supplementary questions in the mixed zone
Queries were still shouted his way, one louder than all the rest: “What is the secret to your success?”
After all, his side had just won the continent’s biggest game with 10 men, after one of his players saw red for a brutal headbutt, in a frenzied game in front of 60,000 in Jeddah.
All the while, their young manager maintained his typical poise, and marshalled them through to defend their title.
As he strolled on by, he looked back at the reporters, flashed a winning smile, and just said: “The fans.”
Supporters in England, who are half a world removed from Saudi Arabian football and with – understandably – barely a passing interest in it, might be surprised to hear it.
Fans? In Saudi Arabian football? Didn’t football only just start there a few years back when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived?
Well, no. Ahli are a huge club. When tickets went on sale for that AFC Champions League Elite final against Japan’s Machida Zelvia, there were over a million applicants waiting in an online queue to get one.
Al Ahli retain Asian title - in pictures
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Al Ahli players celebrate with the trophy after winning the AFC Champions League title, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Machida Zelvia at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Getty Images -
Valentin Atangana Edoa and Riyad Mahrez of Al Ahli celebrate after the team's 1-0 victory. Getty Images -
Al Ahli fans celebrate with flares inside the stadium after the match. Reuters -
Machida Zelvia goalkeeper Kosei Tani kicks the ball. AFP -
Franck Kessie of Al Ahli celebrates after seeing his side go 1-0 up. Getty Images -
Feras Al Brikan of Al Ahli celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammates. Getty Images -
Al Ahli fans at the King Abdullah Sports City. AFP -
Hotaka Nakamura of Machida Zelvia is challenged by Galeno of Al Ahli. Getty Images -
Ivan Toney of Al Ahli speaks with referee Ilgiz Tantashev during the AFC Champions League Elite Final match against Machida Zelvia. Getty Images -
Al Ahli's Zakaria Al Hawsawi is shown a red card by referee Ilgiz Tantashev. Reuters -
Firas Al Buraikan of Al Ahli is challenged by Na Sang-ho of Machida Zelvia. Getty Images -
Riyad Mahrez of Al Ahli runs with the ball. Getty Images -
Galeno of Al Ahli takes a shot while under pressure from Hotaka Nakamura of Machida Zelvia. Getty Images
Jaissle is now set to swap one voracious fan base for another. He is reportedly in line to take over as Newcastle United manager in the English Premier League after the departure of Eddie Howe.
Will Newcastle fans immediately take to the 38-year-old German? There is plenty to like.
Since the Public Investment Fund took over the running of four of Saudi Arabia’s biggest clubs in 2023, three – Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ittihad - have each had multiple managerial changes.
The fourth is Ahli, where Jaissle has been in situ from the time they bounced back to the Saudi Pro League until they established themselves as Asian champions for a second time.
It was not all plain sailing. Relatively early in his tenure, Jaissle was on the brink of being cut by Ahli, too. But the club’s fans made it clear to the board that they wanted him to stay, and so he was retained.
He had no trophies to show for his work at that point, but the fans were with him.
He did not forget that – hence the immediate deference to them when that second Champions League title had been sealed.
He could just as easily have said his players. Team spirit might be a myth glimpsed in the aftermath of victory, but Jaissle certainly appeared to have forged a strong one at Ahli.
No mean feat when throwing together a team of disparate backgrounds, and with a wildly fluctuating wage bill. The have-lots of the Ahli first-team squad were tight with the have-nots, which is not always a given.
That says much about Jaissle’s emotional IQ. He knew how to handle self-starters like Franck Kessie and Edouard Mendy, just as well as he did unvarnished firebrands like Zakaria Al Hawsawi, the talented Saudi full-back who threw that headbutt in the final.
Tactically, Jaissle likes to invoke a Ralf Rangnick-inspired, high intensity pressing game. He has said in the past he wants to stress the opposition, and attack as soon as possession has been retrieved.
That was a trademark of his double Asian champions. But, in Asian football, that is easy to do with a line up that includes players of the calibre Roger Ibanez, Riyad Mahrez, Kessie and Ivan Toney – which was the spine of his Ahli side.
In the Premier League, every opposition will be at least that stacked. While many of the best paid players in the world do ply their trade in Saudi Arabia, those high-profile stars – many of whom are ageing – are concentrated into half a dozen or so clubs.
Toney had some rose-tinted glasses on when he said that Al Ahli would be challenging for the top four if they played in the Premier League.
Quite what playing resources Jaissle will start out with at St James’ Park remains to be seen. Anthony Gordon would have thrived in a Jaissle side, but he has gone. Bruno Guimaraes seems to be agitating to do the same.
It doesn’t take a big leap of imagination to think Jaissle might want to take Toney with him to the UK’s northeast. The ultimate paymasters are already the same, after all.
And it would be a neat bookend to Toney’s story, returning to a club he first joined 11 years ago. He did not make it at Newcastle, but has flourished since, become a full international, and would surely relish another crack at the Premier League.
Another thing Jaissle has is main character energy. With his slicked back hair, trim physique and sharply tailored suits, he will dominate the technical area with a greater certainty than even Jason Tisdale could manage.
Newcastle supporters might have misgivings about where Jaissle is arriving from. But there have been precedents for being optimistic that it could work.
Arsene Wenger may be a dated parallel to make now. But he is proof that a little-known, suave and urbane manager arriving from an upstart Asian league can make an impact on the Premier League.
It may be an unfair comparison, given Wenger’s legacy in the English game. But do not underestimate Jaissle. There is substance to what he is bringing with him.
