Saad Al-Shehri

He formerly played for Al-Ettifaq, Al-Nassr, Al-Qadsiah, Al-Jubail, and Al-Thoqbah. He was a member of the Saudi Arabia U20 national team in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري .. قصة نجاح بدأت من الصفر|url=https://arabic.sport360.com/article/football/%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9/894490/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A3%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%88}}

Saad Al-Shehri began his managerial career with the Eastern Region Education Team in 2008. The team consisted of many players who would go on and become Saudi internationals including Yasser Al-Shahrani, Abdullah Al-Hafith, Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim, Ali Al-Zubaidi and Mohammed Al-Fatil. Al-Shehri won Schools Football League with Eastern Region Education Team, and he received praise from former Saudi national team manager Khalil Al-Zayani.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري.. من مدرب لـ"تعليم المنطقة الشرقية" إلى مونديال كوريا |url=https://sabq.org/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D9%84%D9%80-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7}} In 2010, Al-Shehri signed a contract to manage Al-Qadsiah's U17 team. With Al-Qadsiah, Al-Shehri achieved promotion from the Regional League to the U17 Premier League. The following season under Al-Shehri's supervision, Al-Qadsiah managed to avoid relegation and remain in the U17 Premier League. In the 2011–12 season, Al-Qadsiah won the U19 Premier League with Al-Shehri as manager.{{cite web |title=بالخمسة في شباك الشباب .. القادسية بطل دوري الشباب |url=https://arriyadiyah.com/amp/401389}} Al-Shehri then moved on to work as an assistant manager for Saudi Arabia U20 and won the U17 GCC Championship.

On May 28, 2013, Al-Shehri was appointed as the manager of Al-Nassr's U19 team.{{cite web |title=اتفق المشرف على درجة الشباب عبدالله العمراني على تعيين المدرب الوطني سعد الشهري مدربا لشباب النصر الموسم المقبل ..|url=https://twitter.com/_Faresnajd/status/339380135578976256}} He led Al-Nassr to the U19 Premier League championship in the 2014–2015 season. Following the expiry of his contract with the U20 national team, Al-Shehri signed with Al-Nahda on June 16, 2017.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري مدرباً للنهضة|url=https://sport.al-marsd.com/38481/}} However, the contract was canceled for administrative reasons on July 13, 2017.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري يفسخ عقده مع النهضة|url=https://sport.al-marsd.com/42812/}} On July 15, 2017, Al-Shehri signed a contract to manage Al-Ettifaq's U23 team.{{cite web |title=إدارة نادي #الاتفاق تتعاقد مع المدرب الوطني سعد الشهري لتدريب الفريق الأولمبي لمدة موسم رياضي|url=https://twitter.com/Ettifaq/status/886277728881844224}}

On June 28, 2015, Al-Shehri was appointed as the Saudi Arabia U20 national team manager.{{cite web |title=الكابتن سعد الشهري وقع اليوم عقد تدريبه للمنتخب السعودي للشباب|url=https://twitter.com/alnassr_news/status/615222404357361664}} Al-Shehri led the U20 national team to the final of the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship where they lost to Japan on penalties.{{cite web |title=منتخب الشباب يخسر نهائي آسيا بخسارته من اليابان بركلات الترجيح|url=https://www.aleqt.com/2016/10/30/article_1098401.html}} He also led the young falcons to the Round of 16 of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup which equalized their best performance.{{cite web |title=المنتخب السعودي يودِّع كأس العالم للشباب أمام الأوروغواي |url=https://www.arabstoday.net/1230/142855-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%90%D8%B9-%D9%83%D8%A3%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%8A}}

Following the dismissal of first-team coach, Miodrag Ješić, on 10 December 2017, Al-Shehri was appointed as manager until the end of the season.{{cite web |title=الاتفاق يعين سعد الشهري مدرباً للفريق |url=https://ettifaq.com/news/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%aa%d9%81%d8%a7%d9%82-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b3%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d9%87%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%85%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%8b-%d9%84%d9%84%d9%81%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%82/}} Al-Ettifaq were second bottom at the time of his appointment with just 12 points in 12 matches. In his first match in charge, Al-Ettifaq were defeated by Al-Ahli 4–1.{{cite web |title=النادي الأهلي ينتزع صدارة ترتيب الدوري السعودي "مؤقتًا" بالفوز على الاتفاق |url=https://www.eremnews.com/sports/football/arab/ksa/1111048}} In Al-Shehri's second match with Al-Ettifaq, they defeated third-placed Al-Nassr 3–2 at home.{{cite web |title=الاتفاق يوقف مسلسل هزائمه باقتناص نقاط النصر |url=https://makkahnewspaper.com/article/622605/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%82%D9%81-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%84-%D9%87%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D9%86%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1}} Al-Ettifaq then defeated Al-Tai 6–0 to qualify to the Round of 16 of the King Cup.{{cite web |title=الاتفاق والخليج والنجوم يتأهلان إلى دور الـ16 لكأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين لكرة القدم |url=https://www.hasanews.com/6484945.html}} Al-Ettifaq then held first placed Al-Hilal to a 1–1 draw away from home before losing to Al-Shabab 3–1 away from home the following week. Al-Ettifaq were then defeated by Al-Ittihad 2–1 in the Round of 16 of the King Cup under controversial circumstances.{{cite web |title=كأس الملك : الاتحاد يقلب الطاولة على الاتفاق ويتأهل بهدفين لهدف |url=http://www.sportksa.net/main/archives/344092}} After this game, Al-Ettifaq went undefeated for 8 games and saw them rise up to sixth place. During this run of form, Al-Ettifaq defeated first placed Al-Hilal and derby rivals Al-Qadsiah. Their unbeaten run ended on 6 April 2018, after losing to Al-Ittihad 4–2.{{cite web |title=الاتحاد يحقق فوزه الأول على “الجوهرة المشعة” في 2018 بالدوري السعودي |url=https://arabic.sport360.com/article/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A/%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF/636017/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%82-%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-2018-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A}} In his final match in charge of Al-Ettifaq they defeated Al-Taawoun 3–2 to finish fourth, their best league performance since 2010–11.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري .. المدرب الجريء الذي قاد الاتفاق إلى المقدمة |url=https://www.almowaten.net/2018/04/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7/}}

On 15 March 2018, it was announced that Saad Al-Shehri would take charge of the Saudi Arabia U23 national team.{{cite web |title=#الاتحاد_السعودي_لكرة_القدم يتعاقد مع المدرب الوطني سعد الشهري لقيادة المنتخب الأولمبي. |url=https://twitter.com/saudiFF/status/974307558881222656}} He left Al-Ettifaq at the end of the season to become the full-time manager of the U23 national team. Al-Shehri's first tournament with the U23 national team was the 2018 Asian Games. In the opening match of the tournament, Saudi Arabia and Iran played out a goalless draw.{{cite web |title=الأخضر الأولمبي يتعادل مع إيران في الألعاب الآسيوية |url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/sport/saudi-sport/2018/08/15/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%B6%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9}} Saudi Arabia then defeated Myanmar 3–0 before losing to North Korea in the final group stage match. Saudi Arabia qualified to the Round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams. On 24 August 2018, Saudi Arabia defeated China 4–3 to reach the Quarter-finals.{{cite web |title=كمارا يعزز موقعة في «الهجوم السعودي» بـ{هاتريك} تاريخي |url=https://aawsat.com/home/article/1372456/%D9%83%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%B2%D8%B2-%D9%85%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%C2%BB-%D8%A8%D9%80%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE%D9%8A}} Saudi Arabia were eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals by Japan.{{cite web |title=الأخضر يخسر من اليابان ويودع الآسياد |url=https://arabia.eurosport.com/article/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%B6%D8%B1-%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF}}

Al-Shehri led the U23 national team to the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship after finishing among the best group runners-up during the qualification phase. In the opening group stage match, Saudi Arabia defeated Japan 2–1 thanks to a late penalty scored by Abdulrahman Ghareeb.{{cite web |title=فوز مثير للأولمبي السعودي على اليابان في أمم آسيا تحت 23 عاما |url=https://www.shorouknews.com/news/view.aspx?cdate=09012020&id=b5ff3294-4aa9-4ac5-9ded-385acf0392e3}} The Saudis finished in first place after drawing Qatar and defeating Syria. In the quarter-finals, Saudi Arabia defeated hosts Thailand 1–0 to advance to the semi-finals.{{cite web |title=السعودية تتأهل لنصف نهائى كأس آسيا تحت 23 عاما وتقترب من الأولمبياد |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2020/1/18/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84-%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B5%D9%81-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%89-%D9%83%D8%A3%D8%B3-%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA-23-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A8/4591902}} In the semi-finals they defeated reigning champions Uzbekistan to reach their second final and first since 2013.{{cite web |title=السعودي الأولمبي يطير إلى أولمبياد طوكيو 2020 ونهائي كأس آسيا |url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/sport/saudi-sport/2020/01/22/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%88-2020-%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%A3%D8%B3-%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7}} By reaching the final, Al-Shehri led the Saudi Arabia U23 national team to their first Olympics since 1996.{{cite web |title=سعد الشهري يفك عقدة استمرت 24 عاماً |url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/sport/saudi-sport/2020/01/22/%D8%B3%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%83-%D8%B9%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AA-24-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%8B-}} In the final, Saudi Arabia were defeated by South Korea after extra time, thus Saad himself missed another chance to obtain a major trophy, having lost to Japan as manager of the Saudi Arabian U20 side before in the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship final .{{cite web |title=السعودي الأولمبي يخسر أمام كوريا في نهائي كأس آسيا|url=https://www.alarabiya.net/ar/sport/saudi-sport/2020/01/26/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%83%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A-%D9%83%D8%A3%D8%B3-%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7}} The Saudi Arabia U23 national team qualified to the 2020 Summer Olympics for the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics and third overall as runners-up in the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship under the management of Saad Al-Shehri. The Saudis crashed out of the Olympics group stage without picking up a single point, losing against Ivory Coast, Germany and Brazil in the process. {{Cite web |date=2021-07-28 |title=Saudi U-23 football team ends disappointing Tokyo 2020 with a loss to reigning champions Brazil |url=https://arab.news/5huyd |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=Arab News |language=en}}

Al-Shehri qualified for the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup with many new fresh faces but also retained a few experienced players from the previous campaign. In the opening group stage match, Saudi Arabia defeated Tajikistan 5–0, they eventually finished Group D in first place after a 0-0 draw against Japan and a 2–0 win over the United Arab Emirates. In the quarter-finals, Al-Shehri easily defeated Vietnam 2–0 to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Saudi Arabia defeated Australia 2–0 to reach their second final in a row and third in total. In the final, Saudi Arabia faced the hosts Uzbekistan, on their home soil with over 30,000 Uzbek fans in attendance. The match was highly contested until Ahmed Al-Ghamdi broke the deadlock in the 48' minute with a shot at the edge of the box which flew past the goalkeeper into the top corner. With just a quarter of an hour left, Turki Al-Ammar delivered a pass to Firas Al-Buraikan who fired a shot into the bottom corner to double the lead in the 74' minute. Despite Uzbekistan's desperate pushes for a goal in the final moments, the final whistle was blown and Saudi Arabia won their first AFC U-23 Asian Cup{{Cite web |title=Saudi Arabia defeat Uzbekistan to lift long-awaited title |url=https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc_u23_asian_cup/news/final_uzbekistan_v_saudi_arabia_1.html |access-date=2022-06-19 |website=the-AFC |language=en}} and Saad Al-Shehri finally won his first trophy with the Saudi National team(s).

On 15 November 2022, Al-Shehri managed to lead the U23 national team to another trophy after defeating Qatar 3–1 in the final of the 2022 WAFF U-23 Championship.{{cite web |title=الأولمبي السعودي يتوج ببطولة غرب آسيا |url=https://www.alarabiya.net/sport/saudi-sport/2022/11/16/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AC-%D8%A8%D8%A8%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A2%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7#:~:text=%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AC%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A8%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A%20%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A8%20%D8%A8%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9,%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9%2018.}} This was Saudi Arabia's first title in the competition with Al-Shehri leading the Green Falcons to a second-place finish in the previous edition of the tournament.

On 23 December 2022, it was announced that Al-Shehri would temporarily take charge of the senior national team during the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup.{{cite web |title=غياب رينارد ومفاجآة في قائمة الأخضر.. الشهري يقود المنتخب السعودي في خليجي 25 |url=https://koraplus.com/Article/61379/%D8%BA%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%88%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A2%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%B6%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%8A}} On 30 December 2022, Al-Shehri announced the 23-man squad taking part in the competition.{{cite web |title=الشهري يعلن قائمة الأخضر المشاركة في كأس الخليج 25 بالبصرة |url=https://www.saff.com.sa/news.php?id=2002}} In the Gulf Cup, fielding a team composed of the under-23 side and uncapped senior players, Saudi Arabia was eliminated from the group stage, achieving only a single win against Yemen.

Following Hervé Renard's resignation as coach of Saudi Arabia, Saad Al-Shehri was again named interim coach.

Saudi Arabia U23

• AFC U-23 Asian Cup: 2022
• WAFF U-23 Championship: 2022

{{updated|match played 21 November 2023}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{soccerway coach|saad-al-shehri/465486}}

{{Ettifaq FC squad}}

{{Saudi Professional League managers}}

{{Ettifaq FC managers}}

{{Saudi Arabia national football team managers}}

{{Saudi Arabia men's football squad 2020 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shehri, Saad}}

Category:1980 births

Category:Living people

Category:Footballers from Dammam

Category:Saudi Arabian men's footballers

Category:Men's association football midfielders

Category:Al-Ettifaq FC players

Category:Al-Nassr FC players

Category:Al Qadsiah FC players

Category:Al-Jubail Club players

Category:Al-Thoqbah Club players

Category:Saudi Pro League players

Category:Saudi Fourth Division players

Category:Saudi Arabian football managers

Category:Saudi Pro League managers

Category:Al-Ettifaq FC managers

Category:21st-century Saudi Arabian sportsmen