From Almería to Saudi Arabia: the new life of José Gomes

José Gomes has reached an agreement with Al Taawon of Saudi Arabia to direct him until the end of the season. The Portuguese coach trained last season at Almeria where he left several records and a very good taste in his mouth. He was sacked by Sheikh Turki Al-Sheikh despite the team being well positioned in the playoff spots for promotion. Gomes returns to the Saudi championship where he already worked between 2014 and 2017.

In statements released by his communication agency 6 Pointer, the preparer commented the following. “I really wanted to get back to training. The call of Al Taawon is a pride because it is not very common for the same club to use a coach for the third time. I'm energetic and motivated ”:

After the agreement, the Portuguese coach begins his third stage at said club, where he has previously worked on two more occasions between 2014 and 2017, directing a total of 89 parties. “Al Taawon was my first club in Saudi Arabia and I am very grateful to all of them. My relationship with the people of the club is magnificent, so I will try to help them as part of my family. This is the third time I have been invited to join the team. And that means they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them. I know that I am going to find an unbeatable work environment ”, he highlighted about his return to the Arab team.

Gomes' work at Almería was positive. He promoted the signing of Sadiq who has now tripled his value, left his mark with an attractive football reaching the quarterfinals in the Copa del Rey In addition, he signed the best first round in the history of the team, added six victories in a row for the first time in the history of the club (thus surpassing the five of Unai Emery and Javi Gracia) and pulverized the records of consecutive matches at home, with a total of five. All this, applying a revolutionary rotation formula through which he got to change the starting eleven in full eight times.

His previous experiences on the benches, in Reading in England and in Marítimo de Funchal in Portugal, also helped him to achieve permanence in very adverse circumstances and against all pronootic. As a sign of gratitude for his great work, the fans of the English club thanked him for the miracle of salvation by celebrating a Portugal Day at the Madejski Stadium on the last day of the 2018-19 Championship.

Now, Gomes returns to football in the Middle East again, where he even lifted the Saudi Super Cup with Al-Ahli in the 2016-17 season. New challenge and another stage in the life of this technician that does not rule out returning to Spain. Proposals were not lacking after leaving the Mediterranean Games. But in the end he has decided to return to Saudi Arabia.