Croatia's Slaven Bilic is named as new head coach of the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad. He signed a three-year contrract in New York, where he had a meeting with the club representatives.

The 50-year Bilic has coached Croatian national team, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas and West Ham United in the past. Last November, he was fired from West Ham after a series of poor results.

At Al-Ittihad, the Croat will succeed Ramon Diaz, who was sacked last week after a poor start of the season. The club, who is an eight-time Saudi champion, currently takes just the 15th place in the national league.