Brendan Rodgers kicked-off his time in Saudi Arabia with a share of the points in a draw before going on to register five consecutive victories including an away win over Al-Nassr, whose main star is Cristiano Ronaldo…
The former Celtic manager has now won five matches in a row and has transformed his side from mid-table also rans into genuine title challenges as the form side in the Saudi Premier League.
Rodgers has his team playing attacking possession based football and his Al-Qadsiah players are contributing to their goalscoring spree from all over the park with 19 goals already scored under the former Celtic manager’s leadership.
After his side’s latest victory Rodgers said: “I’m very proud of my team today. From the moment I arrived, I made it clear that we would be an attacking team. This is what we work on consistently, and we succeeded once again in scoring five goals, which reflects the identity we are trying to establish.
“In today’s game, we noticed a slight decrease in effort at times, but the most important thing is how the team manages the flow of the match.
“In the second half, we played with more composure and confidence, controlled the rhythm, created chances, and scored goals, which reflects the team’s maturity and development.”
Steven Gerrard was the last former Scottish Premiership manager to try his luck in Saudi Arabia but that certainly didn’t go too well. Now though Brendan Rodgers, a manager the Celtic Board wanted out and who was replaced by rookie Wilfried Nancy, is showing up rather well in Saudi football with his club affectionately dubbing him as ‘The Godfather’.
Brendan must have looked on with some bemusement as his successor Wilfried Nancy’s dreadful reign, lasting just over a month, unfurled with six defeats in eight matches.
Now though he’s appreciated and respected by his club as his football management and tactical skills flourish assisted of course by former Celtic Assistant Manager John Kennedy who had been a constant at Celtic since 1998.
Best of luck to both Brendan Rodgers and John Kennedy for the rest of their season.
🚨 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗: Brendan Rogers has become the first coach in Al-Qadsiah history not to lose in his first 6 league matches. ♥️🇸🇦🔝
🤝 Al-Qadsiah 1-1 Damac
✅ Al-Shabab 2-3 Al-Qadsiah
✅ Al-Qadsiah 4-0 Al-Riyadh
✅ Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah
✅ Al-Qadsiah 5-0 Al-Feiha
✅ Al-Hazm 1-4… pic.twitter.com/yOHWlmPY05— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) January 18, 2026
This graphic being created and used by Brendan Rodgers’ Team in Saudi to highlight his record breaking start for the club and you know he’s already got it set as his screensaver on his phone. Gucci Godfather. pic.twitter.com/qKp6VxVMkW
— Boyle (@Boyle_67) January 19, 2026
WHAT Brendan Rodgers is cooking at Al-Qadsiah? Unreal 🇬🇧
Al-Qadsiah look terrifying offensively under Rodgers. Goals everywhere, solutions everywhere, different scorers every game.
And the big change? They’re finally smashing lower-tier teams. Big scores, no mercy. Put Damac… pic.twitter.com/HJ5b1P9MTM
— All About SPL 🔔 🇸🇦 (@Saudifutbol) January 18, 2026
I hope he smashes it, and builds.
Then gives it large to DD..DD is no Celtic man anyone that thinks he is had better waken up.