Khalid Al-Koroni


Khalid Abdulrahman Ibrahim Al-Koroni is a Saudi Arabian professional football coach and former player who played for Al-Riyadh.

Playing career

Having made his debut during the 1977–78 season, Al-Koroni spent his whole playing career with hometown club Al-Riyadh. In his first season with the club, they managed to get promoted to the 1978–79 Saudi Premier League and reached the final of 1978 King Cup. During his playing career, Al-Koroni managed to get promoted to the Premier League four times with Al-Riyadh.

Managerial career

1990–1999

In 1991, Al-Koroni announced his retirement and was appointed as assistant manager of Al-Riyadh. In 1992, Al-Koroni was appointed as caretaker before returning to his previous post following the appointment of Zé Mário.
On 6 December 1997, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Riyadh's manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Jean-Michel Cavalli. At the time of his appointment, Al-Riyadh sat at tenth with only 8 points picked up from 10 games. Al-Riyadh's form started to improve and Al-Koroni managed to lead Al-Riyadh to ninth, 4 points off the relegation zone. Al-Koroni also managed to lead Al-Riyadh to their second Crown Prince Cup final, when they beat Al-Shoulla in the semi-finals. In the final, Al-Ahli defeated Al-Riyadh 3–2, courtesy of a golden goal. After ensuring the club's survival, Al-Koroni's contract was renewed for another year. On 11 February 1999, Al-Koroni announced his resignation as manager following conflicts with several players of the team.

1999–2000

On 24 February 1999, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Al-Tai. At the time of his appointment, Al-Tai sat at ninth just four points above the relegation zone. Al-Koroni managed to finish eighth with Al-Tai and left following the expiration of his contract on 1 April 1999.
Al-Koroni was then appointed as assistant manager to Luisinho Lemos in the Saudi U23 national team. On 29 August 1999, Al-Koroni was appointed as head coach of the Saudi U23 national team following the sacking of Luisinho. Al-Koroni failed to qualify for the Olympics after finishing in second place, three points behind Kuwait in the qualifiers.
On 3 January 2000, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Al-Shoulla until the end of the season.
On 6 February 2000, Al-Koroni left Al-Shoulla to manage the Saudi U17 national team. He was then made assistant following the appointment of Jean-Marie Conz.

2000–2005

On 10 November 2000, Al-Koroni was appointed as the head coach of Al-Hazem. On 27 March 2001, Al-Koroni resigned for personal reasons.
On 1 May 2001, Al-Koroni returned to manage Al-Shoulla for a second time. He managed to lead Al-Shoulla to a sixth-placed finish, their highest ever in the top flight. He left at the end of the season following the expiration of his contract.
On 21 May 2002, Al-Koroni returned to manage boyhood club Al-Riyadh for a third time. On 4 October 2002, Al-Koroni was sacked by Al-Riyadh.
On 8 October 2002, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of First Division club Al-Wehda. Al-Koroni managed to lead Al-Wehda to the First Division and gain promotion to the Premier League.
On 3 May 2003, Al-Koroni was loaned to Premier League side Al-Ittihad until the end of the season. Al-Koroni managed to win the Premier League title after defeating Al-Ahli 3–2 in the final. He became the first manager to win both the Premier League title and First Division title in one season. Al-Koroni also managed to win the 2003 Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup after defeating Ismaily 1–0 in the final.
Al-Koroni left Al-Ittihad following the expiration of his loan and returned to Al-Wehda.
On 2 August 2004, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Al-Riyadh for the fourth time. On 4 February 2005, Al-Koroni was sacked by Al-Riyadh.
On 17 March 2005, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of First Division side Al-Hazem. Al-Koroni managed to lead Al-Hazem to their first First Division title as well as gain promotion to the top flight for the first time in the club's history.

2005–2014

On 14 September 2005, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Al-Nassr's U20 team. Following the sacking of Mariano Barreto, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Nassr's manager on 23 November 2005. On 15 January 2006, Al-Koroni resigned from his post after a 3–0 defeat to Al-Ahli.
On 12 February 2006, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Raed's manager until the end of the season.
On 4 December 2006, Al-Koroni returned to manage Al-Tai for the second time. On 1 February 2007, Al-Koroni was sacked after failing to achieve a single win.
On 1 March 2007, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Al-Qadsiah until the end of the season. At the time of his appointment, Al-Qadsiah sat at 11th in the relegation zone. He managed to finish 10th and avoid relegation.
On 18 February 2008, Al-Koroni replaced Jan Versleijen as the manager of Al-Wehda.
On 13 February 2009, Al-Koroni returned to manage Al-Riyadh for the fifth time. He left at the end of the season following the expiration of his contract. On 11 January 2010, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Riyadh's manager for the sixth time.
On 30 March 2010, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of the Saudi U20 national team. He resigned from his post as Al-Riyadh's manager on 12 April 2010. He managed to lead them to the Round of 16 of the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was then appointed as the manager of the Saudi U23 national team in 2012. He managed to win the 2012 GCC U-23 Championship and finish as runners-up in the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship.

2014–present

On 1 March 2014, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Ittihad's manager following the sacking of Juan Verzeri. On 28 August 2014, he was sacked after Al-Ittihad were eliminated by Al Ain in the Quarter-finals of the 2014 AFC Champions League.
On 22 September 2014, Al-Koroni returned to manage Al-Wehda for the third time. He was sacked on 28 October 2014 after losing three matches and drawing one in four matches.
On 31 October 2015, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Shoulla's manager until the end of the season.
On 28 April 2016, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Batin's manager. He managed the team during the promotion play-offs against Al-Raed, which they lost 5–3 on aggregate.
On 6 November 2016, Al-Koroni returned to Al-Batin following Adel Abdel Rahman's sacking.
On 8 March 2018, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Shabab's manager following the sacking of José Carreño.
On 27 January 2019, Al-Koroni returned to manage Al-Riyadh for the seventh time. He resigned from his post on 15 October 2019.
On 26 February 2020, Al-Koroni was appointed as Hetten's manager until the end of the season. He resigned on 27 July 2020 whilst the season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 13 April 2022, Al-Koroni was appointed as Al-Kholood's manager until the end of the season. On 17 May 2022, Al-Kholood renewed Al-Koroni's contract until the end of the 2022–23 season. On 5 October 2022, Al-Koroni was sacked following a 2–0 defeat to Al-Sahel.
On 4 December 2023, Al-Koroni was appointed as the manager of Second Division side Wej.
On 5 March 2025, Al-Koroni was appointed as manager of First Division League club Al-Zulfi. On 2 December 2025, Al-Koroni left the club by mutual consent.

Honours

Player

Al-Riyadh

Manager

Al-Riyadh
Al-Wehda
Al-Ittihad
Al-Hazem
Saudi Arabia U23