FOOTBALL – Al Ain have appointed former Watford and Maccabi Tel Aviv manager Vladimir Ivic to replace Portuguese Leonardo Jardim, the UAE Pro League club said yesterday.
Ivic, who has signed a contract for a year and a half, took charge at Watford in August 2020 in the English second-tier following relegation from the Premier League in the previous season, but was relieved of his duties four months later.
Meanwhile, Cruzeiro appointed Leonardo Jardim as their new coach, the Brazilian side said later yesterday.
The Brazilian Serie A team, who finished ninth in the standings last season, said that Jardim has signed a contract valid until the end of 2026.
Jardim, whose contract with Al Ain was due to expire at the end of the revamped Club World Cup in July this year, joined the club in November following spells in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The decision to change the coach came a day after the holders’ 2-1 defeat by Al Rayyan in the Asian Champions League Elite which meant they crashed out of the competition without registering a single win. The team also had only one win from their last five league games.
Al Ain have two points from seven games in the Asian Champions League Elite and are fourth in the UAE Pro League standings after 14 games.
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