Al Wasl sack Jorginho and line-up former Bani Yas boss

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  • Out the door: Jorginho leaves Al Wasl just months after joining.

    Arabian Gulf League strugglers Al Wasl have announced the dismissal of coach Jorginho, with Gabriel Calderon expected to be named as his replacement on Tuesday (14 October).

    Jorginho, 50, only took over at the Zabeel Stadium this summer after agreeing a one-year contract in April.

    The Brazil 1994 World Cup winner has paid the price for a poor start to season, in which his side have won only one game from his six competitive matches in charge and sit 10th in the AGL.

    Argentine Calderon has extensive experience in the Middle East, including a short spell at Bani Yas in 2011/12. 

    Former Al Ain, Al Nasr and Al Jazira boss Walter Zenga had been linked with the post but was not approached to takeover in recent days.

    The news first broke via the Twitter account of team manager Humaid Yousuf on Monday afternoon.

    “The administration has dispensed with the services of Brazilian coach Jorginho and an alternative will be named tomorrow [Tuesday]. Thank you Jorginho,” he tweeted.

    Jorginho's final fixture was last Friday’s damaging 3-0 Arabian Gulf Cup defeat at Dubai rivals Al Shabab.

    Patience has recently been in short supply with the Cheetahs. Coaches Laurent Banide, Hector Cuper and Saleem Abdelrahman were all dispensed with last term as they limped to a 12th-placed finish.

    In total, nine different bosses have taken charge in the last four years.

    Jorginho is the second AGL manager to be sacked this season. Al Dhafra were the first to move, replacing Anel Karabeg with Marin Ion on October 1.

    Calderon, who gained 23 caps for Argentina and featured for Paris Saint-Germain during his playing career, was first employed in the Middle East by Saudi Arabia a decade ago. He led the kingdom to World Cup 2006 qualification but was dismissed before the tournament, eventually turning up at Oman in 2007.

    Spells at Saudi clubs Al Ittihad and Al Hilal followed before he was hired by Bani Yas. His time at the Sky Blues included a ninth-placed finish and a 3-1 President’s Cup final defeat to Al Jazira.

    After being sacked by Bahrain in August 2013, he left Real Betis in June following relegation from La Liga.

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