Gianluca Nani is set to play a major role in identifying Al Jazira’s next coach after a week of dramatic change continued with his confirmation as sporting director last night.
Nani, 53, has been in the capital for a week since he agreed to the upstairs role following a tour of Arabian Gulf League matches a fortnight ago.
The ex-West Ham United and Watford official will utilise his extensive experience of European football to secure an elite replacement for former boss Abel Braga, who departed on Saturday with the crisis club down in 11th.
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“Al Jazira Football Company have confirmed the appointment of Gianluca Nani as the new sports director at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and he will assume his duties immediately after this announcement,” a statement read.
The Italian – who influenced the early careers of 2006 World Cup winners Andrea Pirlo and Luca Toni at Brescia – steps into the shoes of the long-serving Ayed Mabkhout, who was handed the position on a temporary basis during a summer shake-up.
The new man is not expected to rush into naming a successor to Braga, the Brazilian who lifted several trophies at Jazira from 2008-11 but whose summer return lasted only six miserable months.
He will also need to fill the gap left by seriously-injured striker Mirko Vucinic in the winter market.
Al Jazira Football Company Appoints ‘Gianluca Nani’ as Sports Director. details: https://t.co/skMNGXNc1y pic.twitter.com/vTAVKfP6l8
— AlJazira FC Official (@AlJazira_uae) December 14, 2015
Nani will be tasked with providing guidance in scouting, player recruitment and training methods as last term’s runners-up seek to correct their free fall in 2015-16.
The qualified lawyer first earned a reputation for nurturing talent at Italian side Brescia when employed as sporting director. He then went on to take up the same position at West Ham seven years ago, but was dismissed in February 2010.
Nani last worked at Watford from July 2012-September 2014. He successfully recruited players from across the world as he laid the foundations for the cosmopolitan squad which currently sits seventh in the Premier League.
