Al Ain’s arduous search for a new boss is over with Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati to succeed Cosmin Olaroiu in the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium hotseat.
The 60-year-old has penned a one-year deal with the UAE champions and will arrive in Dubai on Saturday before being presented to the media early next week.
His agent, Antonio Ortega, told Sport360°: “We agreed a deal with Al Ain late last night [Thursday]. Jorge is delighted and can’t wait to get started. Everyone is happy.”
“He is flying to Dubai on Saturday and will then begin work with the team. Everything is OK. He has signed a one-year contract and is excited about the project.”
Fossati returns to the Gulf region just over a year after leaving Qatar giants Al Sadd, who he famously led to AFC Champions League glory in 20011 – 22 years after their first success in Asia’s premier club competition.
Fossati, who has also coached the Uruguayan national team, left Al Sadd in May last year after failing to win a domestic trophy during the 2011-12 campaign.
He left, though, with a ringing endorsement from the club’s head of football operations Mohamed Ghanim who hailed him as “one of the best coaches” in the club’s history.
He is now tasked with maintaining Al Ain’s domestic dominance in the UAE while improving their own fortunes in Asia with the continent’s top prize eluding their grasp sicne their historic success in 2003.
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Fossati arrives in the Garden City with the reigning Pro League champions arguably boasting the strongest squad in the league, although they face a renewed challenge from Al Ahli next season after their appointment of the Uruguayan’s predecessor Cosmin Olaroiu.
As revealed by Sport360°, Fossati held talks over the post earlier this month only for Al Ain officials to abruptly end week-long negotiations to focus their efforts on enticing Fluminense boss Abel Braga, long seen as the club’s No1 choice.
However, the former Al Jazira boss last week revealed he had rejected an offer from the club, while Fluminense themselves have always maintained that the 60-year-old would not be leaving the defending Brazilian champions, despite their inauspicious start to the new season.
As a result Al Ain have wasted little time in again turning to Fossati, a coach well-respected in the region after his success with Al Sadd and who, crucially, was a free agent after recently leaving Paraguayan outfit Cerro Porteno.
Al Ain’s need for a new coach after Olaroiu’s defection to Ahli was becoming ever more pressing with the players already back in pre-season training after their well-earned summer breaks.
Fossati is likely to be meet his new players on Sunday with a press conference to officially introduce him to the media expected early next week as he settles into life in the Emirates.
One man who could help the new boss acclimatise to his new surroundings is Australian striker Alex Brosque, who was born to Uruguayan parents and is fluent in Spanish, Fossati’s native language.
For now, though, Al Ain’s fans can breath a huge sigh of relief that their club’s near month-long search for a new manager is at an end.
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