Lisbon: FC Porto have hired Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro on an 18-month contract to replace Spaniard Julen Lopetegui.

The announcement was confirmed on the club’s official website and he will take charge of his first match against Maritimo on Sunday.

Peseiro has been in charge at Egyptian club Al Ahli for the past three months. Before that, he coached several Portuguese clubs as well as Panathinaikos, Dynamo Bucharest and the Saudi Arabian national team.

The 55-year-old has won just one trophy in his coaching career, leading Braga to the Portuguese League Cup in the 2012-13 season.

Porto fired Lopetegui on January 8 after a three-game winless streak and the club are currently third in the league, five points adrift of leaders Sporting Lisbon. (AP)