Uruguayan Jorge Fossati replaces Cosmin Olaroiu at Al Ain

Abu Dhabi: Former Uruguay boss Jorge Fossati is expected to arrive in Al Ain on Saturday to begin his role as the club’s new coach after signing a two-year contract with the UAE champions late on Wednesday.

Fossati, who replaces Romanian Cosmin Olaroiu following his move to Al Ahli, has enjoyed a colourful career that has taken him to many countries in South America and the Middle East.

Starting out in 1993, the former goalkeeper coached Penarol and River Plate, among others, in his homeland before taking on the national team. He has also had jobs in Argentina with Colon De Santa Fe, Brazil with Internacional, Colombia with LDU Quito and with Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno.

The 60-year-old, who won three Uruguay caps as a player, has enjoyed plenty of success in the Gulf region, where he coached Al Sadd in Qatar and took them to AFC Champions League glory in 2011, having previously led the Qatar national team and Al Shabab in Saudi Arabia.

Fossati, ironically, also replaced Olaroiu at Al Sadd in 2010.

The new coach will attend training with his new team from Saturday night alongside assistant coach Ahmad Abdullah, but will mostly watch the team from the stands during their friendly tournament, which begins on Sunday and also involves Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia, Kazma from Kuwait and Al Riffa from Bahrain.

Abdulla is expected to continue leading the team until they leave for their external training camp in Europe next month.

The Garden City club, who are back-to-back league champions, had initially overlooked Fossati in pursuit of former Al Jazira double winner Abel Braga, but the Brazilian refused to leave Fluminese before the end of his current contract, and compensation costs also complicated the deal.

Al Ain will expect Fossati to lead them to their third consecutive UAE league title, despite competition from former coach Olaroiu’s Al Ahli. They will also have to improve on past performances in the Asian Champions League, which they last won in 2003.

— With inputs from Ashley Hammond, Staff Reporter