Egypt .. Portuguese Ricardo Suarez as coach of Al-Ahly
Al-Ahly Football Club of Egypt announced Thursday on its official website that it has signed Portuguese coach Ricardo Suarez for two years and the remaining matches of the current season, to succeed South African Pitso Mosimane.
Suarez (47 years), coach of Gil Vicente, the fifth Portuguese league last season, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday and completed all contracting procedures, and held a lengthy session with the club's president, Mahmoud Al-Khatib.
Suarez revealed, in statements to the club's official page on "Facebook", that he had received offers from many clubs, but he preferred Al-Ahly after he found that the club's management "has a good project in order to win all championships and titles, so it welcomed the Al-Ahly offer."
He added, "I know that Al-Ahly faces many challenges and strong connections during the coming period, and there is pressure in matches, and this requires everyone to work hard and strong in order to improve performance and results."
He continued, "Al-Ahly is a big club, rich in local, continental and international championships and achievements, so working in it will be a new and wonderful challenge for me."
He explained that he does not like much talk in the media and believes that it is better for everyone to see his work on the field through strong results.
Suarez began his coaching career in 2005, and trained 13 clubs, most notably Deportivo Avec in the 2017-2018 season, while the rest of the teams are clubs from the second division.
Suarez, who has supervised Gil Vicente since November 2020, will coach Al-Ahly with a contract that extends until 2023 and a penalty clause of 250 thousand euros.
Suarez led Gil Vicente to qualify for the "Conference League", after he finished behind the clubs of Porto, Lisbon, Benfica and Braga.
His preferred method of playing is 4-3-3, and he holds the UEFA Pro training license.
Al-Ahly club terminated its contract with Musimani by mutual consent on the 13th of this month, after he led the team for 20 months to win the 2020 and 2021 African Champions League titles, and lost the 2022 edition against Wydad Casablanca.
He also won bronze in the Club World Cup 2020 and 2021, two African Super Cup titles, and the 2019 Egypt Cup
. Al-Ahly temporarily led Sami Komous, assistant Musimani in six matches.
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