Vitoria is a candidate to coach the unit instead of Jardim

A source from Al Wahda Club revealed that the Portuguese coach, Leonardo Jardim, officially apologized for completing the procedures for contracting with “Al Annabi” to take over as coach of the team in the coming period, and according to these circumstances, the Portuguese, Rui Vitoria, entered as an alternative candidate.

The source told “Emirates Today” that the Portuguese coach contacted the club’s management officially, the day before yesterday, indicating that due to family circumstances that require his presence in the United States to follow up on his wife’s health condition, he will not be able to activate the initial agreement between the two parties, given his travel to America for a period ranging between three and four weeks, which makes it difficult for him to be present to take over the task at the present time.

He pointed out that the file of the Portuguese coach, Leonardo Jardim, and his relationship with Al-Wahda Club officially ended after the recent developments, stressing that Jardim was very close to assuming the technical leadership of Al-Wahda Club, as an initial agreement had been reached earlier between the two parties, stipulating that the team be trained during the next stage, with the implementation of the agreement being subject to developments in the health condition of the coach’s wife, a condition that Al-Wahda Club expressed its complete understanding from the beginning of the negotiations.

He added: “Al-Wahda Club management continued to communicate with Jardim to find out the latest developments in the results of his wife’s medical examinations, but the results were not positive, which prompted the coach to take a purely humanitarian decision, requiring her to travel to the United States to follow up on her health condition and undergo treatment there.”

He continued: “The Portuguese coach will remain in the United States for a period ranging between three and four weeks, which makes it difficult for him to be present at the present time to take over the task of coaching Al-Wahda Club, which effectively ended the chances of completing the contract, despite the continuous attempts of the club’s management until the last hours.”

He continued: “The Portuguese coach officially informed Al-Wahda Club management of his inability to attend in the current period, stressing that family circumstances force him to postpone any new training step, which prompted the club management to reopen the new coach’s file again.”

Based on these developments, the technical staff file became open to several options, as Al-Wahda Club management began moving to search for an alternative coach capable of leading the team during the remainder of the season, taking advantage of the remaining period of the winter transfer market to decide the identity of the new technical director, who will take over the leadership of the team in the next stage.

On the other hand, Emirates Today learned that Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria was included in the alternative accounts for Al Wahda Club, to take over leadership of the team in the coming period, after Leonardo Jardim withdrew.

Rui Vitoria is considered one of the most prominent Portuguese coaches in the last decade, and is distinguished by his long experience at the club and national team level. He began his coaching career after retiring from playing, and had a prominent presence with the Portuguese club Benfica between 2015 and 2020, where he led the team to win the Portuguese League title three times in a row, in addition to the Portuguese Cup and the Portuguese Super Cup. He also succeeded in leading the team to advanced roles in the Champions League, and achieved distinguished results against major European clubs.

At the national team level, Vitoria coached the Egyptian national team, where he worked to restore tactical discipline and strengthen the team’s defensive and offensive aspects. He also succeeded in improving the team’s overall performance at the continental level, and led the team in the World Cup qualifiers and the African Championships with relative success.

The Portuguese coach also has distinguished experience in clubs in general, where he excelled in managing large teams under pressure, and succeeded in achieving technical stability, developing players, and applying a balanced team playing style, which makes him a suitable choice to take over the leadership of the unit during the coming period, and benefit from his international and local experiences.