Al Duhail Announces Signing Portuguese Coach Rui Faria

Doha, January 18 (QNA) - Al Duhail, the Qatari league champions in the past two seasons, announced the signing of Portuguese coach Rui Faria as coach of the first team successor to Tunisian Nabil Maaloul. Al Duhail said in a statement on its official website that the club's management succeeded in signing the Portuguese coach, former assistant to Jose Mourinho, to lead the first football team in the coming period after intensive negotiations and great efforts. The club, which dominated local football championship last season after winning the trio, Qatar Cup and HH the Amir's Cup, added that the management succeeded to sign Faria's contract despite the huge European offers that he had received during the last period from a number of clubs. Faria, 43, has worked for 17 years with Mourinho and moves to several clubs, including Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United. Faria had suspended his partnership with Mourinho last year before he was suspended, saying he wanted to spend time with his family before taking up a new mission. Faria will be the second Portuguese coach in the Qatari league after fellow national Jesualdo Ferreira, Coach of Al Saad SC. He is also the world's second-best-known name to move to the Qatari league, after Al Arabi club signed in December Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who led his country to the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the first time in its history. Al Duhail announced on January 5 that he would terminate Nabil Maaloul's contract by mutual consent, after six months of coaching. Al Duhail is second in the standings, two points behind Al Saad SC. (QNA)