Al-Gharrafa
Al Gharafa Sports Club has announced that the legendary Brazilian footballer Zico will arrive in Doha to negotiate terms to coach the football team from next season onwards.
Zico himself posted about the development on his Facebook page. “I am going to Qatar on Saturday, there is a verbal agreement with Al Gharafa, and we exchanged e-mails, so the deal with the club is well underway.
“I am going to check the last details and sign the contract. I am excited about this new challenge, but I prefer to talk about this after I sign the contract.”
Arthur Antunes Coimbra was born March 3, 1953, in Rio de Janeiro and is better known as Zico. One of the famous Brazilian footballers, he retired in 1994 and served as an assistant to Brazil coach Mario Zagallo in 1998.
Zico started coaching the Japanese national team in 2002, replacing Philippe Troussier, and won the 2004 Asia Cup. He was the coach of the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
He then coached Turkish club Fenerbahce, who reached the quarter-finals in the 2007–08 Champions League under his command. He resigned as coach of the Iraqi national team in November last year.
Al Gharafa Sports Club was being coached at the beginning of last season by Brazil’s Paulo Silas. After Silas was sacked, the club made a temporary appointment in Tunisian Habib Sadek.
