Ahly chairman seeks Clubs World Cup spot with Dutch coach Martin Jol
Mahmoud Elassal, , Thursday 25 Feb 2016
Mahmoud Taher praises signing of ex-Tottenham coach Martin Jol


After announcing the official signing of former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol to lead the team for a year and a half, Ahly’s chairman Mahmoud Taher is relieved at the Dutch coach’s arrival.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham player has been appointed as the new boss of Ahly, Egypt's most popular team, for a year and a half, though hasn’t disclosed the financial details, the club announced on Wednesday.

Jol replaces Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro, who left the club in an abrupt manner to take over at Porto in Portugal last month.

"Jol is a big technical edition for the team because he is an experienced coach with a good CV, winning trophies with the teams he led before," Taher told reporters on Thursday.

"Jol has character and charisma and can meet the expectations of fans and management," the Ahly chairman added.

The record holders of seven African Champions Leagues and 37 Egyptian Premier Leagues are currently being led by interim coach Abdel-Aziz Abdel-Shafy 'Zizo' following the departure of Peseiro in late January.

"Ahly's good reputation, leading world clubs in terms of international titles, helped me to finalise the deal with Jol quickly," Taher added.

"He is happy to coach Ahly and accepted the challenge, even after I informed him about the crowd ban, just to make things clear. He welcomed the deal and revealed that he is happy to stay in Egypt."

"I hope Jol leads Ahly in the coming edition of the Clubs World Cup in Japan in December," Taher concluded.

Jol's primary task will be helping Ahly win the premier domestic competition after their eight-season hegemony was ended by Zamalek last term. The club is also seeking to win a record-extending ninth African Champions League title and their first since 2013.

The 60-year old tactician is a former coach of many European outfits including Tottenham, Scheveningen, Roda JC, RKC Waalwijk, Hamburger SV and Ajax but has been out of action since leaving Fulham in December 2013.

Ahly are currently leading the Egyptian league with 41 points after playing 19 matches, three ahead of arch-rivals Zamalek.

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