Jordan have appointed Egypt's football icon Hossam Hassan as their new coach, Jordan's Football Association president Prince Ali Ben Al-Hussein announced on Tuesday.

Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer, succeeds Iraqi boss Adnan Hamad, who opted against renewing his contract after helping Jordan finish third in their World Cup qualifying group to set-up a two-legged playoff with Uzbekistan.

The winners will face a South American side for a place at next year's World Cup in Brazil.

"Adnan Hamad's era has ended. It's now the era of Hossam Hassan" Prince Ali Ben Al-Hussein told AFP's Arabic service on Tuesday.    

"Hassan is the natural successor of Mahmoud El-Gohary," he added, referring to the late Egyptian coach who left an indelible mark on Jordanian football.

El-Gohary, who died last year at the age of 74, took over at Jordan in 2002, guiding the team to a place at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final for their best ever achievement and was branded a hero by local media.

He is the mentor of Hassan, having picked him in Egypt's squad when he was only 20 years in 1985. He repaid El-Gohary's faith with a series of impressive displays in four spells under his guidance, including a rare World Cup appearance in 1990.

Hassan is Egypt's all-time top scorer with 69 goals. He also steered Cairo giants Ahly and Zamalek to a host of domestic and continental titles in his glittering playing career that ended in 2007.

However, he had some less successful stints as a manager, having made little impact in charge of the likes of Zamalek, Masry and Telecom Egypt.

"We have preliminary agreed to take charge of Jordan, but we have yet to sign a contract," Ibrahim Hassan, the twin brother of Hossam who usually works with him as a football director, told Egyptian media.

"We are travelling to Jordan in the next few days to conclude negotiations," he added.

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