INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

Al Ahly replace Ricardo Soares with Marcel Koller

Egyptian Premier League side Al Ahly have appointed Marcel Koller as their new head coach on a two-year contract.

The Red Eagles parted company with Ricardo Soares on August 31, bringing an end to his brief tenure at the Al Salam Stadium, which lasted just two months.

Soares was brought in to replace Pitso Mosimane in June, but he failed to deliver the required results as the Cairo giants finished outside the top-two for the first time in 30 years.

The 42-time Egyptian champions announced on Friday that Koller had succeeded the Portuguese tactician and is set to arrive in the capital on Saturday to begin work.

The 61-year-old former Switzerland international returns to the dugout for the first time since he left FC Basel in August 2020, having managed the Austria national team for six years prior to that.

Koller will be officially unveiled at a press conference on Monday and his first task will be to prepare the squad for their CAF Champions League campaign, which gets underway on the second weekend of October.

“We are delighted to announce that Marcel Koller will be our new manager for the next two years,” a statement on the club’s official website read.

“The coach will arrive in Cairo on Saturday with his three assistants to start his mission with The Red Eagles.”