Qatar Stars Football League champion Al Sadd announced today, Friday, the appointment of Spanish coach Juan Manuel Leo to replace his compatriot Javi Gracia.
Leo, 56, has been assistant coach to Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, since 2020, succeeding Mikel Arteta, who then moved to Arsenal.
Leo previously trained Spanish clubs, most notably Real Sociedad in 2008-2009 and Almeria, and managed Japan’s Vissel Kobe and China’s Qingdao Huanghai before helping Guardiola win two consecutive Premier League titles from 2020 to 2022.
Official: Juan Manuel Lillo will coach the leader from next season 2022/23, and he will reach #Diameter It will be presented later on Sunday at a press conference.#Dam#always_with_al-dam pic.twitter.com/KiyeWbr3R6
— #77 Al Sadd SC | Al Sadd Club (@AlsaddSC) June 17, 2022
Al-Sadd did not specify the duration of the contract, but said Liu will arrive in Qatar on Sunday and then present it to the media at a press conference.
“My time at City was one of the most enjoyable I’ve had in my career and working with Pep and the rest of the staff was a lot of fun and I hope I played a small part in our success.” Liu said in a statement published on City’s website.
Gracia trained Al Sadd last year to succeed Xavi Hernandez, who left to coach Barcelona. Gracia led Al Sadd to the undefeated league title, 15 points behind Al Duhail, and terminated his contract by mutual consent and returned to Spain for personal reasons.
“Training Al Sadd in the World Cup year in Qatar has been a challenge and a very rich experience at a professional level, an era I will never forget and I wish the club all the best for the future,” former Watford and Valencia coach Gracia said. in a statement.
