Abu Dhabi: Sharjah hope to add another high-profile foreign recruit to their ranks in the form of Al Hilal’s Brazilian midfielder, Ailton, in the coming days after appointing Giorgos Donis as their new coach on Wednesday evening.
The 46-year-old Greek Donis, who has signed a two-year deal with the five-time UAE champions, managed Ailton, 31, at Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal last season before being sacked in May after 15 months in charge.
Donis is also eager to strengthen his backline with the addition of either the Hilal centre-back Digao, 28, or Deportivo Tachira’s Wilker Angel, 23.
As Gulf News reported earlier this week, the Kuwait centre midfielder Aziz Mashaan, 27, is another target for the fallen UAE giants.
Sharjah, who are determined to avoid a third consecutive relegation battle in the Arabian Gulf League, have already signed the exciting Venezuela striker Gelmin Rivas, who at Al Ittihad was second top-scorer during the 2015/16 Saudi Professional League.
Donis was announced as successor to Abdul Aziz Al Anbari in time for Sharjah’s training camps in Austria and Germany, which will begin over the weekend.
“For me, the priority is for the players to enjoy their football and to have passion for winning,” Donis, who won 24 caps as a midfielder for Greece, said on a video on Sharjah’s Twitter account late on Wednesday evening.
Donis, who was the first Greek to play in the English Premier League when he spent a season at Blackburn Rovers in 1996-97, had rejected The King’s advances last week.
But an increased offer of $3 million (Dh11.02m) a year for two seasons proved sufficient to ensure he remained in the Gulf after impressing in Saudi.
He joined Hilal in February last year and during his time in Riyadh steered the club to success in the King’s Cup and the Crown Prince Cup. He also led Hilal to the 2015 Asian Champions League semi-finals, where Dubai’s Al Ahli overcame them.
However, the 13-time Saudi champions Hilal finished second in the Saudi Pro League last season and Donis was sacked on May 18 following the 0-0 draw with Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv in the first leg of the last-16 Champions League tie.
Sharjah had also approached Pepe Mel, the former West Bromwich Albion and Real Betis manager, but favoured Donis because of his knowledge of football in the region. Mel, 53, has never coached outside of Europe.
Meanwhile, Bani Yas’s incoming boss, Pablo Repetto, tasted disappointment in his last act as manager of the Ecuadorian minnows Independiente del Valle in the early hours of Thursday (UAE time).
Repetto’s side went down 1-0 away to the Colombian giants Atletico Nacional to lose the final of Latin America’s premier competition, the Copa Libertadores, 2-1 on aggregate.
The 42-year-old Uruguayan will pen a two-year contract with Bani Yas on Saturday, as Gulf News revealed earlier this week.
