February 15, (THEWILL) – Al Hilal, the Saudi Arabian football giants, who recently competed against Chelsea at the Club World Cup, have announced the immediate appointment of former Oxford United manager Ramón Diaz, as the club’s new coach.
Diaz replaces Leonardo Jardim, whose contract was mutually ended two days after Al Hilal’s humbling 4-0 loss to Al Alhy of Egypt in the FIFA Club World Cup third-place match.
A 1982 World Cup standout player and the 1979 FIFA U20 World Cup Golden Boot winner, Diaz will manage the team that includes Super Eagles forward Odion Ighalo until the end of the current season.
Ighalo appeared in two games for Jardim, scoring his first goal against Al-Jazira in the Club World Cup and also starting the semi final defeat to Chelsea, logging a total of 165 minutes since moving to the club from local rivals Al Shabab.
Emiliano Diaz, Daniel Ferreyra, and fitness coach Diego Pereira will assist Diaz, and the four will arrive in Riyadh on Tuesday morning to begin directing the team in the evening.
Damian Hector, Nicolas Romanazzi, and goalie coach Vieira De Melo are among his backroom personnel.
The Argentine football mastermind, who is nicknamed El Pelado, is back at Al Hilal after coaching the four-time Asian champions from 2016 to 2018, leading them to the Saudi Pro League title in the 2016-2017 season and the King’s Cup in 2017.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
