Gianfranco Zola has been announced as the new head coach of Al Arabi Sports Club in Qatar.
The Italian has succeeded Uruguayan Daniel Carreno, who recently left Al Arabi to become the coach of the Qatar national team.
Zola has previously managed English Premier League side West Ham United, Italy Under-16 team, Watford and Cagliari.
At the start of his reign with West Ham, Zola’s side got off to a bit of wobbly start however Zola helped turn it around and West Ham started to play more exciting football. The West Ham board extended his contract until 2013. However in his second season, things didn’t go as well as his first. Zola had disagreements with the board and they narrowly avoided relegation finishing 17th. Zola was later sacked a few days after the season had finished.
Zola also enjoyed a successful first season in charge of Watford. He guided his side to 3rd place and reached the play off final. Unfortunately for Zola they lost the final 1-0 to Crystal Palace. Like at West Ham, Zola’s second season in charge wasn’t as enjoyable. After a bad start Watford were in 13th in December therefore he took the decision to resign.
His time at Cagliari was his worst in senior management. Zola was appointed as manager of Cagliari with the task of avoiding relegation. The Italian side failed to do so which meant he was sacked having managed them for less than 3 months.
Hopefully Zola will enjoy success at Al Arabi for a longer period of time.
