Al Ahli unveil coaching staff headed by O’Leary

Al Ahli Football Club has assembled a high-profile coaching staff after the appointment of former Aston Villa manager David O’Leary as manager.

O’Leary has signed a three-year contract to help improve Al Ahli FC in line with the vision of club chairman Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.

The club announced that O’Leary will be joined by former Villa colleague and ex-Celtic midfielder Roy Aitken, who was this week appointed assistant coach.

O’Leary’s management team will also include former Manchester United goalkeeping coach Tony Coton, who will be Al Ahli’s goalkeeping coach, head physio Gordon Ellis, strength and conditioning coach John Phillips and performance analyst Chris Loxton.

The team was assembled by sporting director Mark Bell, who was appointed to his role two months ago by Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, chairman of the board of directors.

Al Naboodah said: “This is a new era for Al Ahli football club and the team we have assembled will help us to build something very special at the centre of UAE football.

“Al Ahli will continue to grow from strength to strength as the greatly experienced people at the helm help to develop this club.

“Al Ahli’s quality and development will speak for itself and we believe that on the pitch we will be a footballing side that people from all backgrounds and nationalities, young and old, will be excited to watch and support.”

O’Leary’s first job as coach was to join his team and backroom staff at the pre-season training camp in Austria, where they arrived on Wednesday afternoon.

A series of intensive training and conditioning sessions will be followed by three friendly matches, which will be Fabio Cannavaro’s first run out with his new team mates after his signing was formally announced by Al Ahli last Sunday.

“I am delighted to take up this role. I was impressed by the development plans that Al Ahli has put in place and I look forward to becoming part of a club that will go from strength to strength,” said O’Leary, a former Arsenal defender.

“I am lucky to walk into a club with some of the best backroom staff around, with a great deal of expertise, from coaches through to medics and physiotherapists. Al Ahli is investing right through the ranks in a way that will build a quality, sustainable football club.

“From the start we will aim to be a disciplined team that brings the highest standards of football to every training session and every match. I very much look forward to working with the team over the next few weeks to prepare for the season and becoming part of the ever-improving UAE football scene.”

Al Ahli FC, established in 1970, have won the national league four times. After winning the UFL in 2008/09, the club - nicknamed The Red Knights - qualified for the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi last year. Al Ahli FC’s home ground, Rashid Stadium, has a capacity of 18,000.

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