Egypt Announced on Tuesday morning to have named Rui Vitoria as their new coach. The Portuguese takes over following the sudden dismissal of Ehab Galal after just three matches in charge.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) revealed that Vitoria, signed a four-year contract at the head of the Pharaohs.
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The 52-year-old, who started his coaching career in the early 2000s, took charge of several Portuguese clubs, including Pacos Ferreira, Vitoria Guimaraes and Benfica.
He made an instant impact at Benfica, leading the club to back-to-back league titles in 2016 and 2017 as well as domestic Cup and League Cup triumphs.
The two-time Portuguese league winner with Benfica then moved to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, whom he also steered to the coveted league crown in 2019. His most recent spell was a brief one at Russian giants Spartak Moscow, which ended in December last year following a series of poor results in the domestic league, including a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Vitoria will be tasked with reviving the fortunes of an ailing Egypt side.
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Egypt sought a foreign replacement for Galal after his short tenure had brought a chorus of criticism over the criteria on which he was picked.
Former Egypt and Zamalek playmaker Hazem Emam, now an EFA board member, originally opposed the decision to appoint Galal, arguing that an Egyptian coach would not handle the intense media pressure the job entails.
His assessment turned out to be accurate, with the former Zamalek and Pyramids FC boss coming under fire after Egypt labored to a 1-0 home win over Guinea in their opening African Nations Cup qualifier in early June before suffering a stunning 2-0 loss to Ethiopia in Malawi.
A 4-1 defeat at the hands of South Korea in a friendly played in Seoul proved the last straw, with the EFA moving quickly to dismiss Galal and quell the growing anger, although the process to find a replacement was bumpy.