Al Wasl are close to announcing Rodolfo Arruabarrena as their next manager, with a deal for the former Boca Juniors coach almost complete.
The Dubai club, sixth in last season's Arabian Gulf League, parted company with Argentine Gabriel Calderon last month and moved quickly for his compatriot, who could be installed this week.
Arruabarrena, 40, left Boca in February after two years with the club. During that time, he guided his side to the Argentine Primera Division title and the Copa Argentina crown. However, Boca struggled at the beginning of this season, taking seven points from their opening five league fixtures – a run that ultimately cost Arruabarrena his job.
The former defender had been linked with AEK Athens, the Greek club with whom he represented as a player. Arruabarrena began his managerial career in 2011 with Argentina’s Tigre before moving to Nacional in Uruguay. In 2014, he joined Boca.
Wasl are expected to make an official announcement shortly, maybe even as early as Monday or Tuesday this week, despite the club recently sounding out a prominent coach based in the UAE. The decision not to continue with Calderon was taken after Wasl’s poor conclusion to the 2015/16 league campaign in which they won one of their final seven matches.
Meanwhile, Wasl have opened a legal case against a member of the UAE media who has allegedly disrespected the club repeatedly on social media. Wasl had warned the individual about his conduct on a number of occasions.
“Al Wasl board always respects the media and newspapers in general and everyone who works in this field,” said Mohammed Al Amri, the Wasl CEO. “However, that does not mean they will stand without taking any action when there are some people who want to insult the historical name of Al Wasl, and we’ll always be there to start legal actions against those who attack Al Wasl’s name.”
Al Amri was speaking Sunday at the announcement of a two-year sponsorship renewal between Wasl and Al Wathba National Insurance Company.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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