Al Ain appoint former Tottenham Hotspur striker Sergei Rebrov as manager

Rebrov recently guided Ferencvaros to three successive Hungarian league titles

Former Ferencvaros coach Sergei Rebrov will now manage Al Ain. AFP

Sergei Rebrov, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Ukraine national team striker, has been appointed manager of Al Ain.

The Arabian Gulf League club, 13-time UAE champions, announced the news on Monday, with Rebrov replacing Pedro Emanuel in the dugout. The Portuguese left the club immediately following the conclusion of the 2020/21 season.

Rebrov, who turned 47 last Thursday, has tasted numerous successes in his managerial career to date, winning the Ukrainian league title twice and two Ukrainian Cups with Dinamo Kiev. His side completed the double in the 2014/15 campaign.

Most recently, Rebrov guided Ferencvaros to three successive Hungarian league crowns, while also masterminding their qualification for the group stages of both the Europa League and the Champions League – the latter for the first time in a quarter of a century. He resigned late last week having led the team to the title.

Rebrov, who as a player represented Dinamo Kiev with distinction before becoming Tottenham’s record signing in 2000, has experience of managing in Gulf football. In June 2017, he was appointed by Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, but was dismissed after 10 months. He has also served as assistant coach to the Ukrainian national team.

At Al Ain, Rebrov will be tasked with turning around the fortunes of the Garden City club. The record UAE champions, still the only Emirati side to win the Asian Champions League, finished the most recent season in a disappointing sixth place, meaning they failed to qualify for the continent’s premier club competition for the first time in nine years. They last won the domestic league title in the 2017/18 campaign.

In a promotional video released by the club on Monday, Rebrov said: ‘I’m happy to be part of the history of Al Ain.”

During his career, Rebrov also played for Shakhtar Donetsk in his homeland, Turkey’s Fenerbache, England’s West Ham United and Rubin Kazan of Russia.

Al Jazira seal Arabian Gulf League title