Egyptian champions Zamalek have settled on Brazilian Marcos Paqueta as the coach to replace Portuguese tactician Jesualdo Ferreira, who led the club to the domestic double last season before abruptly leaving few months into the new campaign. Paqueta, who has plenty of experience in Arab countries, was chosen by a Zamalek committee drawn up to name Ferreira's successor, which includes some club icons such as Hazem Emam and Ayman Younes. The 57-year-old is set to earn $40,000 as a monthly salary. Many names have been linked with the Zamalek vacant job since Ferreira unilaterally terminated his deal last month, citing what he called as outspoken chairman Mortada Mansour's constant attack on him and his interference in football affairs. The list of potential candidates included the likes of Dutch coach Martin Jol, who led Tottenham and Fulham in the English Premier League, and Frenchman Paul Le Guen who steered Olympique Lyon to three French league titles between 2003 and 2005. However, Mansour, a controversial lawyer who oversaw summer spending sprees over two seasons to bolster an underachieving squad, was reportedly reluctant to pay any high salaries by Egyptian football standards. Paqueta's notable achievements include guiding Brazil's U-17 and U-20 sides to two World Cup triumphs in 2003, both at the expense of Spain in the final. He led Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal to a domestic treble in 2005, including the coveted league title, before taking charge of the Saudi national team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany but they failed to book a last-16 spot after two defeats by Ukraine and Spain and an exciting draw with Tunisia. Paqueta also won two league titles with Al-Gharafa in Qatar and had another stint in the Gulf country with Al Rayyan. He also took charge of Libya for two years before returning to Al-Gharafa in the summer of 2014. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/172671.aspx
