Egyptian club Smouha have officially appointed veteran tactician Talaat Youssef as their new coach. "Talaat Youssef is the new coach for one-and-a-half seasons. He has full control of the football team," Smouha president Farag Amer announced via his Facebook official page on Saturday. "The board wishes him the best of luck," Amer added. The 62-year-old Youssef will succeed Czech tactician Franz Straka, who took the charge in July but recently left his job amicably after the poor results since the season start. Memy Abd-Elrazek, the club's youth sector chief, was temporarily in charge of the Alexandria-based team in recent matches. Youssef, the former coach of Egyptian clubs Talae El-Geish, Petrojet and Ittihad of Alexandria, has not been committed to any club since departing Libyan club Al-Ahli Tripoli in October. Smouha currently lie at the fifth place at the Egyptian league table with 19 points from 12 matches, eight points behind leaders Ismaily. The coastal team won in five matches, held to a draw in another four and lost in the remaining three. Smouha ended the Egyptian League season in fifth place with 57 points, 27 behind champions Ahly. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)